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What is "grim and gritty" and "low magic" anyway?
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<blockquote data-quote="Aezoc" data-source="post: 1418783" data-attributes="member: 12124"><p>I think that, as a DM, the campaigns I run probably fall into both the "low magic" and "grim and gritty" groups, although both of these terms are extremely subjective and have come to possess nearly as many meanings as "munchkin."</p><p></p><p>ManicFuel already covered most of the reasons that I like this style, but there is one other that I consider to be important, although it involves world-building more than individual characters and adventures. Most people I know despise the idea of magic as technology (the so-called "Flintstones-style game" that the DMG briefly mentions being an extreme example of this). However, as a DM, I have found it very difficult to find a believable explanation as to how, in a world where the default D&D level of magic has existed for thousands of years, this has not occurred. mmadsen touched on this by stating that many literary fantasy worlds have a level of magic that is much different than that of D&D. This creates an interesting sort of dilemma when much of Greyhawk, FR, and many other "generic" D&D worlds draw on fantasy archetypes from literature for inspiration, and then insert them into a world built upon entirely different assumptions. For instance, no kingdom should be without teleportation circles linking major cities and outposts, or items of <em>sending</em> to eliminate the need for messengers and troop movements entirely. Also, blacksmiths should be a thing of the past, thanks to <em>fabricate</em> and <em>wall of iron</em>. There are many other examples that unfortunately I can't really point to without my books in front of me, but the point is that I've yet to see a setting that factored these peculiarities into the dynamics of the setting. Rather, they seem to make variations on established fantasy that are independent (and sometimes completely contrary to) the gameplay rules that govern the world.</p><p></p><p>In short, I've found that lower magic and a grittier setting not only tend to make for better roleplaying and stories, but they also get rid of many inconsistencies that D&D created by borrowing out of context from fantasy literature.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aezoc, post: 1418783, member: 12124"] I think that, as a DM, the campaigns I run probably fall into both the "low magic" and "grim and gritty" groups, although both of these terms are extremely subjective and have come to possess nearly as many meanings as "munchkin." ManicFuel already covered most of the reasons that I like this style, but there is one other that I consider to be important, although it involves world-building more than individual characters and adventures. Most people I know despise the idea of magic as technology (the so-called "Flintstones-style game" that the DMG briefly mentions being an extreme example of this). However, as a DM, I have found it very difficult to find a believable explanation as to how, in a world where the default D&D level of magic has existed for thousands of years, this has not occurred. mmadsen touched on this by stating that many literary fantasy worlds have a level of magic that is much different than that of D&D. This creates an interesting sort of dilemma when much of Greyhawk, FR, and many other "generic" D&D worlds draw on fantasy archetypes from literature for inspiration, and then insert them into a world built upon entirely different assumptions. For instance, no kingdom should be without teleportation circles linking major cities and outposts, or items of [i]sending[/i] to eliminate the need for messengers and troop movements entirely. Also, blacksmiths should be a thing of the past, thanks to [i]fabricate[/i] and [i]wall of iron[/i]. There are many other examples that unfortunately I can't really point to without my books in front of me, but the point is that I've yet to see a setting that factored these peculiarities into the dynamics of the setting. Rather, they seem to make variations on established fantasy that are independent (and sometimes completely contrary to) the gameplay rules that govern the world. In short, I've found that lower magic and a grittier setting not only tend to make for better roleplaying and stories, but they also get rid of many inconsistencies that D&D created by borrowing out of context from fantasy literature. [/QUOTE]
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