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What is "grim and gritty" and "low magic" anyway?
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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 1422579" data-attributes="member: 15999"><p>What stopped Japan - which chose to avoid the use of firearms in warfare - from being overrun by European nations in the 1700's? Distance, among other factors. </p><p></p><p>Keep in mind, GodKingJay's post had a campaign world where NPC characters of over 9th level were quite rare (so teleporting entire armies is not an issue). And the various continents were far apart. PCs have the financial resources for long-distance travel and may get to encounter the various cultures, but normally the various cultures won't directly interact much (except through traders). Or, one other possibility that I listed was the magic-restraining nations having no such taboo regarding magic use against outsiders. Or maybe the wizards are only forbidden to use magic against mundane opponents.</p><p></p><p>In terms of a single wizard or a small band teleporting into the magic-restraining lands and trying to take over - maybe that's where the PCs come in. Or maybe the "restrained" wizards band together to eliminate this threat without bringing armies into the equation. Or maybe the continent's god of magic - the same one who forces mages to take the vow - also plays havoc with the magic of outsider wizards who haven't taken the vow.</p><p></p><p>Yes, my examples are "arbitrary" in the sense that they involve the DM making up something to make his game work the way he wants it to, but what isn't? If you want your setting to look a certain way and have internal consistency, you *have* to make some "arbitrary" determinations. Every setting has them. The key is making them flavorful and creative (which I am glad you think I have done) and providing a sound basis for game world consistency. Also, the barriers I suggested? They don't have to be real. Maybe casting fireball *doesn't* bring Surtur closer to the Prime, but the greatest sages are mostly in agreement on the fact that it does. History is full of people believing stuff that isn't true and reacting accordingly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 1422579, member: 15999"] What stopped Japan - which chose to avoid the use of firearms in warfare - from being overrun by European nations in the 1700's? Distance, among other factors. Keep in mind, GodKingJay's post had a campaign world where NPC characters of over 9th level were quite rare (so teleporting entire armies is not an issue). And the various continents were far apart. PCs have the financial resources for long-distance travel and may get to encounter the various cultures, but normally the various cultures won't directly interact much (except through traders). Or, one other possibility that I listed was the magic-restraining nations having no such taboo regarding magic use against outsiders. Or maybe the wizards are only forbidden to use magic against mundane opponents. In terms of a single wizard or a small band teleporting into the magic-restraining lands and trying to take over - maybe that's where the PCs come in. Or maybe the "restrained" wizards band together to eliminate this threat without bringing armies into the equation. Or maybe the continent's god of magic - the same one who forces mages to take the vow - also plays havoc with the magic of outsider wizards who haven't taken the vow. Yes, my examples are "arbitrary" in the sense that they involve the DM making up something to make his game work the way he wants it to, but what isn't? If you want your setting to look a certain way and have internal consistency, you *have* to make some "arbitrary" determinations. Every setting has them. The key is making them flavorful and creative (which I am glad you think I have done) and providing a sound basis for game world consistency. Also, the barriers I suggested? They don't have to be real. Maybe casting fireball *doesn't* bring Surtur closer to the Prime, but the greatest sages are mostly in agreement on the fact that it does. History is full of people believing stuff that isn't true and reacting accordingly. [/QUOTE]
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