Rare magic and godlike sorcerers — settings?

[jdrakeh]

Rare magic and godlike sorcerers — settings?

Are there any Fantasy RPG settings that portray magic (i.e., casting spells) as an uncommon thing and those who wield magic as mysterious, godlike, Beings? Frex, in Middle Earth a reader can count those with the ability to wield sorcerous magic on one hand, while in Mithgar, the Magi are a race of people whose numbers dwindled to nearly nothing long ago.

I know that Ars Magica portrays magic like this, though it is less a Fantasy setting than it is an alt-history setting. Some D&D settings play at magic being a rare thing, though the very idea that a "1st Level Magic-User" of any kind exists makes it clear that magic is anything but rare. So, how 'bout it? Are there any settings that make magic. . . er. . . magical?

 

[Starfox]

If you find such a setting, make sure you either allow all your players to be sorcerers - or none of them. Flagging sorcerers as superior, and then only letting some players play them, is very unfair.

That said, Pendragon has epic sorcerers like Merlin and Nineve - and no magic system whatsoever. PCs don't have magic, and the GM can do whatever he likes with magic.

 

[jdrakeh]

If you find such a setting, make sure you either allow all your players to be sorcerers - or none of them. Flagging sorcerers as superior, and then only letting some players play them, is very unfair.

Yep. I'm aware of that. I figured the idea would be to let all of the PCs play sorcerers (if they want to). Or maybe use a rotating 'troupe' setup like Ars Magica. I mean, yeah, I could technically do this in D&D by simply letting the PCs start play at some insanely high level, but no D&D setting that I know of really portrays magic in the aforementioned manner.

That said, Pendragon has epic sorcerers like Merlin and Nineve - and no magic system whatsoever. PCs don't have magic, and the GM can do whatever he likes with magic.

I'm aware of Pendragon and other games like it, but I am not looking for that kind of design. There are several settings that pull a similar trick by giving NPCs access to spells that PCs can never gain, either because they were 'designed' by that NPC or because they are some kind of old, forgotten, magic that only Mary Sues can tap into. I hate all of that

 

[evilgenius8000]

Dark Sun- magic-users are powerful and very dangerous... and also hated by everyone else, mostly because their magic comes from sapping the life-force of living things. Wizards are largely responsible for Athas being mostly a giant desert. Here's more info http://athas.org/products/ds3

 

[StormingMarcus]

Black Company by Green Ronin has the world dominated by god-like mages.

 

[Qenymin]

Well, there's Mage: the Ascension from the old World of Darkness. It's modern-day, after a fashion. Mages can do really amazing things, but most of the time it's not flashy; the consensual reality doesn't like that, and they want to stay hidden.

The magic system is all kinds of powerful and flexible, though.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Actually, in Pendragon 4th edition (my favourite), PCs (of certain kinds) can use magic. Powerful magic, at that.

But I'll have to think your question over some more, to see if there's something else that seems appropriate.

 

[Wombat]

No problem -- very minor retool of Ars Magica -- simply remove the Code of Hermes, the Church and the social restraints of the Gift.

At that point there would be no contraints on the magi and they would rule everything in a New York minute...

 

[Yair]

Are there any Fantasy RPG settings that portray magic (i.e., casting spells) as an uncommon thing and those who wield magic as mysterious, godlike, Beings? Frex, in Middle Earth a reader can count those with the ability to wield sorcerous magic on one hand, while in Mithgar, the Magi are a race of people whose numbers dwindled to nearly nothing long ago.

I know that Ars Magica portrays magic like this, though it is less a Fantasy setting than it is an alt-history setting. Some D&D settings play at magic being a rare thing, though the very idea that a "1st Level Magic-User" of any kind exists makes it clear that magic is anything but rare. So, how 'bout it? Are there any settings that make magic. . . er. . . magical?

So, er... what's wrong with Ars Magica?

Now, as I see it core ArM does not protray magic as rare enough to fit your description. But altering the frequency of magi (and other magically-capable humans) is an easy change. It's very easy to make Mythic Europe into a Points of Light and/or High Fantasy setting. (The current edition, ArM5, supports High Fantasy pretty well, too.)

I would not lower the social effects of the Gift, as these effects help to distance the magi from society. Removing the Code will likewise make the magi less mysterious and strange, so I won't. I will instead enforce the Code rather rigidly, but with corrupt Quaesitors, and with the prime motivation being a few powerful saints and angels that inevitably show up if magi mess with mundane society. I will also make magi rarer than they currently are (about 1500 across Mythic Europe, in the official canon, I think).

One day, I'm gonna run a companion-only campaign in such a dark Mythic Europe. For once, I'm gonna have characters use their wits and stretch themselves instead of using their god-like magical powers to solve their problems.

 

[Roman]

Are there any Fantasy RPG settings that portray magic (i.e., casting spells) as an uncommon thing and those who wield magic as mysterious, godlike, Beings? Frex, in Middle Earth a reader can count those with the ability to wield sorcerous magic on one hand, while in Mithgar, the Magi are a race of people whose numbers dwindled to nearly nothing long ago.

I know that Ars Magica portrays magic like this, though it is less a Fantasy setting than it is an alt-history setting. Some D&D settings play at magic being a rare thing, though the very idea that a "1st Level Magic-User" of any kind exists makes it clear that magic is anything but rare. So, how 'bout it? Are there any settings that make magic. . . er. . . magical?

Dark Sun! The worshipped god-like being are even called sorcerer kings! Back in 2E they were wizards rather than sorcerers, since sorcerers were not available as a class, but using 3.X rules, you could make them both.