Quick Question: Wizard from D&D transports to our world. Can they still do magic?

[a-d]

I'm toying with the idea of a story where someone is pulled from their world (D&D) to another and after reading about the Weave in Forgotten realms am worried they would lose the ability to use magic.

Ignoring the massive hand waving ability I'd have as the Author or GM, would magic users technically be unable to use magic on a world outside the D&D planes even if the worlds in question weren't covered in some version of active resistance such as an anti-magic field?
Is the Weave limitation limited to the Forgotten Realms Universe?

The Weave: From the Forgotten Realms Universe.
A connection between magical practitioners and magic itself like the circuit connecting a light bulb to the battery. Maybe even more.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

It's your campaign. Make it the way you want it! There's nothing preventing you from having it come out any way you prefer.

Otherwise it's kind of like asking who wins in a fight between the Battlestar Galactica and an Imperial Star Destroyer -- an interesting but ultimately meaningless discussion built on incompatible assumptions.

 

[Greenfield]

Crucial point: Who's the DM?

Key question: How did said Wizard transport to this world?

As a general note on planar travel: The Manual of the Planes and the Planar Handbook, as well as the DMG section on Anti-Magic, all agree that there are places, entire worlds even, where magic simply doesn't work. The only access is through naturally occurring portals.

So the rules support entire worlds, like ours, where magical and supernatural abilities simply don't function.

So, if the Wiz transported here/there via a magical ability such as Gate or Plane Shift, that would imply that those spells can access this plane, and thus magic works, at least to some degree. If the world you transport to doesn't allow for magic at all, you can't transport into it via magical means.

If the transport is via a naturally occurring portal, then all bets are off. At that point it's up to your DM.

 

[a-d]

I'd be the GM, and the setting is the book series/manga/anime Zero no Tsukaima, perhaps better known as The Familiar of Zero.
Brought on by all the stories on Spacebattles.com written using the setting.

The characters would arrive through a summoning ritual which is probably as you mentioned a version of the Gate spell.
The world they'd be in has Mages and Commoners, those who can do magic and those who can't, which either makes the worlds Mage's a blended version of Sorcerer Wizards who don't know how to go straight Wizard, that somebody is suppressing the straight Wizard option to maintain the status qou, or the world lacks the connection between magic users and magical power which the Weave is supposed to act as.

If the Weave was more than just a requirement for one universe (Forgotten Realms.) and was actually a core piece of generally ignored fluff due to "Why would I need to tell you the sky is blue?" Then it would either mean the world's Mages either used something other than magic as it's understood, or they're born with the interface in their bodies to bypass the Weave's absence.

 

[the Jester]

According to the City Beyond the Gate, an adventure in Dragon 100, magic-users on Earth are limited, their powers weakened.

 

[The Human Target]

Do what you want.

The idea hat you shouldn't or can't is crazy.

Even if there was a rule.

 

[Ahnehnois]

As others have said, there is no definitive answer and it depends on setting and campaign.

I would say that arcane magic depends on tapping into some external source of power. I would also say that in the real world, a source of power like that does not exist. So I would say that magic does not work.

But it's a game, so either way can work.

 

[Wangalade]

yes, to an extent, it's really up to you. would they be transported to real world middle ages, where they would be some kind of witch, or would they be transported to real world modern day, where they would have supernatural abilities?

from my understanding of the original conception of planes and stuff, the prime material plane should include all settings, including earth, mystara, forgotten realms, eberron, dragonlance, etc. Except of course for those that are explicitly in a different or multiple planes like planescape. just because a game is in a different setting, doesn't mean it is in a different plane of existence. the prime plane is like the universe as we know it with no boundaries, constantly expanding, numberless galaxies, stars, and planets. if I remember correctly, blackmoor had high technology due to a crashed alien ship? I have had similar scenarios where characters from one game will be introduced in another, some got there by spaceship, others by magic. just because people of a certain culture/setting explain the world/why things work a certain way differently doesn't mean, they are in different planes and that the rules change. that is why so many settings are possible! the rules(dnd) stay the same because they are in the same plane of existence.

 

[delericho]

It's up to you, but whatever you choose the SRD (or DMG or MotP) has you covered. In the description of the Planes there's a section for Magic Traits. This gives several options, of which the most relevant are:

Impeded Magic: when casting a spell you must make a Spellcraft check or the spell fails.

Limited Magic: some spells just don't work. (This can, of course, be combined with the above.)

Dead Magic: treat the entire plane as being under an antimagic field.

There's obviously no definitive answer as regards our world, so just pick the option(s) that work best for you.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

What level mage? Does Earth have a thaumic field? (Aka background magic field/radiation)

Athas, the setting of Dark Sun, does not have a thaumic field, but arcane spellcasters there can burn plants for magic. Presumably any wizard from another world couldn't immediately use magic, but would learn how to burn plants, and without specialized training would probably become defilers.

If Earth doesn't have a thaumic field, magic might be impossible.

Assuming magic is possible, many spell components wouldn't be available, or at least would requite the wizard to learn much about Earth. (For instance, a wizard isn't likely to find a cave to get bat guano nearby, and probably can't find stores to buy it, but maybe you can buy it off the internet. Teleportation doesn't cost material components, so the wizard might be able to locate a cave on the internet or a map and teleport there.) If this was 4e, casting would be easier, but good luck performing rituals of any kind!

I never got to run Dark Matter for long, but I always thought of a division between old-fashioned Hermetic magic and new-fangled techno magic. The former is very much like D&D and there aren't spells specifically designed to influence the modern world. (You could cast Magic Weapon on your firearm just like you could on a bow, but there's no Hermetic spells that let you jam someone's cell phone.)

Techno magic would let you do that, or even create e-mail bombs (literal bombs, there's a spell like that in d20 Modern) but is more limited in many traditional departments. (You couldn't use it to fly, or transmute elements.)