D&D 5E Wild Speculation: Athas, the World Without Dragons

[Minigiant]

Well, the real truth is that Athas is Earth in a few thousand years, and the Sorcerer Kings true names are Bezosorax, Zuckerbergios, and Muskovar.

That's silly.
Andriods can't casts spells.

 

[Charlaquin]

I like the idea @Charlaquin Athas has no dragons of its own and this leaves a void in the souls of the people there including an absence of Magic.

Rajat created a false approximation of Magic, just like the end result of this was a false approximation of a dragon.

Interestingly there were dragons in Athas other than sorcerer kings. The adventure Black Sands features one such individual.

This interpretation fits very cleanly into the First World framing device. If they do try to tie Dark Sun in, this seems like a very likely way for them to go with it.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Having Dragons "Tied to the Prime Material Plane" like outsiders are to their planes is just so, so, myopically bad.

Why?

 

[Steampunkette]

Why?

Because angels don't do the hanky panky to make more angels. Neither do demons doink to make baby demons.

They just -exist-. In every heaven, every hell, across the multiverse.

So now every Prime Material World also has D&D Chromatic, Metallic, Gemstone, Etc dragons.

It's part of a continued homogenization of D&D worlds. They -all- have the Weave. They -all- have the same cosmology. They -all- have the same dragons. It's frustrating for someone who wants things that are distinct and separate.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Because angels don't do the hanky panky to make more angels. Neither do demons doink to make baby demons.

They just -exist-. In every heaven, every hell, across the multiverse.

So now every Prime Material World also has D&D Chromatic, Metallic, Gemstone, Etc dragons.

It's part of a continued homogenization of D&D worlds. They -all- have the Weave. They -all- have the same cosmology. They -all- have the same dragons. It's frustrating for someone who wants things that are distinct and separate.

Demons can reproduce as can Angels.
Most D&D worlds do have the standard Dragons with but a few exceptions. Also the Weave is not in all worlds.

 

[Steampunkette]

Demons can reproduce as can Angels.
Most D&D worlds do have the standard Dragons with but a few exceptions. Also the Weave is not in all worlds.

Oh, they -can-... But they didn't start out as amoeba and evolve into Angels is the thrust of where I'm going, here. They just -exist-. And so do dragons.

And the Weave is core D&D Canon. It's in the PHB, not the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. It is how alllll the magic classes function.

There's no Divine Magic. No Arcane Magic. No Nature Magic. Just the Weave. Everything else is trimmings on how you access it.

And I -despise- it... which is why the setting I'm creating explicitly has different types of magic and no Weave.

 

[Scribe]

Oh, they -can-... But they didn't start out as amoeba and evolve into Angels is the thrust of where I'm going, here. They just -exist-. And so do dragons.

And the Weave is core D&D Canon. It's in the PHB, not the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. It is how alllll the magic classes function.

There's no Divine Magic. No Arcane Magic. No Nature Magic. Just the Weave. Everything else is trimmings on how you access it.

And I -despise- it... which is why the setting I'm creating explicitly has different types of magic and no Weave.

I'd be absolutely stunned if that survives after the 5.5 printing.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Oh, they -can-... But they didn't start out as amoeba and evolve into Angels is the thrust of where I'm going, here. They just -exist-. And so do dragons.

And the Weave is core D&D Canon. It's in the PHB, not the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. It is how alllll the magic classes function.

There's no Divine Magic. No Arcane Magic. No Nature Magic. Just the Weave. Everything else is trimmings on how you access it.

And I -despise- it... which is why the setting I'm creating explicitly has different types of magic and no Weave.

Divine and Arcane magic are explicitly called out in the PHB as well. As well as this

The spellcasters of the Forgotten Realms call it the Weave and recognize its essence as the goddess Mystra, but casters have varied ways of naming and visualizing this interface

The weave is just one name for the source of magic.

 

[Steampunkette]

Divine and Arcane magic are explicitly called out in the PHB as well. As well as this

The weave is just one name for the source of magic.

Therein lies the problem: THE SOURCE. Not A Source. Not a way to do magic. It's -the- source. The one. The only. Source.

Dan Dillon, D&D 5e Game Designer, states that even -psionics- is just a different way to manipulate the Weave. That Arcane and Divine "Magic" are just different ways to harness the Weave.

That is homogenous AF. It waters down the differences to make a single brown-grey mush that I disdain with all my little heart.

 

[Steampunkette]

You've got Wizards, who learn how to manipulate the weave directly.
Psionicists, who realize there is no spoon and thus access the weave directly.
Sorcerers who are made of the weave.
Clerics who are apparently too ignorant to actually harness magic, themselves, but fortunately they can beg -really- well and someone else does on their behalf.
Warlocks didn't wanna study or beg so they made a trade for magic.
And Druids. Honestly I've got no idea how they're supposed to be interacting with the weave. Naturally, I suppose.

And one Wizard Spell shuts off -all- magic. The GODS cannot cast magic into an Antimagic Zone. The freaking GODS. Shuts down Vecna -instantly-. Correlon? No magic for you! Mystra? Nuh huh, even though MAGIC IS HERS IN THE FORGOTTEN REALMS...

She can't cast a spell inside the Antimagic Zone 'cause the Weave breaks.

It's -so- bad... It's -so- limiting from a narrative perspective.