jgsugden
Legend
Think about most magic and you'll realize it is pretty creepy stuff.
Charm person, dominate person, suggestion - you're effectively drugging someone. Scrying is peeking at someone, usually without permission. Spells that frighten a target are emotional trauma. Playing with dead bodies? Misleading people with illusions is bad enough, but how about a Phantasmal Force that convinces a person that the person they love most is killing them.
There are a lot of places in my campaign world where using magic on a citizen of the country without informed consent is a capital crime, whether it is a friends spell, a levitate spell, or a healing word. There are a few places where any magic used by someone not licensed to do so is a capital crime, even if you're casting magic on yourself. [Those areas tend to not be places where I base campaigns, but tend to be places they visit for a short period.] Then there are a lot of places where magic is not regulated, and is used by those with power to get their way.
You've got to figure out these boundaries and set them up in your world, and I suggest being attentive to the view of your players when working it out.
Charm person, dominate person, suggestion - you're effectively drugging someone. Scrying is peeking at someone, usually without permission. Spells that frighten a target are emotional trauma. Playing with dead bodies? Misleading people with illusions is bad enough, but how about a Phantasmal Force that convinces a person that the person they love most is killing them.
There are a lot of places in my campaign world where using magic on a citizen of the country without informed consent is a capital crime, whether it is a friends spell, a levitate spell, or a healing word. There are a few places where any magic used by someone not licensed to do so is a capital crime, even if you're casting magic on yourself. [Those areas tend to not be places where I base campaigns, but tend to be places they visit for a short period.] Then there are a lot of places where magic is not regulated, and is used by those with power to get their way.
You've got to figure out these boundaries and set them up in your world, and I suggest being attentive to the view of your players when working it out.