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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 1917116" data-attributes="member: 1106">Yes, very plausible.  But when you begin to go down that path, all sorts of other questions can be raised as to why such and such else magitech hasn't been invented, or why magic hasn't been used in this way.You may have no trouble going down this path a bit, might even think it logical to do so.  I say that doing so destroys suspension of disbelief, because if X (magical trains), why not Y (magical jet aircraft) and Z (magical burrowing machines).  It also does a very good job of destroying the mythical and medieval flavour that D&D leans on for "mythic resonance".  Don't underestimate the power of this either - there are good thematic reasons why the game has magic wands rather than magic machine guns, and magic carpets rather than magic jetpacks.Not following the repercussions of magic on a fantasy society doesn't make sense, but it's the lesser of two evils, IMO.  While you're at it, why not explore the ramifications of having a world full of monsters, or how a lone 20th level fighter could route entire armies (assuming he could avoid being grappled)?Ramifications of magic is no less silly than following through on these examples, but because it's an area of interest to people, it gets experimented with more - it's pulling the curtain on the Wizard of Oz, and personally, I'd really rather he be left alone to do his thing.  YMMV.Having said that, there's definitely room for the odd anachronism - I just think it's less good to go prime time with it without good justification (e.g. Athas is weird, psionics is weird, so a good match).  For instance, Trobriand and his magic clockwork creations sequestered down in Undermountain is quite cool, IMO, but magical robots as a common PC race is uncalled for, IMO.</blockquote>

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