Greetings!
Heh!
. It seems that my friend Dragonblade has started quite discussion here! It's an interesting view into different people's motivations, styles, and perspectives. I actually like "gritty" games, but games that tend to be "High Magic" as opposed to "Low Magic". Then again, as my friend mmadsen discussed, the very definitions of "High Magic" and "Low Magic" really need to be examined, because different people mean different things when they use the terms. Very different, and entirely so. I think that is important.
For starters, lets talk about the "ubiquitousness" of magic in D&D. I imagine that the rules do seem to embrace this notion in a default sort of way. This fact seems to be something that many people dislike--the notion that magic can be bought at magic shops at every street corner, and that everyone has +1 everything, and that characters casually upgrade all of their armor, weapons, and equipment at neat little intervals, climbing up the tree of magic items, going from +1 to +2, +3, and so on, ad infinitum ad nauseum.
I can agree--this dynamic drains much of the mystery out of magic items completely. It also contributes to the game being more video-game like, but then again, D&D has had this problem from the beginning, say back in the late 1970's and early 80's--when video games were far less popular, or available. I can remember players climbing the magic item tree way back then, so the dynamic--and the attitude imposition that it makes on campaigns--has been a long-standing problem.
Anyways, back to the issue at hand. The "Ubiquitousness" of magic. In "High Magic" campaigns, though, magic doesn't have to "ubiquitous" in this manner. In my own campaigns, for example, just because player characters, and the military and knight-orders have access to different magic items, it doesn't mean that such magic items are available to everyone in the general populace. I also don't have "magic shops"--I can't stand them, for the salient reasons mentioned.
I suppose I can use another of my campaigns as an example--specifically the epic-level campaign that Dragonblade plays in. Many of you may recall the thread I had about "Defending a Mountain Fortress" where the players were in charge of a powerful army and given the task of conquering this huge enchanted fortress. The player characters all have characters that are between 30th and 60th level. In addition, the player characters have their own entourages of elite bodyguards and henchmen, often between 15th and 30th level themselves. The group successfully conquered the enchanted fortress, but have encountered a new set of challenges and problems, as follows:
(1) Mallenar has counter-attacked, with several important cities to the north and west either captured or under siege.
(2) The strategic theater itself is seriously threatened--in the Vandor Mountains, a powerful force of evil giants, supported by several groups of very powerful, evil adventurers, and several evil dragons have attacked and shut down the imperial road that leads through the mountains and into the land of Galleran beyond...this has had the effect of restricting Vallorean strategic operations severely. Only small, focused, tactical operations are realistic options. This has had the effect of putting the Valloreans on the "Strategic Defensive"--and have thus eliminated any major strategic offensives. The Valloreans are forced to conserve their forces and resources. This has also in turn resulted in the Galleran forces having a distinctly "freer" hand in launching and maintaining operations throughout the countryside and in areas that are more distant and rural. This has also forced the Valloreans to make difficult choices in what area gets defended, and what doesn't...
(3) The powerful Deathknight, Lord Gareth, has been leading a company of vampires and Deathbringers deep behind Vallorean lines, where he has established several bases of vampire terrorists and cultists, all working to unravel the Vallorean reign.
(4) After escaping from the defeat at the Mountain Fortress, Lord Azurukin has been kept busy by his lord and master, King Mallenar. Lord Azurukin managed to infiltrate the capital of the province of Upper Galleran, and assassinate the Vallorean Lord-General and most of his entourage. Azurukin then organized a ring of spies and assassins throughout the city, before leaving. Azurukin then followed up by quickly leading an army to besiege the great city. The Vallorean defenses are weakened, and suspicious of many of the new soldiers and commanders arriving in the city--the Valloreans cannot be sure of who is loyal, and who is not. Azurukin also dominated an important Galleran commander who was working with the Valloreans, as well as a regiment of Galleran troops--they proceeded to betray several Vallorean companies by ambushing and slaughtering them in a local operation. Though the Valloreans responded decisively, the bonds of trust between Galleran people who claim to be friends have been seriously eroded. Many Vallorean commanders overreacted and were responsible for several atrocities that have since been made public knowledge--with the results that the cults and groups opposing Vallorea have recieved many new recruits...
(5) A strange, magical disease has been sweeping through the areas of the province of Lower Galleran where there are large populations of Harthak immigrants, who have been suffering many dead and sick Harthak from the terrible plague.
(6) The player characters have recieved several new legions, and have some personality conflicts with several of the commanders and officers. In addition, the legions they have recieved have demonstrated a decline in training and morale.
(7) Various organizations in the Vallorean homeland have organized and have begun to publicly question the official policies of the Vallorean Empire in the prosecution of the war, focusing on the commission of atrocities against Galleran civilians; the increasing casualties of Vallorean troops; the seemingly endless demand that the war is making on Vallorean society and Vallorean people; The advent of several Margallen kingdoms supporting the Gallerans by sending mercenaries, arms and equipment.
(8) The player characters have embarked upon an operation deep into Galleran, searching for the Fortress of the Ebon Flame. The player characters are in contact with the high command, though obviously many new concerns are imposing new demands upon them.
In addition to all of this, various members of the company are involved with church politics, as well as personal relationships and dealing with different political factions within the Vallorean court.
I detail this to point out that little of these aspects, missions, relationships, and demands have much relation to what "+10 sword of death" that some player character fighter or paladin has, or whatever Staff of Power that a player character wizard may have. In truth, while the players greatly enjoy having various cool and powerful magic items, the real drive and focus of the campaign and what the players do has very little relation to whatever magic goody that their character may possess.
I say this to make note that "High Magic" can, and should, be every bit as character and plot driven as any "Low Magic" campaign. In a good "High Magic" campaign, the stories are *about* the characters, and their struggles in the world around them--not about their +10 swords of uber destruction.
As I discussed above--these problems are all about character driven things--as well as religion, politics, and philosophy, and the struggle between Good vs Evil--both outside the characters, and within. Every day, in every challenge, the player characters have to think about the broader struggle involved, and their own personal struggles, temptations, and decisions, all of which must be struggled with and dealt with--entirely irrespective of whatever magic items the characters may or may not have. Even the spell selections that are available, while important, fun, and cool--are still secondary to *WHO THE CHARACTERS ARE, AS PEOPLE* and not what items they have, or spells they can cast. If the player characters are tuned in to what is going on, and conscious of how their characters can make a difference, and the best way to actually do that, then whatever items or spells they have aren't going to save them, or win the day.
Do you see what I'm saying? Items and spells are important tools within the game--but the story is all about the people. Indeed, though, items and spells are an essential, and integrated aspect of the game, and it seems that to people who like the wonder of "High Magic" that great games can be had while embracing the spells and items that the game makes possible.
Like Dragonblade said, in quoting me, from a mechanical standpoint, +5 Vorpal Holy Avengers are cool. That's what these items are in the rules for--to be used and enjoyed. "Low Magic" for whatever that means, if it means low-powered magic, infrequently encountered, well, that too, can get quite boring. I have played in Warhammer campaigns for example where we went whole campaigns with nothing more than a few of the weakest kind of magic items. The game was fun, to be sure--but as Dragonblade expressed with his own experiences of "Low Magic" D&D, after awhile, it gets really old--and boring. It gets frustrating playing D&D for example, with characters that never get above 10th level, because the DM doesn't want to put the effort into making a more detailed, challenging game; it gets frustrating reading about all of these cool magic items and spells, when, well, why bother? The DM never uses them or lets you use them in the campaign. For all intents and purposes, you could just as well be playing a game of Harn and never know the difference.
It seems that many people are at heart--closet Harnophiles. Nothing wrong with that, but it is important to realise that D&D, especially at higher levels, is a very different kind of game from Harn--which it seems that many people that like "Low Magic" D&D are closely emulating, consciously or not. Another thing to consider, is that in D&D, especially at higher levels of play, the player characters *need* powerful spells and powerful magic items just to survive! Think of dragons, liches, demons, vampires, and so on--if the player characters never have any magic items that are above +2, or enough of them to go around--and they don't have access to powerful magic spells, then those high level powerful evil villains are going to crush the players and the game will be over. Time to roll up new 1st level characters then! Without such items and spells, it makes it difficult for characters to survive at higher level, if they even get there. Which neatly cycles it back around to playing low-level characters, with little power and few options. I always get the feeling that many people would love it if D&D was a game that only advanced characters to 10th level, before starting a new campaign. Essentially, by default, that seems to be what many people in fact do.
However, in my view, if one is going to play characters above 10th level, then one has to realise that the dangers, and the requirements for characters above 10th level or 20th level are distinctly different from lower levels. One cannot carry over into higher level play the same set of assumptions that one embraced with lower level play. The dynamics are simply radically different.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
