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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SHARK" data-source="post: 918262" data-attributes="member: 1131">Greetings!Ash--Thanks there friend! "High Magic" campaigns are great! They offer unequalled freedom, and a dizzying array of options and choices that quite simply, "Low Magic" by its very nature, precludes. In many ways, "High Magic" expands, adds, grows, and is about many different choices, for both the DM and the player characters. In contrast, "Low Magic" is almost by definition, the precise opposite of "High Magic". Low Magic is all about tight control, restrictions, reducing and narrowing of options and choices--whether it is about races available, magic items, spells, and so on. That doesn't make it bad--but it also doesn't make "Low Magic" definitively superior to "High Magic". What is often implied by many--though not all--"Low Magic" advocates is that really mature, cool, sophisticated campaigns are "Low Magic" while "High Magic" is relegated to the immature, power-gaming munchkins. That assumption, I believe, just isn't true. It's important to remember that "High Magic" campaigns can be entirely mature, gritty, exciting, and engaging games to play in.Joshua: Hey there! Good to see you! Indeed, your "Low Magic" campaign isn't inferior at all. You might also remember that my favorite authors are Tolkein and Howard, and that my gaming with the Warhammer system has a powerful influence on my current D&D campaigns. So--we share the same love for the same great authors! In addition, I agree that the base D&D rules make running campaigns that simulate Tolkein and Howard difficult to say the least.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Cthulhu is, of course, also very cool.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I don't think that Dragonblade had you in mind especially, Joshua, or implying that your campaign is somehow inferior. I'm not saying that necessarily at all, either.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I think, rather, that Dragonblade's comments and the context of them, is that he is responding to the widely popular "Low Magic" advocates that essentially turn everything you are saying around and apply it to "High Magic" campaigns. I think you would agree that many people routinely characterize "High Magic" campaigns in such manner--(immature, simplistic, power-gaming munchkins!) and such. Dragonblade, I think, is responding to such routine critiques and expositions against "High Magic" in that context.Thankyou as well, Joshua, for the greetings and your confidence.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I remember well how frustrated Dragonblade was with "Low Magic" D&D, to the point where he was despairing of playing anymore. Fortunately, without sounding too prideful, (wink)--after I talked with him, and he joined my campaigns, it has really made D&D fun for Dragonblade again. He has seen how "High Magic" high-level campaigns can be, and how much fun that you can have with them. Indeed, maybe I'm the odd one, in that I run a very unusual campaign that doesn't subscribe to many of the problems with "High Magic" that many have experienced, so that Dragonblade's experience with me isn't really the norm, and to that, I think it is unfortunate that so many people who run "High Magic" campaigns do so poorly. Maybe that's it. But I also think that while I may be unusual, there are others out there that also run fantastic "High Magic" campaigns that are great, too. Really good "High Magic" campaigns don't get enough credit for the brilliant, fun campaigns that they are, while "Low Magic" campaigns are routinely heralded as the greatest thing since sliced bread, you know? Then, they often proceed to denigrate "High Magic" to boot, and that can get frustrating, and disappointing, especially if you are fortunate enough to play or run a great "High Magic" campaign. Your personal experience tells you that the preconceptions that high-magic critics often operate under are just wrong, and don't apply, or they don't *have to*. Do you see what I'm saying?Furthermore, how many times do you hear people complaining and talking about how "Low Magic" just sucks, and here's why? Then, proceeding into long discussions about not only the problems of "Low Magic" campaigns, but also discussing the " immature, unimaginative, control-freak" people who play and run such campaigns? I mean, really--it seems like these kinds of discussions critiquing "High Magic" and those who play in them--are very frequently encountered, with few people or discussions defending "High Magic" style campaigns. Do you see what I'm saying?<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> What do you think Joshua?Semper Fidelis,SHARK</blockquote>

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