D&D 5E D&D Magic: Does it Feel Magical to You?

[Hussar]

Have you considered making them decide quickly? Give them like a count of three to pick the center-point.

That might be one option. But, it tends to be a bit tricky to implement in game.

I wonder if adding a couple of checks to casting area effects might not do the trick. Say an easy, medium, hard caster check for placing the spell. 20 feet is easy, 100 feet is medium and anything over 100 feet is hard. Miss the check and roll a scatter die - 1 square off for short, 2 for medium and 3 for long. That at least makes spell casting less about solving a geometry problem and more about actually playing.

A second caster check might also work to vary the area of effect slightly. Fail the check and the spell (50:50 chance) is either bigger or small than expected. Maybe DC 8+spell level. Add or subtract 5 feet (minimum 5 feet) for every 5 you fail the check by. IMO, this would go a long way towards making magic a little less pedestrian and a lot more exciting.

Then again, perhaps simply going with 4e here and all effects are square. Greatly simplifies the whole issue and stops people from doing the whole, "hey, if we shift the template by 5 degrees, we'll hit all the orcs and not the fighter" dance every time an area spell gets cast. Yeah, yeah, I know, square fireballs and all that. But, it does have its benefits.

 

[Celtavian]

Feels like magic as technology. D&D has always felt like magic as technology. Even in 1st edition and basic, you always picked up a few magic items permanent and disposable every adventure. In 5th edition at least magic items feel magical, at least to me. I've been giving unique magic items to people. Rare ones that last them their entire career. That feels way better than any previous edition which has always had the magic item escalator where you have to keep doling out new more powerful magic items as you level to ensure the players can keep with the enemies. Now I can have a first level player find a +3 sword and it will feel enormously powerful at 1st level and 20th level, yet still be reasonably balanced from 1st level to 20th level. The magic item situation is greatly improved. As far as spellcasting, I like at wills. Fits the type of world that D&D is where magic users as active as warriors and not just seers or powerful supporting characters that show up to save the day with their deus ex machina magic.

I have to say yeah. Magic feels magical. It's just feels like magic as technology rather than magic as this rare, wondrous thing.

 

[Libramarian]

Magic has definitely always been a technology in D&D. I like that it's a technology but the science behind it has been lost. Gives a post-apocalyptic feel to it.

What's dangerous and unpredictable in this scenario is not the magic itself, but what people are willing to do to acquire it.

Of course this requires that magic be kind of rare though.

 

[Jediking]

"First Law:
An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.
Second Law:
The limitations of a magic system are more interesting than its capabilities. What the magic can't do is more interesting than what it can.
Third Law:
Expand on what you have already, before you add something new."
-Brandon Sanderson

Personally I like it when things have some sort of explanation, and when cause follows effect. I don't like hand-waving something away because it's 'magic' and leave it at that. If magic is hard to master, or not fully understood, or has hidden limits that not even the DM knows for sure, I am fine with all of that. But if someone is able to cast Fireball and someone else can't, I want there to be a reason. Years of study, or a magical blood-line, or having the favour of a divine being are reasons enough for me. In 5e I have found that the explanation of the Weave (arcane) or power from the Gods (divine) is enough to explain some parts of magic, but leaves enough wiggle room to still push the boundaries of what can happen and keep things open to mystery and imagination.

 

[krakistophales]

There is a thread going about whether magic is impressive in 5e, and it got me thinking again about magic in D&D. One of the recurring thoughts that I've often had about magic in D&D, across several editions, is "does this feel magical to me?" Frequently, I have to say the answer to that question is "no, it doesn't."

When I think of magic, I often think of candles/bonfires, magical circles, ritual sacrifice, materials of sympathetic or antipathetic significance, cauldrons, invocations of powerful beings/patrons, multiple casters working together on a single spell, ritual chants and/or dances (or other performance), and other things that take substantially more time and are much more involved than the magic we typically see in D&D.

Naturally, people are going to have different perspectives on what feels magical, and I'm not saying that I think D&D should cater to my preference here more than anyone else's. But, it did set me to wondering how you (my fellow DMs and players) would answer the question "does D&D's magic feel magical to you?"

So, I put the question to you, does D&D's magic feel magical to you? If it does, what is it about D&D's magic that appeals to your concept of what feels magical? If it does not, what are the areas where you find it not appealing to your concept of what feels magical?

Edit:
Please bear in mind that there is a separate thread for discussing how rare/commonplace magic is or should be in D&D. I fully acknowledge that rarity might be part of your concept of magic and that it might impact whether D&D magic feels magical to you. I have no intention or desire to stifle that expression. However, in the interest of not having duplicate threads about the prevalence of magic I would like to respectfully request that you focus on issues other than rarity in this thread. If rarity is relevant to you, by all means mention it, but please (for the sake of not having the same discussion in two different threads) don't make it the bulk of your post.

First, let me say that everyone has their own definition of how high or low powered magic should be. By this I mean that some people believe that magic is super esoteric, hush hush knowledge that requires salt circles, mixing herbs into poultices, magic circles, sacrifices, etc., which is one extreme of the spectrum, while others believe that d and d's magic is weird with the whole vancian cast and forget system isn't magical enough.

I myself fall into the extreme of the spectrum that would most closely resemble video game/anime magic. What I mean by this is I feel that the very idea of material component requirements for spells is ridiculous, that wizards require books or that certain classes have to prepare spells is nonsense, and that magic should follow a more traditional MP system.

When I envision a wizard/sorcerer/mage/caster in general, I feel that, regardless of how they arrived at their ability to use magic, the fact that they would require books and preparation is nonsense and underpowered. Sure, big time spells like magic circles, teleporting entire armies/structures/etc can require time and preparation, however truly powerful magic users should be able to cast meteor swarm more than once a day, and simple things like shooting lightning bolts/flying/teleporting/etc. should be commonplace for high level casters.

Then again, I'm sure my version of it isn't popular, and most people would think it's OP, but whatevs.

At the end of the day, it comes down to what you feel is the appropriate magic level for your campaign. However, let me give you the skinny of it: Does D and D feel magical to me? Yes. Sufficiently so? No.

 

[ad_hoc]

In our last session a PC turned into a bear.

A bear!

 

[wedgeski]

I think my preconception of magic *is* D&D. I started roleplaying a little before I began to read significant amounts of fantasy, so this isn't surprising.

I would say that yes, perhaps there is too much magic flying around in an average game of 5E, but also yes, D&D magic does feel wondrous. You can easily reinforce this using both the environment, the reactions of the NPC's, and the effect that the PC's have on the world around them.

 

[delericho]

Does D&D magic feel magical to me? No, not especially.

However, I'm not sure I'd enjoy a game where it did feel magical. The problem being that the need to model magic in game mechanics, and especially if it is to be in the hands of PCs, it needs to be fairly consistent and well defined - and "consistent and well defined" is pretty much the opposite of something that feels magical.

 

[Uchawi]

I never felt D&D was a good representation of magic overall, but one thing 5E lacks on all fronts is depth. So from a D&D perspective, there is not enough detail in regards to making magic items, expanding ritual use, or letting non-magic using classes to create magic, e.g. smiths.

 

[empireofchaos]

D&D magic is certainly not C&S-style, or Nephilim-style Hermetic magick. With a "k". And I (along with others here, evidently) do miss the mystical aspect of magic in the game, especially if the style of game is Historical Fantasy or something along those lines.

But of course, magick doesn't need to have a "k" in it. Some have mentioned being comfortable with video-gamey magic. Even if you look at more traditional sources, like myth or fairy tales, the magic they describe would fit the D&D system much better than some sort of ritual-based, subtle system. The magic of myth and folklore is much more immediate and dramatic, and unconcerned about "price" and paradox effects (at least not in the short term). I've actually begun to move toward this kind of game, because I think it captures the 5e rules much better than the low magic/historical fantasy style I used to prefer.