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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stalker0" data-source="post: 8691201" data-attributes="member: 5889">Ultimately the notion of spellcasting in dnd is a mechanic problem....that has a lot of complexities.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We want magic to be strong and interesting</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We want to allow non-magic characters to balance with magic characters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We want magic and non-magic characters to work on heavy encounter and light encounter days.</li> </ul>Doing all of these elements well is quite difficult. For example, this notion of balance between magic and non-magic characters is not a thing in all systems. One of the reasons Ars Magica has such a flexible magic system is....everyone is a mage. You have bodyguards and non-magical assistants, but mages are straight up better than anyone else, and PCs are expected to be mages. Magic is simply better. This is LOTR, Gandalf is just better than other characters, magic is just better.Also the notion that magic is strong (but balanced) demands that there is a certain amount of restriction in its use. Whether that's spell slots or you take damage each time you use it or XYZ, there is a notion that magic cannot be unlimited and strong. Again, that's not required. You could use the paradigm that "magic is unlimited but weak". For example, a wizard could actually be your jack of all trades. Magic can do anything....but not well. A wizard can pick a lock with magic....but never as good as a rogue. A wizard can blast a creature with magic, but never as well as a fighter. A wizard can create any structure, but never as well as a trained craftsman. That is a valid idea, it's just not how Dnd has traditionally gone.I think the issue that often lingers with dnd is the "downtime problem". The system has often worked on balancing magic and mundane within encounters and combat....its where a lot of the rules effort goes, and I think the balance there is pretty good most of the time. But once you get into downtime, the balances changes a lot. Suddenly a wizard without time constraints could cast a given spell 50 times over a week....and that creates some huge impacts if its unchecked. Often this is when I see the problem of magic vs mundane really come into play. Yeah the fighters and the mages both contribute to combat, but in the two days before the adventure starts, when the DM is just working with the mage on their diviniations and their scrying and what buffs they want to precast..... the caster gets a tremendous amount of personal spotlight time as compared to the fighter. That is the time I think the imbalance is truly "felt"</blockquote>

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