D&D spellcasters in the modern world

[Jürgen Hubert]

There is currently a thread going on in the House Rules forum that started with how to put D&D spellcasters (to wit, clerics) into a modern-day setting.

Another poster claimed that it was easy to have the various D&D spellcasters in a modern-day setting without radically changing it, as long as you assume that these spellcasters "have always been around".

I strongly disagree with this one. Just for starters, if you had clear proof of the existence of the divine, and could actually watch a real ressurection on live television, society would be utterly changed.

And the economics of magic also play an important factor. In pseudo-medieval fantasy settings like Forgotten Realms, it is easy just to handwave the effects of the "magic trade" away, and most players will accept it. In a modern-day setting, which is closer to home, most players will want to know why certain industries haven't become obsolete when magic comes into play - and they will certainly use D&D magic to the fullest for their own profit and search for all kinds of loopholes and get-rich-quick schemes...

So, what do you think? If you put D&D-style magic into a modern-day setting, should you work out its impact on society and economics? Or do I simply have problems with adjusting my suspension-of-disbelief filters to a suitable level?

 

[Zappo]

D&D magic in a modern setting is going to rock the society. The only reason the medieval-like society of most fantasy settings stays so is that they have a medieval mindset.

But in 2002, people would immediately get to codifying magic, make spells more efficients, institute academies, train in wizardry everyone who has a modicum of INT, and find applications for each spell in the book. As global market rules get applied to magic, the prices for getting a spell cast will fall down to a tiny fraction of what the DMG says. Most of the spells have no cost for the wizard save the fact that he can only cast a bunch per day. If wizards get into competition, they have room to lower the prices a lot.

The biggest limit is that making any magical item costs XP, which means no mass production. This in turn means that heavy magic will only be available to the rich and to governments. That's still enough to change something big time. Why spy when you can scry? Why bother with chemiotherapy when you can just hand your local cardinal a fat check and have a Heal? And what about the innumerable military applications - a Fireball is 3rd level, about as effective as a rocket, and cheaper. Disintegrate can take out a tank with no save.

Gun control would become an irrelevant issue when Magic Missile is a 1st level spell. Whole parts of the criminal code will have to be rewritten, and trials will become quite a bit more complex. Luckily, we have Detect Thoughts and Zone of Truth - though what would the moral implications of that be? I reckon a whole bunch of spells would be forbidden or require authorization. If we're talking about wizards, that is feasible - just keep the scrolls away from them and you have a decent amount of control. But you really can't prevent a sorcerer from getting magic missile.

 

[boothbey]

Take a look at x-men and the problems mutants have. Think you could expect the same kind of fear and misunderstanding with wizards in a modern magic unsavy world.

Those that agreed to some kind of sanctioned government service would have fewer problems, but I could see moves made to liscense and control the "rogue" wizards that just want to live their lives and be left alone.

That would of course be the end of gaming. Hobby and Comic shops across the country would be staked out looking for wizard sympathizers.

Gamer Underground Railroad...smuggling wizards into Canada!

 

[Jarval]

That would of course be the end of gaming. Hobby and Comic shops across the country would be staked out looking for wizard sympathizers.

Gamer Underground Railroad...smuggling wizards into Canada!

Consider that idea taken for use in my d20 Modern game

 

[Crothian]

THen, there is the power of Illusion. I create an illusion of Bob breaking into a building and I take pictures of it. There, visual evidence he broke in. How cares it was actually me? Bon has no alibi, so he's going to jail. Or use illusions to make yourself look like someone else and go rob a bank. Who needs a rubber mask when illusions are better?

Of course there are spells that will counter this. No metal detectors, just walk through this detect magic zone. Enchantments would be very scarey. And imagine what Modify Memory can do to people.

Magic in the modern day is a scarey thing.

 

[Phanboy]

No man magic exists today! The government just doesn't want anyone to know about it...
X-Files anyone?

 

[LGodamus]

Well Zappo , I have to disagree with you a little. While it is true modern day societies try to codify and study everything, It is also true that in human nature people do not give up advantages lightly. So no I dont believe every smart man or woman could just go study at a magic academy or that there would be any greater amount of magic users in modern times than any other setting. The government would not want anyone to just be able to go around casting powerword kill.....and think of this...If you were in a very small group of people who has a huge advantage over all other people( magic ) would you spread around the knowledge? Of course not, Every time someone else learns magic your advantage decreases. So it is in your own best interest to keep magic low key. So I think a modern setting would be little different with or without magic users.

 

[Tiefling]

As LGodamus said, one possibility to keep society mostly as-is is that the people who have "the Powah" want to keep it to themselves. Or you could say that even among the people who have the relavent ability scores, only a few can learn magic because they have some inborn ability. You would need any rules for this. Just assume that if a character wants to learn magic, he has the ability.

 

[mythusmage]

Many of the changes we'd expect won't occur. Many changes we don't expect will. Find a few essays on the future of the Internet written back in the 70s and read them carefully. And remember, by now we were supposed to be out of gasoline.

BTW, where illusions are concerned, they work on the mind. No mind, no misperception. A video camera would "see" the truth behind the lie.

 

[Tiefling]

BTW, where illusions are concerned, they work on the mind. No mind, no misperception. A video camera would "see" the truth behind the lie.

Some types of illusions work on the mind. Some don't. Phantasm-type spells do, for example, by the various "Image" spells don't.