D&D spellcasters in the modern world

[s/LaSH]

1: The atomic bomb was not available in 1939. The date was 1944.

2: Would every person of above average intelligence become a wizard? No. Becoming a wizard takes discipline and drive. Not everybody has what it takes. The same for all of above average sagacity. To become a spellcaster takes dedication, hard work, and a tolerance for pain that is remarkable. (Try dropping a Fireballat your feet and see how it feels.)

3: No, bunky, the divine is not something you can so cavalierly dismiss. Ineffable is an inadequate word to describe it. Meeting divinity face to face is not something you can pass off as a bad hot dog with chili flash back. It's not something you can deny.

1: Also, the US didn't get involved in the war for another, what, 2 years? (OK, so Western Europe sat there watching Hitler conquering Eastern Europe for six or so years before acting.) Unless they had divination spells and assessed what would happen before it happened... but then Hitler would have assessed his options and done things differently... it's all very confusing.

2: The same could be said for chemists, or any scientist these days. To make a name for yourself in the science books you generally have to blow something up real good. A hundred years later, people are learning about it in high school. They don't drop Fireballs at their feet, they set them off in the quad outside and take notes.

I think everyone would be trained in wizardry, but people who could cast useful spells would be restricted to University/College graduates. Unless magic is a 'gift', in which case it would be much easier to control. "You have magic powers? Come with us to the Government School."

3: I agree with this. Anybody who doesn't is overestimating human willpower. In fact, I've read articles on hypnosis that quite frightened me... a preacher with absolutely no divine connections can set up hypnotic fervour just with the rhythm of their words. Even a trained sceptic can be swept up in the event. So much for precious stubborn willpower. If something specifically designed to awe and frighten us mere mortals shows up, people will fall over in shock. (Celestials, i.e. angels, have an aura of menace - that's not the game designers being creative.)


And I suspect they'll find a way to convert livestock into XP for making items... then you'll have thaumovegans who only use magical items made from plant energies.

 

[Jeph]

2. The atomic bomb was not available in 1939. The date was 1944.

Perhaps I was a bit unclear: I meant that the US would have been drawn into the war much quicker with the kind of mass destruction and enhanced mobility that magic would bring about, and that with magic, the development of The Bomb would have gone MUCH faster, and the end result would be MUCH more devastating. Just think how much more work would have been done if all the scientists in the project had 1d4+1 extra intelligence whenever they went to work on the project? And used MagiMathics to get past those tough quirks and inconsistancies in their equations?

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

3: I agree with this. Anybody who doesn't is overestimating human willpower. In fact, I've read articles on hypnosis that quite frightened me... a preacher with absolutely no divine connections can set up hypnotic fervour just with the rhythm of their words. Even a trained sceptic can be swept up in the event. So much for precious stubborn willpower. If something specifically designed to awe and frighten us mere mortals shows up, people will fall over in shock. (Celestials, i.e. angels, have an aura of menace - that's not the game designers being creative.)

It's not willpower that would allow these people to deny. They're actually very low willpower people for the most part. It's that their imaginary, cognitively structured little world DOES NOT ALLOW for it. They would rationalize that the aura of menace was no different than how they would have felt in any life-threatening situation. The dismembered guy they "raised from the dead" was part of an elaborate bit of stage magic. It doesn't matter that they were standing there with the hand on the guy's shoulder the whole time. It wouldn't matter if a god sat down and explained the universe to them.

I'm talking about people who ultimately have low self-esteem but have built a new, higher self image by being "intellectually superior." And part of their "intellectual superiority" is that they, unlike the "unwashed masses" aren't "deluded" by such "absurd notions" as divinity.

The human psyche is remarkably fragile in some ways, and remarkably resilient in others. In order to keep their perceived status, they would be unable to accept the notion of divinity, no matter what was presented to them. These people are NOT CAPABLE of admitting that they were EVER wrong. If the existence of God would prove them wrong, they will either have an epiphany (VERY unlikely), dip into the well o' psychoses (pretty good chance), or deny (most likely, though you could make the argument that it would be a psychosis in and of itself).

Maintenance of a self-inflicted lie is VERY important to people. It's the most common and powerful form of rationalization out there.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

One quick note that I forgot- I don't know of any evidence linking willpower and the ability to resist hypnosis.

Bad eyesight and hearing are better bets if you want to avoid being hypnotized. Or lack of attention span. Most forms of hypnosis that I'm familiar with can be foiled simply by not paying attention to the guy trying it. Count the ceiling tiles, think about how much the kid in front of you could use a haircut, whatever.

 

[mythusmage]

1. Getting hypnotized is a matter of trust. You have to trust the other party completely to be hypnotized by him.

2. The XP cost roadblock could be surmounted by a simple expedient, provide opportunities for the workers to gain more experience.

Classes on various subjects, general and specialist libraries, paid sabbaticals, visits to other lands (worlds and planes once the "technology" for visiting them is available), games for different sorts.

Joe down in "Flying Brooms" getting forgetful? Have him take a class on German Renaissance architecture. Learn something new? Make a magic item.

I do suspect that the costs of making a wondrous item would be lower. Modern western society is set up to learn things, to figure out how things work better than medieval society ever was. So low powered magic items could very well be sold at Walmart. But I wouldn't trust any ring of protection found at a 99¢ place.

3. And speaking of what the wizard/cleric knows. I can see knowledge of anatomy aiding when casting Cures. A working knowledge of surgery doing the same. With the two stacking.

I'm still working on this part. I'll be putting up a rough idea over on the Homebrewforum sometime later.

Expand as you wish.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

1. Getting hypnotized is a matter of trust. You have to trust the other party completely to be hypnotized by him.

That would explain why no one's ever been able to hypnotize me.

But it also means I know some people who hand out trust VERY easily. That's kind of frightening.

Have you thought about the effects of an actual supply and demand economy? Certain very useful spells of low level would have VERY inflated prices. Plus, there's the very real possibility that certain industries would try to block them. If I had a wand of mending, I would never need to buy clothes again. Clothiers would go up in smoke. Once manufacturing techniques brought the price of level 3 spells down low enough, college students would switch from Ramen noodles to wands of create food and water. Entire unions would balk at Unseen Servant becoming available.

Can you imagine the protests at universities when the government orders them to cease and desist making wands of... well, a lot of things

If we're assuming that most magical research would occur at universities, the economies of college towns would become incredibly unstable, as the spells that save students money would be among the first things they learn (light, mending, etc.), and college towns operate by gouging students (some of them are already unstable with the advent on the internet, and this would be far worse).

And I don't want to imagine the effect of Charm person in the dating scene.

 

[Dark Helmet]

That would explain why no one's ever been able to hypnotize me.

But it also means I know some people who hand out trust VERY easily. That's kind of frightening.

Have you thought about the effects of an actual supply and demand economy? Certain very useful spells of low level would have VERY inflated prices. Plus, there's the very real possibility that certain industries would try to block them. If I had a wand of mending, I would never need to buy clothes again. Clothiers would go up in smoke. Once manufacturing techniques brought the price of level 3 spells down low enough, college students would switch from Ramen noodles to wands of create food and water. Entire unions would balk at Unseen Servant becoming available.

Can you imagine the protests at universities when the government orders them to cease and desist making wands of... well, a lot of things

You'll get my wand when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!!!

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Dark Helmet: Lifetime member National Wand Association

 

[Ravellion]

And I don't want to imagine the effect of Charm person in the dating scene.

How often do you date one of your most trusted friends? I doubt whether you'd really want to date a charmed person. A lot of the thrill would be out of it for both parties. Would you have sex with your best friend if he/she asked you to?

Rav

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

How often do you date one of your most trusted friends? I doubt whether you'd really want to date a charmed person. A lot of the thrill would be out of it for both parties.

Oh, I imagine there are plenty of sexual predators who would be all to willing to use charm person to get dates...

 

[Ravellion]

Oh, I imagine there are plenty of sexual predators who would be all to willing to use charm person to get dates...

Yes, but I doubt whether that would work... I have seen many men want to get serious with women who were already their best friends... it hardly ever works. Sleeping with your best friend is like sleeping with a family member isn't it?

Rav