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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GhostBear" data-source="post: 5820642" data-attributes="member: 6667527">Personally, I like magic in my games to be, well, magical. Special. Something reserved to a small segment of the population, be it because of danger, social accepted, or simply rarity. If it is an every day occurrence then it really loses that special feel.But still, fantasy gaming does assume that there's a certain amount of magic, somewhere, somehow - but it doesn't have to be a fantastical, uber amount. To me, having too much really ruins a lot of things.I've never liked those games where there's a magic shop in every hamlet, dozens of air ships powered by fire elementals cloud out the sun, and every other weekend The Great Zamboni is up to his old tricks and creating an undead army.I also feel that, in a world where there's Magic Everywhere, that the commonplace has no room or even reason to exist. If you can't wield magic, well, you're unevolved. You're on the way out (might make a good campaign base).Plus, there's all kind of other issues that I'm sure have been discussed to death here on enWorld. For example: Why advance the study of medicine at all when you can just head to your local temple?Also, in games saturated with magic items in particular, players tend to think of their character as a collection of magic items - not as a character.But, in the end, it's really a matter of taste, and how much "hand-wavium" you choose to use to explain why someone is still using a manual broom instead of the new Golem-Maid Clean-O-Matic when they're a dime a dozen down the street.In my games, I obviously prefer a lower level of magic. I don't change very much mechanically though; I simply make magical items more rare, and there aren't "Ye Olds Shoppes" scattered all over. You need to find a collector, perhaps, and strike a bargain. Sorcerers are considered "tainted" by the masses due to past events, and wizards are very strictly monitored by one of several organizations.None of this really limits the players themselves though (aside from magic item scarcity, which I control). The rest is just fluff - the players simply have to deal with the consequences of harboring a sorcerer should he be discovered, for example, which can lead to fun times.Also, having a lower-magic game helps bump the importance of non-caster classes.</blockquote>

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