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Elements of Magic & Low Magic Setting?
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<blockquote data-quote="Viktyr Gehrig" data-source="post: 2481820" data-attributes="member: 9249"><p>Basically, in a low-magic setting, there are two types of magic you want to strictly control-- magic that is particularly flashy, other than Illusions, and magic that has world-changing potential.</p><p></p><p>Because D&D's balance assumptions revolve almost entirely around combat, a lot of very powerful spells exist at very low levels.</p><p></p><p>What I would suggest is to leave Illusions and Divinations firmly alone, limit Conjuration (mainly) to summoning spells, and boost Evocation spells to be at least one level higher, if not two or more. This forces spellcasters to be much more subtle, without necessarily castrating them.</p><p></p><p>Yes, you'll probably have to cut down on spell points and on magic items, but if you make the "high" magics more expensive, you don't have to do much cutting. Try to give spellcasters other bonuses, such as Bardic Knowledge or non-spell magical manipulations, like the Warlock's <em>detect magic</em> or the Shugenja's <em>sense elements</em>.</p><p></p><p>You'll also have to figure out a way to handle the "economic" and "logistical" magics-- the big offenders here are spells like <em>wall of iron</em>, <em>create food and drink</em>, <em>fabricate</em>, and most healing spells. Even <em>mending</em> and <em>repair light damage</em> can go a long way toward making a world feel like high magic. Spells that heal hitpoints are fine as-is, but spells that cure disease or remove afflictions should suffer from a level bump. Raising the dead should be made <strong>considerably</strong> more difficult.</p><p></p><p>A lot of enchantment magic probably needs to be penalized, as well. <em>Charm person</em> is a brutally effective spell for most situations that don't involve combat; the reason it's so low level in D&D is because it doesn't work in combat. As a basis for comparison, <em>suggestion</em> is far more useful in combat, but much less powerful outside of combat, because of the limited duration and the single effect. </p><p></p><p>As far as magic items go, weapons and armor are actually fine in a low-magic world. It's the <em>decanter of endless water</em> or the <em>lyre of building</em> that make worlds high-magic.</p><p></p><p>Hope this helps.</p><p></p><p>edit: I know that specific D&D spell names aren't a big help, since you're using <em>Elements of Magic</em>, but I'm really trying to get across ideas and themes-- those are the <strong>kinds</strong> of magic that need limited and controlled, not merely those specific effects. I don't remember <em>Elements of Magic</em> well enough to tell you how well it handles the kind of world-bending magic I'm talking about.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Viktyr Gehrig, post: 2481820, member: 9249"] Basically, in a low-magic setting, there are two types of magic you want to strictly control-- magic that is particularly flashy, other than Illusions, and magic that has world-changing potential. Because D&D's balance assumptions revolve almost entirely around combat, a lot of very powerful spells exist at very low levels. What I would suggest is to leave Illusions and Divinations firmly alone, limit Conjuration (mainly) to summoning spells, and boost Evocation spells to be at least one level higher, if not two or more. This forces spellcasters to be much more subtle, without necessarily castrating them. Yes, you'll probably have to cut down on spell points and on magic items, but if you make the "high" magics more expensive, you don't have to do much cutting. Try to give spellcasters other bonuses, such as Bardic Knowledge or non-spell magical manipulations, like the Warlock's [i]detect magic[/i] or the Shugenja's [i]sense elements[/i]. You'll also have to figure out a way to handle the "economic" and "logistical" magics-- the big offenders here are spells like [i]wall of iron[/i], [i]create food and drink[/i], [i]fabricate[/i], and most healing spells. Even [i]mending[/i] and [i]repair light damage[/i] can go a long way toward making a world feel like high magic. Spells that heal hitpoints are fine as-is, but spells that cure disease or remove afflictions should suffer from a level bump. Raising the dead should be made [b]considerably[/b] more difficult. A lot of enchantment magic probably needs to be penalized, as well. [i]Charm person[/i] is a brutally effective spell for most situations that don't involve combat; the reason it's so low level in D&D is because it doesn't work in combat. As a basis for comparison, [i]suggestion[/i] is far more useful in combat, but much less powerful outside of combat, because of the limited duration and the single effect. As far as magic items go, weapons and armor are actually fine in a low-magic world. It's the [i]decanter of endless water[/i] or the [i]lyre of building[/i] that make worlds high-magic. Hope this helps. edit: I know that specific D&D spell names aren't a big help, since you're using [i]Elements of Magic[/i], but I'm really trying to get across ideas and themes-- those are the [b]kinds[/b] of magic that need limited and controlled, not merely those specific effects. I don't remember [i]Elements of Magic[/i] well enough to tell you how well it handles the kind of world-bending magic I'm talking about. [/QUOTE]
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