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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SKyOdin" data-source="post: 5811212" data-attributes="member: 57939">I think that is a painfully short-sighted position to take. Who the heck would play the fighter in that situation? What is the point of playing a fighter in that kind of game? Why shouldn't everyone play wizards? Why would playing a fighter be any fun in that style of game? It might be fun for the wizard, but it would not be very fun for the fighter at all!In any case, I think the ultimate problem to this verisimilitude problem is interjecting some verisimilitude into the wizard class itself. Traditionally, magic in D&D comes down to:1) The Wizard wiggles his fingers and says some funny words.2) ???3) Reality upends itself for the Wizard's benefit.Can anyone actually tell me how a wizard is supposed to turn a lump of bat guano into a fireball? There isn't an answer to that question! Arcane magic is so completely divested of actual flavor or any nod to realism that even the simplist question about it is impossible to answer.In a lot of the fantasy stories I enjoy can explain answer these kinds of question. In some, wizards can throw around fireballs because they are tapping into great leylines and nodes of natural magical energy that crisscross the world. In other works, mages astrally project themselves into neighboring realities and acquire the aid of he powerful spirits dwelling there. In others still, spellcasters combine their inner mental and physical energy with complex hand-signs and inherent element natures to bring forth powerful magic. For this kind of fantasy, magic is explainable, but that makes it interesting and evocative.The problem is that this kind of evocative flavor comes with a necessary partner: limitation. A wizard who draws upon leylines for power can't exactly wield his best magic where there isn't a leyline. That means that any kind of flavorful magic isn't going to be nearly as complete in scope as magic has always been in D&D.That is the ultimate root of the verisimilitude problem in D&D: the desire for magic that is complete in scope is at odds with the desire for magic that is flavorful and interesting. D&D magic has sacrificed flavor on the alter of more mechanical power.</blockquote>

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