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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5826772" data-attributes="member: 54877">The latest rounds of ranger discussion sparked this thought, but it is more broadly applicable and has been perculating under several different discussion for some time now. The game would benefit from having a wider range of "mundane" lore that affected characters. This more accurately models many characters, and provides space in the design that has historically been neglected. Assumption A: Fantasy characters are often broadly competent in ways that are mundane in their settings--albeit some of the thiings they accomplish are fantastical from a real-world perspective. Assumption B: For simplicity of design and many other reasons, D&D has tended more often than not to lump such abilities as "magic".  Unintended Side Effect: Character concepts that are meant to follow along with these fantastical real-world, but mundane fantasy world, abilities--end up with "magic" to do their thing. This creates a tension in class design, as well as supplemental abilities. Conclusion: A way out of this problem is to selectly add fantastical abilities as mundane in the game.  Presumably, "magic" versions would kick in beyond that. You can see this readily in things like +1 weapons not leaving much room for improved weapon quality (with 3E masterwork being pretty much the limit) or mundane goods rapidly losing meaning.  Less obviously, it affects things like healing from heal skill, nature knowledge (i.e. healing herbs), "mundane" alchemy potions, etc. Why can these not be all that great? Because Cure Light Wounds heals 1d8 and change. At the same time, this is not about adding Wuxia stuff willy-nilly, and calling it "mundane". Some discretion would be in order. So I guess the question behind all of this is what fantastical abilities could you see being included in the game as entirely non-magical?</blockquote>

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