D&D General Folkloric Magic?

[Samloyal23]

The D&D game in every edition has always had an ever-growing roster of spells, but if you look at folklore and mythology, the spells in the game are not used for the purposes we see in lore. Part of that is the obvious orientation toward the needs of adventurers, but to make a world that feels authentic, I think some gaps need to be filled. The game needs spells for things that non-adventurers would value, like increasing fertility and extending lifespans. What effects have you seen in myths and legends that could be turned into spells for the game? What homebrew spells have you created that go beyond the needs of adventurers?

 

[bedir than]

Most of those spells would fall into cantrip and 1st level rituals. Between the non-combat cantrips and Ceremony (Xanathar's Guide), Alarm, Magic Mouth, Detect Magic, Identify I think you have the most common sorts of folk-magic

 

[Tonguez]

isnt that the purpose of Ritual Spells?

must Folkloric type effects are already on the Druid or Cleric list and its the lore added to the ritual that makes them ‘Folk’.

Things like plant growth, restoration and death ward all fit...

 

[pickin_grinnin]

A friend of mine did a zine that covers real-world folk magic from the Americas. He uses it in low-magic games set in a version of the real world, but you might find it interesting.

Other Magic

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[Samloyal23]

I don't feel like the current roster of spells adds enough depth and verisimilitude to game settings. I am looking for more...

 

[NaturalZero]

I've always felt that if DnD style magic and wizards existed in a believable setting, 90% of the spells would be agricultural, economic, architectural, culinary, etc, instead of combat and adventure oriented. You'd essentially have a wizard Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Henry Ford, and so on, drastically changing culture. Eberron KINDA does this, but the necessities of the game still drive the player-facing content to combat and exploration instead of irrigating fields and building roads.

 

[jgsugden]

In my setting there are 5 types of magic: Arcane, Divine, Nature, Psionic and (the likely poorly named, but this is decades old now) Elemental.

Elemental magic is not the 4 Elements. It is anything Supernatural or Scientific. It does not power spells, generally, but instead is the force that allows dragons to fly, ghosts to exist, and guns to work. I have no PC class that focuses on this type of magic in 5E, but I did in prior editions, and that homebrew class was designed to be a spell-less magic user. They did not prepare spells or use spell slots. They instead had abilities that they initiated and had to power with sacrifices and magical skill. The 5E warlock fills this void fairly well from a conceptual standpoint, so I mpdfied the concept for 5E, but this would have been the type of spellcaster discussed by the OP - the shaman or mystic. It is, in my opinion, a stone yet to be uncovered by WotC in any edition that works well.

 

[J-H]

I would assume that they exist, but since they have no relevance to an adventuring lifestyle, they simply aren't listed. What wilderness-wandering cleric really has a need to cast the 2nd level "Adjust Baby Position" or the 4th level "Caesarian Section"?

 

[Umbran]

I don't feel like the current roster of spells adds enough depth and verisimilitude to game settings. I am looking for more...

So... why? I mean, yes, it is perfectly reasonable to say those things exist in the game world but that doesn't mean I need rules for them.

Do you expect the PCs to be involved in casting these fertility rituals, and doing other mundane, slice-of-mundane-life activities? Because, if the PCs aren't going to be doing it, you don't need a list of spells for it. You say there's a hedge-wizard or village shrine priest who does these things for the community, and their abilities don't have results on combat timescale, and... you then don't need to worry about it in terms of game rules.

 

[Samloyal23]

I would assume that they exist, but since they have no relevance to an adventuring lifestyle, they simply aren't listed. What wilderness-wandering cleric really has a need to cast the 2nd level "Adjust Baby Position" or the 4th level "Caesarian Section"?

I would say that even if adventurers do not use these spells, seeing them in action makes the setting more real. No reason they cannot occasionally be added to a plotline in an adventure as a change of pace. If your party of heroes is hired for escort or bodyguard duty for a princess who is with child, your party cleric may well need one of those spells. Finding a Girdle of Birth-Easing in a hoard of treasure just adds to the realism of setting.