High Magic, High Power, Big Guns ... or Common Lands?

[Wombat]

I've been looking over several threads on this board and I am intrigued with the range of game worlds that people play in. That being the case, I remember something I read about fantastic literature once that has stuck with me. A good story should start in a common and mundane setting, where one is on more or less familiar ground, and only after this is established should the story move to a more fantastical level. Examples of this would of course include Tolkein, T.H. White's The Once & Future King, and a host of others.

In my own games, I also try to achieve this -- start in a village or a small town, establish fairly common details of the area -- so & so makes good beer, everyone knows that yellow daisies are lucky to wear in your hat in Spring, the mayor just got in a shouting match with the blacksmith, etc. The second adventure would then be the opening up of the world into a place of mystery, intrigue and magic.

However this is not everyone's cup of tea. Many campaigns like to start with a big bang, high power magic, and all the rest.

Where does your campaign fit? Did you consciously choose one style over another? And how how does the magic go? Do people commonly visit the Other Planes and cast Wish or is this the provence of the select few?

Enquiring minds want to know

 

[Saeviomagy]

A good story should start in a common and mundane setting, where one is on more or less familiar ground, and only after this is established should the story move to a more fantastical level. Examples of this would of course include Tolkein, T.H. White's The Once & Future King, and a host of others.

The key thing is that this is a good style because it avoids information overflow. Little factoids about the world are introduced gradually, bit by bit.

In a D&D game, this isn't entirely necessary (or wanted), at least not for the facts you listed. In D&D, most players know that monsters and magic exist, so introducing them slowly is largely a waste of time. Introducing other facts about the world however is good for a variety of reasons.

1. The players will remember more of the world if they don't have to cram.

2. You can take your time making up interesting details of the world. If the players don't intend to travel north, don't bother working out details of the north. If you decide you want them to go on a quest, you can map out the path of the quest without worrying about fitting it into your map.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

It also is something that only really works if the campaign is starting at 1st level. Now that PC's can be generated at higher levels with ease, it makes less sense to always use that idea.

15th level Wizards would expect to know about the world.

 

[diaglo]

avoid the media blitz. don't flood the pcs with facts about dangers they can't handle. but still mention vague ideas. as they progress have the world around them progress.

maybe the village they start in has a 4th lvl aristocrat as the highest lvl character...the Gaffer.

after they have come and gone on a few adventures. maybe someone else has taken over...say a 7th lvl rogue named Wormtongue

then later...the 15th lvl bbeg..saruman is stirring up trouble and...

 

[S'mon]

I think starting off with a home base area of limited scope certainly seems to work well. I definitely think having somewhere the PCs can call home helps the players get involved in the campaign world. For 1st level PCs it might be a village with its single inn and a dungeon nearby; for 10th level PCs a small frontier city and surrounding lands. Map the immediate area in detail and have a general idea of what lies beyond.

 

[Altalazar]

Though players are certainly not naive about magic, their characters might be. But ultimately, this doesn't work out that well in D&D because magic is so well known - it would probably only work with people who never played D&D before (or any other high-magic game) and who didn't really read much about the magic before you played. (But that would be an interesting thing to try).

Something you CAN do is have things start out simple in terms of plotline - there could be whole nations clashing out there, but your players start out in an idyllic community where things are peaceful, slow, and the only drama each year is who wins the beer-drinking contest at the local tavern. Then you can gradually introduce the bigger themes out there - so it isn't the magic, but the politics and the other forces at work that slowly intrude. More magic can be weaved into that as well, but by tying it to big social forces, you aren't disadvantaged by the massive knowledge of magic of the players spoiling the "culture shock" because it isn't all about magic.

 

[hong]

The higher the magic, the older the thread. SO IT IS ORDAINED, AND SO SHALL IT BE.

 

[Desdichado]

Standard fantasy is already old hat to most players, so you can jump right in without them feeling out of place. If you seriously mess with the basic assumptions of a standard D&D world, though, it's probably best to give the players something they can latch onto for a while until they get used to it.

 

[Altalazar]

Apparently HONG is under some sort of enchantment magic that FORCES him to post to any thread over a certain age and point out that it hasn't been posted to in a while...

 

[Wombat]

The higher the magic, the older the thread. SO IT IS ORDAINED, AND SO SHALL IT BE.

I accept you wisdom, O Mighty Hong!

Someone actually resurrected this thread after all this time...?

Cool, I'll take more input