doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Mostly halfling post-carriers.
also Forrest Gnome messenger bird trainers.
also Forrest Gnome messenger bird trainers.
D&D 5E How do societies communicate across distances in your world?
bedir than
Full Moon Storyteller
Both of the linked backgrounds have choices regarding the means of conveying the message. The Far Talker follows convention with a table that can be random. The Messenger uses a tiered set of selections with examples and no dX. Do y'all have a preference?
fullmoonstorytelling.com
wp.me
Far Talkers – Converse over miles with this D&D Background
Sure, a spell caster might be able to use Message, or two people may have Sending Stone for magical cell phones. But, the Far Talkers converse over a distance of miles, not feet. They speak with ma…
fullmoonstorytelling.com
Neither darkness, nor snow, nor wyverns – the Message must be delivered
Often welcomed in strange towns, a messenger sometimes wears an official uniform of a ruling power and at others is a freelancer working without direction from above. You and your messenger compani…
wp.me
cbwjm
Seb-wejem
I ended up looking up the sorcerous news spell from the Conan d20 game, I've pasted it below. It could probably be adapted to 5e, though perhaps the news should be randomised (or not, if the DM wants something specific passed on).
What I like about the spell is that sometimes news that the sorcerer sends out might not be passed on. It's also open to everyone with access to the spell so if you're trying to pass on some information to an allied mage, an enemy mage might also hear of it. I've no idea who the various messengers are, they could be the other sorcerers casting the spell or perhaps they are entities from the outer dark filtering the messages. I'd imagine in DnD that Arcanoloths would have a vested interest in setting up this sort of news network.
Baldurs_Underdark
Hero
For poor people: Good old mail coaches take the mail up and down the roads. This is the affordable (if somewhat slow) way to communicate.
Rich people and powerful institutions can employ spellcasters that can cast Sending. This is however limited, and you need to be able to trust your spellcaster (unless the spellcaster became rich and influential, and no extra spellcaster is needed).
Rich people and powerful institutions can employ spellcasters that can cast Sending. This is however limited, and you need to be able to trust your spellcaster (unless the spellcaster became rich and influential, and no extra spellcaster is needed).
Oofta
Legend
While message stones can be purchased, they are not cheap (base price 300 GP in my campaign) and, of course only send short messages but they are used by the wealthy and for important messages. In other cases there can be things like animal messenger, although that is not necessarily reliable.
So more communication over distances than we had in the real world before the telegraph but it's still limited.
So more communication over distances than we had in the real world before the telegraph but it's still limited.
Mostly by letters traveling by ship.
The uber-wealthy can send messages via sending, but even major cities only have 1-3 casters who can do sending, so those are very limited.
The uber-wealthy can send messages via sending, but even major cities only have 1-3 casters who can do sending, so those are very limited.
jgsugden
Legend
There are many methods.
Messengers are common. Travelers going from one place to another in a port or large market will often stop by a postal office and accept parcels, letters and other materials to deliver during their travels. Some are prepaid. Others are to be paid upon delivery. My world has a surface area 12 times greater than the earth, so some of these messages may take decades to reach a final destination. It is also, obviously, a highly unreliable method.
Magical Messengers are also sometimes used, especially when the taregt is within a hundred miles. These may be animal messenger spells, in rare cases they may be small constructs (like a homunculus) or bound elementals/fey/fiends/celestials assigned to the duty.
Sending is the first choice of those with resources. In my setting, 3rd level spellcasters are fairly rare, so these services are not cheap - but it is service that can be hired in larger towns, and is one of the primary reasons why some rich houses hire mages into their service. Sneding stones are also a fairly common magic item in my world.
Dual Scrying is a technique used by the very rich and powerful. With this, two spellcasters capable of scrying will scry each other at the same time.
Portals are like permanent open teleportation circles. They tend to have high value, and are often well guarded. There are a few places that serve as 'hubs'to which many places connect. You generally need to negotiate to gain access to a portal to reach a hub, and then negotiate once you reach the hub to be able to travel from there to another location. Doing so can be insanely expensive. The greatest hub like this in my setting is the City of Doors, my version of Sigil (in the Astral Plane), wherethere are tens of thousands of portals. Some beings use these to move product.
There are also tiny portals, often 1 foot in diameter, that are used to connect spaces for purposes of moving products.
Spelljammers may also be used to carry product. These vehicles fly across the skies of my Prime Plane, as well as between worlds on the plane and through the Underdark Dyson Sphere, and through the Astral Sea between Portals ... and they are often used to move large amounts of cargo.
Teleportation is the method of the truly powerly.
Messengers are common. Travelers going from one place to another in a port or large market will often stop by a postal office and accept parcels, letters and other materials to deliver during their travels. Some are prepaid. Others are to be paid upon delivery. My world has a surface area 12 times greater than the earth, so some of these messages may take decades to reach a final destination. It is also, obviously, a highly unreliable method.
Magical Messengers are also sometimes used, especially when the taregt is within a hundred miles. These may be animal messenger spells, in rare cases they may be small constructs (like a homunculus) or bound elementals/fey/fiends/celestials assigned to the duty.
Sending is the first choice of those with resources. In my setting, 3rd level spellcasters are fairly rare, so these services are not cheap - but it is service that can be hired in larger towns, and is one of the primary reasons why some rich houses hire mages into their service. Sneding stones are also a fairly common magic item in my world.
Dual Scrying is a technique used by the very rich and powerful. With this, two spellcasters capable of scrying will scry each other at the same time.
Portals are like permanent open teleportation circles. They tend to have high value, and are often well guarded. There are a few places that serve as 'hubs'to which many places connect. You generally need to negotiate to gain access to a portal to reach a hub, and then negotiate once you reach the hub to be able to travel from there to another location. Doing so can be insanely expensive. The greatest hub like this in my setting is the City of Doors, my version of Sigil (in the Astral Plane), wherethere are tens of thousands of portals. Some beings use these to move product.
There are also tiny portals, often 1 foot in diameter, that are used to connect spaces for purposes of moving products.
Spelljammers may also be used to carry product. These vehicles fly across the skies of my Prime Plane, as well as between worlds on the plane and through the Underdark Dyson Sphere, and through the Astral Sea between Portals ... and they are often used to move large amounts of cargo.
Teleportation is the method of the truly powerly.
cbwjm
Seb-wejem
This has made me imagine a postal service of golems. Untiring the continue on with assigned route, possibly carrying the mail inside them. Only the most powerful of foes will mess with an iron golem, so it should make it through to its destination.
Crimson Terrain
Explorer
Mostly messengers either humanoid or animal. Some limited use of magical communication but this is unreliable due to the Wild Magic and Anti-Magic Storms that plague the focused hemisphere in this era.
Similar Threads
