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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 7627086" data-attributes="member: 19675">I’m using that phrase in the sense of PHB/DMG magic is available at the bare minimum, with caster demographics in some range between what DMGs suggest and what is actually implied in official campaign settings, modules, adventure paths, etc.Homebrews obviously differ.  And an “Age of Sail” campaign would basically have to.Depends on how you define “High level”, doesn’t it?  As I pointed out, there’s a host of Lvl 1-3 spells that would be serious hazards to RW “Age of Sail” ships.  A single well placed Fireball could destroy a ship equipped with blackpowder cannon.  So could a Flaming Sphere.  Pyrotechnics could flood the gunnery deck with choking smoke, silencing its cannons.  See also Sleep, Stinking Cloud, Web, etc.How many properly targeted Magic Missiles would it take to seriously affect a ship’s ability to maneuver?  I could easily see an expansive naval power teaching THAT spell to every sailor capable of learning it.  Maybe a few others.Imagine, then, Viking longships or even Roman Triremes with a contingent of sailors just literate enough to cast 1st level spells.  “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” indeed.  Fast forward to the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese fleets of later centuries, learning well the naval tactics of their predecessors.IOW, D&D magic as written essentially acts like a turbocharger for forces within society creating a world more like ours.  Why?  Because those spells were written by modern people looking back with at least a partial eye on recreating modern effects in an otherwise archaic world.</blockquote>

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