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illegal magic
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GMMichael
Guide of Modos
Oh, that's easy. Spellcasting requires both a mental trick that is secret, and high intelligence. So spellcasting is rare because lots of really smart people don't know the trick, and the lucky ones who find the trick just aren't smart enough.
The Lord of the Rings explanation is that wizards are like demi-gods. So you don't get more wizards unless you get more demi-gods.
The Game of Thrones explanation...I don't know. The TV series doesn't explain squat, and I'm still working on the first book...
JoshDemers
First Post
In MERPS, magic is a potent source of corruption. Of course, in that setting it's because Sauron is out there trying to turn people to his will. But you could easily go the route of Power Corrupts. Looking at our own histories, "magic" was outlawed because of the Church's belief that it came from the devil and from that came witch hunts and all kinds of nasty stuff. Is the source of your magic dark? Or it could just be beyond understanding and thus feared.
yep.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Scorcerers are powered by demonic powers and are thus inherently evil.
All magic users are potentially Scorcerers and so magic is stigmatised shunned and eventually outlawed.
Mages operate in secret covens far from prying eyes. The Law has ways of neutralising powerful magics that get out of control (thats going to be your hardest bit, although a cadre of anti-mage Assasins are a possibility
)
IMC Magic is shunned (necromancers haunt the moors and graveyards and one known scorcerer stalks the hills). The exception is Druids who aren't considered magic users (instead they are blessed by the Goddess of Nature). This makes the Druids a powerful faction and the Religious authority for the setting.
There is also an Academy for Young Ladies in the woods near the capitol which offers a special programme for those born with secondsight (telepathic/clairsentient ability)
All magic users are potentially Scorcerers and so magic is stigmatised shunned and eventually outlawed.
Mages operate in secret covens far from prying eyes. The Law has ways of neutralising powerful magics that get out of control (thats going to be your hardest bit, although a cadre of anti-mage Assasins are a possibility
)IMC Magic is shunned (necromancers haunt the moors and graveyards and one known scorcerer stalks the hills). The exception is Druids who aren't considered magic users (instead they are blessed by the Goddess of Nature). This makes the Druids a powerful faction and the Religious authority for the setting.
There is also an Academy for Young Ladies in the woods near the capitol which offers a special programme for those born with secondsight (telepathic/clairsentient ability)
Dethklok
First Post
Yes.
Stormonu
NeoGrognard
Pre-3E, in Faerun, only those with "the gift" could become wizards. You could have a high Intelligence and memorize the arcane formulas, but if you hadn't been "touched by Mystara", spells simply wouldn't work.
Its sort of the same way in The Harry Potter books, though of course in those books, magic can get quite wild among those with the ability. Clearly, if you want low-magic, having "the gift" ought to a lot rarer.
Its sort of the same way in The Harry Potter books, though of course in those books, magic can get quite wild among those with the ability. Clearly, if you want low-magic, having "the gift" ought to a lot rarer.
In my campaign world, the way I did it was have this really big, powerful and advanced (relatively speaking) nation, ruled by a king and governed by an intolerant religious order. The order follows their one true god and have decreed arcane magic to be evil, vile and thus illegal. That is how it started anyway. Today, the result of centuries of propaganda, by the order, of painting arcane spellcasters as necromancers and witches who steal babies and cast spells requiring human sacrifices, is essentially that the general population hates and fears arcane spellcasters.
When one is found (pretty rare these days) they can be lunched, stoned, hunted and exiled ... if they are lucky. If they are unlucky they are imprisoned, tortured and executed. Draw upon the horrors dealt to men and women in the dark middle ages and you get the idea
There is still magic in the nation but the church has the monopoly on it and it is rarely shared with anyone outside the church. This effectively makes the nation a low-magic area.
The rest of the world is not quite as bad as that but still remains low-magic, in the sense, that studying and learning magic takes a lot of devotion, intellect and is very expensive.
That is my two-cents. Hope it was helpful in some way.
When one is found (pretty rare these days) they can be lunched, stoned, hunted and exiled ... if they are lucky. If they are unlucky they are imprisoned, tortured and executed. Draw upon the horrors dealt to men and women in the dark middle ages and you get the idea
There is still magic in the nation but the church has the monopoly on it and it is rarely shared with anyone outside the church. This effectively makes the nation a low-magic area.
The rest of the world is not quite as bad as that but still remains low-magic, in the sense, that studying and learning magic takes a lot of devotion, intellect and is very expensive.
That is my two-cents. Hope it was helpful in some way.
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