FrozenNorth
Adventurer
Because everyone knows a large number of archmages is called a fluster, not a council. Duh!
Is "A Wizard Did It" Acceptable Worldbuiling?
- Thread starter Fauchard1520
- Start date
Saelorn
Hero
It's been on a steady decline for decades.
Tallifer
Hero
In my game, there is a chance a wizard did it, but it is more likely that the gods, demons, primordials, dragons, conjunction of a million spheres, strange rays from outer space, dreams, cracks in reality, living magical energy, technology from before the universe began, magic from before the universe began, mutations, celestial toymaker, Q or Atlanteans did it.
When do you think it peaked?
Recall that we started with the likes of Blackmoor, Glorantha, Tékumel, and, for that matter, the Forgotten Realms.
Bacon Bits
Hero
I think a dungeon has to pass the refrigerator test.
It only has to be believable in the moment. If the PCs get home and say, "Hang on. How did a dragon get in there?" then it's too late. It already worked.
It only has to be believable in the moment. If the PCs get home and say, "Hang on. How did a dragon get in there?" then it's too late. It already worked.
It was the wizard in the dark tower with a cauldron
No, it was the other wizard, in the other dark tower, with a big pot.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
A bit off topic, but I loved the old Dark Tower game.
Obviously, it was Elminster in the library with a wrench. Sheesh.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
I don't think there's an R in wench.Obviously, it was Elminster in the library with a wrench. Sheesh.
What a great example! With just the tiniest amount of detail, you can go ahead with all the silly, gonzo wizard nonsense you want and it serves to actually pull the players into the world rather than break verisimilitude. As a player, I really appreciate this sort of detail, and as a DM, I actually think it helps when creating an adventure. Magus Flemfromage there causes me to think of half a dozen ideas for interesting encounters that some generic wizard would not. I feel like there's this idea that adding details just makes the DM's job harder, but I honestly feel like it's usually the opposite.
Fauchard1520
Explorer
I'm pretty sure it's a forum.
Saelorn
Hero
Maybe 1980? Greyhawk was alright. The Forgotten Realms wasn't out until 1987, and it wasn't great then, but it's done nothing but become more bloated and convoluted over time.
Greyhawk has good more scattered out. I particularly love the tension between the baklunish and suel pantheon. And I like setting where you have to dig for the more scattered between various books and articles. It feels more like a scholar or antiquarian trying to understand the setting.
TaranTheWanderer
Adventurer
I never understood why a wizard would protect his laboratory with a puzzle door. Answering the puzzle gives anyone access...and you already know the answer. Why?
If I was designing a trap for my laboratory, the solution to the puzzle door would trigger the trap. The actual answer would be something completely random. A puzzle dungeon with the wrong answers to every puzzle. A wizard did it.
oh crap. I forgot my password to this room. How do I reset this thing? My mother’s maiden name?....
If I was designing a trap for my laboratory, the solution to the puzzle door would trigger the trap. The actual answer would be something completely random. A puzzle dungeon with the wrong answers to every puzzle. A wizard did it.
oh crap. I forgot my password to this room. How do I reset this thing? My mother’s maiden name?....
Not the usual meaning of "wrong answers only," but I have a tendency to think the same way.
Fanaelialae
Legend
Sure, in a realistic sense. Also, all lethal traps ought to be unavoidable instant death. No half measures.
In a literary sense or a game sense, that would be terrible though.
Can you imagine if the fellowship reached the Mines of Moria but had to give up the quest because the password to "speak friend and enter" was the elven word for rhubarb? That's doubly bad in a game (where there should be a reasonable solution if the players need it to proceed).
Ultimately, it can be explained rationally.
It could be that it wasn't ever intended to keep out thieves (or that was only a secondary purpose). Perhaps it was simply a test for apprentices. Until they solved the puzzle, they weren't considered worthy of entering the lab.