Is Magic Too Commonplace In RPGs?

[Morte]

I wouldn't say that there's too much magic in the RPGs that have magic, there are plenty of lower-magic fantasy games out there. But I think that there's a definiete shortage of RPGs without any magic.

Want to play Sci-Fi? The dominant systems (i.e. the ones you might actually get a group to play) are Traveller which has psionics and Star Wars which has the force. Want to play a western? No western game can succeed without zombies. And so on.

 

[Psion]

Want to play Sci-Fi? The dominant systems (i.e. the ones you might actually get a group to play) are Traveller which has psionics and Star Wars which has the force. Want to play a western? No western game can succeed without zombies. And so on.

That's largely a reflection on the audience. Or, if you prefer, because the saavvy designers know which dogs will hunt.

 

[Dog Moon]

Personally, I think that the problem with Magic itself isn't that it as a whole is Commonplace or not, but that the wrong kind of Magic IS Commonplace. Seriously though, with all this Magic at hand [Like FR], there should be more Magical places and Magic items that deal with basic living and doing various things. [How many Nobles would love a mansion where everything always remains clean? Many fewer Servants are needed and it just looks slick] When more Magic items are listed in a book, it's all weapons/armor/ways to kill/ways to protect. Although I understand the need for such things, I believe that if even a small portion of that energy [in FR; not necessarily RL] was spent to make peoples' lives happier, things would be VERY different.

People seemed to be too focused on combat though, so that's what Wizard makes [I don't think it's the other way around, but I'm not sure], but like Nobles who shouldn't need to worry about fighting, I believe they would hire out to have Magical items made to make their lives easier, like Ring of Unseen Servant Hordes to replace their normal servants, variant versions of the Unseen Servant to do different types of jobs, Magical beds to make their sleep more comfortable, things like that. What do people like to do in their past time?

Think of sports. I'm sure if Magic existed nowadays, people would devise Magical items to make their game better. Fastball of speed [make it even faster], Bats of accuracy [make sure you hit those balls], Football of Throwing [throw much farther], Gloves of Dribbling [In case you're having problems], etc. I KNOW there's got to be some sort of sport in FR that is popular that people would try to cheat at. And that's just one of the ways Magic could be used.

So in conclusion [], I think it would be better to not have Magic always focused on combat as it is now.

Edit: This would include spells too; should be more spells like this, that aren't solely for combat, though I suppose no Sorc would ever take these.

 

[Umbran]

In general, no. But I'm not sure the question is clearly asking what you want it to ask.

My experience has been that out in the wide audience, folks want to play characters who can do really fantastic stuff. Yes, there are folks who prefer games that are lower-magic, but by and large, I think the big wizbang is part of the draw of the game. So, since they're aimed at the broad audience, I don't think there's too much magic.

On top of that, I've had little trouble toning down the prevalence of magic in D&D to match my desire for a given campaign. If I can relatively easily make the game do what I want it to, I don't feel the magic is too commom.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Taking into account D20 only ... yes.

Someone has to explain to me why the Marshal's abilities are supernatural. Why does the Eberron Investigative class get spell-like abilities? Why are rangers magical? Etc. Fortunately that kind of thing is fixable. The excessive reliance on magic items is not.

For D20 Modern, you can run the game without a scrap of magic. However, WotC seems married to that terrible high magic campaign setting, Urban Arcana. All three campaign settings introduced in the Modern core book are drenched in FX.

 

[Mark]

For those having trouble with the poll, it's just a general question.

 

[Andor]

As a general question, it's too broad. There are games that contain no supernatural elements. There are games where all the PCs are supernatural creatures. It's a meaningless question as asked.

 

[Mark]

As a general question, it's too broad.

It's meant to be.

There are games that contain no supernatural elements. There are games where all the PCs are supernatural creatures.

Feel free to take all of that into consideration and expound on it further in a post if you like.

It's a meaningless question as asked.

Obviously, I disagree.


It's like asking if people feel baseball is too stat oriented or if they feel bestseller book lists have enough books of substance. It's a question meant to be approached by individuals from their own unique perspective and give their general opinion.

 

[Crothian]

Ya, I think magic is too commonplace.

 

[bolen]

I voted yes but I really prefer magic light games.

I never liked the FR idea of "Wal Marts" which sell +1 items and a cleric in every village who can cast raise dead. But that's me and Obviously based on the sale of FR, I am in the minority