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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FoxWander" data-source="post: 8556299" data-attributes="member: 1356">Wow, leave a thread for a bit and things can go a bit crazy! Sorry, I work Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I haven't been around to participate in my own thread. But thank you to the folks who tried to keep things on topic.To answer this one...I would guess this is based on the same thing I based my assumptions on. The 3.5 DMG, Ch.5 Campaigns > World-building > Demographics. This gives a system for populating every city with PC and NPC classes of appropriate level and number for their class. Roll 1d4 + community modifier to determine the highest level wizard. For a Small Town, the mod is 0, for a 25% chance to have a 4th level wizard- with a feat that might be some kind of item creation. Large towns have a +3 so will always have a 4th level wizard, and they might be one up to 7th level. Clerics skew higher. roll 1d6 + mod. So that means Hamlets (-2 mod) might have a 4th level one, with access to the same feats. All this means, spellcasters (and thus the chance for permanent, at least low-level magic) is somewhat common, by the rules as written.Back to the topic at hand... This is what I based my idea on- what the rules allow outside of any DMs influence. That's where the limiting factors come in setting artificial limits on what can, or has, been done. However, my thinking is that while magic would unlock a world of potential, it would also be it's own limiting factor. Easy access to magic would mean many technological advances just wouldn't happen. If necessity is the mother of invention, then the absence of a need means many things would not get invented. Speculation on what would and wouldn't get created is probably far beyond the scope of a forum thread, but it's at least a rules-based limiting factor that would keep some things static and limit wild innovation. For instance, it's doubtful a large scale revolution would take place. In our world that required society-wide technological advancements that would have no reason to be developed in a highly magical world. Steam power is a thing in some fantasy settings precisely because of the artificial limits on the proliferation of magic. While humans are innovative and industrious, they can also be lazy. Why invent a hard, messy way to do something when it can already be done easily with magic. So without a driving need to power the engines of industry, it's doubtful any sort of high-yield fuel source would be needed either. So technology is likely to stay at pre-steam, pre-electric levels.</blockquote>

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