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Limited magic campaign......has never failed yet!
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<blockquote data-quote="Doctor Shaft" data-source="post: 2016985" data-attributes="member: 25737"><p>Keep in mind that everyones' version of "Roleplay" is different, as evidence in other previous threads. My reviving an NPC over a PC will be called good roleplay at one table, and then obstructive playing at another. Both intepretations are valid. No one really "roleplays" less or more, because the definition is so broad.</p><p></p><p>If it weren't, then I could very easily say something like "LARP is the ultimate expression of roleplaying." In one way of defining that, it is... but since not everyone who hears the word "roleplay" thinks of the same thing, that's <strong>not</strong> the case.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I can see where you're going with this thread. I don't think it's necessarily the "low magic" that makes roleplaying easier, but rather it's the options you allow into your game.</p><p></p><p>I, personally, am not too fond of "Standard D&D" or "Out-of-the-box" D&D. I don't like how they do the gold, I don't like they do the items, etc. The place I play at now runs by the D&D rules, but the setting is low magic. This creates a different feel, not necessarily because it's "low magic" but because things are tailored the way the players like it.</p><p></p><p>You can still have a high-magic D&D game that is great for roleplaying and the like. It's the options that players enjoy. Most players turn to low magic because they find more use for the other skills sets in D&D that high magic inherently destroys. </p><p></p><p>For instance... in a high magic game, theoretically when I get to higher levels, I will never need to put ranks in jump, balance, tumble, etc. I'd put a few in there, and then just boost myself with the appropriate items. Or... relying on the party, I simply cast magic to solve my woes. In a high magic world, magic items tend to be the uber-solution. Stuck in a cave with loot? In a low magic world, you'll have to face the logistics of not carrying it all, or organizing physical parties to do this. And then selling it. It becomes more complicated in some ways, and opens up avenues for different kinds of roleplaying.</p><p></p><p>In high magic, yes, you could conceivably just look in the magic spell sections of the PHB, and find a way to rule your way out of danger, and escape with the loot too. This is also fun for some people, but not for others. Personally, I hate games where magic powers start to play Deux ex Machina too much. But that's just my opinion.</p><p></p><p>D&D was made as a high level magic game... but I'll never embrace that facet of it. I think it works wonderfully well when things are toned down. Or, when they do get high-magic, there's a serious tone to it, one that suggests awe and responsibility. A place where 12th level characters don't just hang out at bars with their Commoner friend Tommy, but are really people that have been zapped out of one world and stuffed into another where things are, simply put, amazing and convoluted all at once.</p><p></p><p>Again, you can achieve all of this in high magic worlds too. It's just that some of us don't like that kind of thing, and would rather have things toned down.</p><p></p><p>Example: Lord of the Rings is not a high magic world. It has high-magic, to be sure. But the characters, etc., do not approach situations with a "Well, we'll cleverly use these following spells to bypass the DM's traps, then port into the room, then thieve all the treasure, AND THEN 'port out with it all." That's a cool story, but not something that all of us like to read. </p><p></p><p>D&D does <em>not</em> have to be nor does it inherently call for high magic.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Doctor Shaft, post: 2016985, member: 25737"] Keep in mind that everyones' version of "Roleplay" is different, as evidence in other previous threads. My reviving an NPC over a PC will be called good roleplay at one table, and then obstructive playing at another. Both intepretations are valid. No one really "roleplays" less or more, because the definition is so broad. If it weren't, then I could very easily say something like "LARP is the ultimate expression of roleplaying." In one way of defining that, it is... but since not everyone who hears the word "roleplay" thinks of the same thing, that's [b]not[/b] the case. Anyway, I can see where you're going with this thread. I don't think it's necessarily the "low magic" that makes roleplaying easier, but rather it's the options you allow into your game. I, personally, am not too fond of "Standard D&D" or "Out-of-the-box" D&D. I don't like how they do the gold, I don't like they do the items, etc. The place I play at now runs by the D&D rules, but the setting is low magic. This creates a different feel, not necessarily because it's "low magic" but because things are tailored the way the players like it. You can still have a high-magic D&D game that is great for roleplaying and the like. It's the options that players enjoy. Most players turn to low magic because they find more use for the other skills sets in D&D that high magic inherently destroys. For instance... in a high magic game, theoretically when I get to higher levels, I will never need to put ranks in jump, balance, tumble, etc. I'd put a few in there, and then just boost myself with the appropriate items. Or... relying on the party, I simply cast magic to solve my woes. In a high magic world, magic items tend to be the uber-solution. Stuck in a cave with loot? In a low magic world, you'll have to face the logistics of not carrying it all, or organizing physical parties to do this. And then selling it. It becomes more complicated in some ways, and opens up avenues for different kinds of roleplaying. In high magic, yes, you could conceivably just look in the magic spell sections of the PHB, and find a way to rule your way out of danger, and escape with the loot too. This is also fun for some people, but not for others. Personally, I hate games where magic powers start to play Deux ex Machina too much. But that's just my opinion. D&D was made as a high level magic game... but I'll never embrace that facet of it. I think it works wonderfully well when things are toned down. Or, when they do get high-magic, there's a serious tone to it, one that suggests awe and responsibility. A place where 12th level characters don't just hang out at bars with their Commoner friend Tommy, but are really people that have been zapped out of one world and stuffed into another where things are, simply put, amazing and convoluted all at once. Again, you can achieve all of this in high magic worlds too. It's just that some of us don't like that kind of thing, and would rather have things toned down. Example: Lord of the Rings is not a high magic world. It has high-magic, to be sure. But the characters, etc., do not approach situations with a "Well, we'll cleverly use these following spells to bypass the DM's traps, then port into the room, then thieve all the treasure, AND THEN 'port out with it all." That's a cool story, but not something that all of us like to read. D&D does [i]not[/i] have to be nor does it inherently call for high magic. [/QUOTE]
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