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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 1558328" data-attributes="member: 18280">Thank you.Of course, most tinkering with magic systems by DMs is related very specifically because of their ideas as to what "normal" use of magic should be.  I personally like the idea of XP costs for, say, magic item creation -- though I also think that only lazy crafters should be stuck paying them for the big ticket items.  The rest of us will go off and get power components.  Evil spellcasters might sacrifice a peasant or two....unless the PCs stop them....?As to whether or not these things are punishments, or investments, etc., that's frankly subjective.  No matter how you look at it, they are objectively costs.  If the DM is good, and the system works, and it seems like you can do some really cool things even if you can't easily do some other things, then the players are liable to be happy.  If it seems like limitations that the PCs "enjoy" but the NPCs don't, then it'll seem like punishment.  Or worse.I was talking to a friend once who was setting up a campaign world (2nd Ed AD&D).  He said, "You always have these human wizards in charge of orc tribes, and there are these half-orcs, but every time someone encounters orcs in most campaigns, they immediately attack and fight to the death.  So, how do the NPCs do it?"  Or something like that.  And he's right.  If an NPC can do it, a PC should be able to do it.  Or else there should be a good reason why not, such as "She can breath fire because she's a dragon, and I don't allow dragon PCs."  The converse isn't true.  Sometimes a PC should be able to do something no NPC can.IMC, elves and gnomes are rarely encountered.  Elf and gnome PCs are a lot more common.  The PCs represent a unique group.  Saying the same thing for spellcasting PCs is fine.  In fact, whatever works for a group is (barring weird illegal things  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" /> ) fine.IMO, the D&D magic system is not as evocative as it could be.  I love the idea of allowing spellcasters to do more, at a potential cost, and I love the idea of making some spells rare enough that they don't get overused.  And, yes, that does mean that my opinions as to which spells become "rare" might step on a few toes.  But I've never forced someone to play at my table by gunpoint.  If anything, I've been deluged with players every time I set up my homemade DM's screen.Raven</blockquote>

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