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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 7673471" data-attributes="member: 5435">It's a fair point that giving mechanics a mechanical distinction benefits only the players, not the fictional characters in the campaign and how they see the world. And yet...Most importantly, the game is for the players and not for the fictional characters. As a DM if I care most about the creative writing aspects of the game, then one magic system might be enough to model all the different cultures and magical traditions that I need.  But if my players start to complain that all spellcasters feel the same because they share V,S,M components, the same slot system, and strongly overlapping spell lists, with only minor variations (prepare or not, metamagic or not, limited spells known or not), then my game has a problem.Also...Fictional academics in the game world probably DO make very serious distinctions between arcane and divine, between wizards and sorcerers, and even between clerics and warlocks, just as we think of physics and chemistry and biology as very different things even though they can all create light (e.g., filament bulb, light sticks, bioluminescence) and even though if you look at the different technologies the right way, it is easy to see the common principle of electrons absorbing energy and releasing it as light. Creating light is a simple trick, but different techologies achieve it in different ways, with very different forms of training and material requirements.So having many different "sources" of magic, with distinct requirements and limitations, isn't wasted complexity in the game world, at least to characters in the world who care about magic. Personally:As a player, I want different mechanics because I want to experience the game in a different way.As a GM, I want different mechanics because I want to choose rules that support the style I am trying to achieve with a given campaign, and more variety in magic systems gives me more tools.As a fictional PC, I want different mechanics because I think it's cool if the world has a source of supernatural powers whose rules I dont know[\B]. Take that wierd psion in front of me--he's not using gestures and words to cast spells. Is he casting spells at all? If I try to counterspell what he's doing, will it work? My friend is paralyzed because of him, can I assume that he can't paralyze me at the same time? What the heck is this glowing goo dripping on my head???</blockquote>

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