D&D 5E New D&D Survey, with some in-depth setting questions

[Lanefan]

Ooh, I found a very basic error in the survey design.



There is no 3-4 hour option! Our sessions last almost exactly 3 1/2 hours.

The range between 1 and 2 hours is also missing...

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The range between 1 and 2 hours is also missing...

Yup. They get an F.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Huh. What does that mean, I’ve never heard of wide magic before.

Low powered (cantrips, 1st level spells, common items) magic is common, but high powered magic is just as rare as in other D&D settings.

 

[Minigiant]

I've heard it in conversations about Eberron and how it differs from Forgotten Realms. From the discussions I've read, High Magic = there's powerful, world changing magic in the setting that influences things. A few god-like wizards that control entire nations, for example. Wide Magic or Broad Magic can overlap with High Magic but requires that magic can be spread out and ubiquitous throughout the world. If there are magic cars and industry everywhere but the power level caps out at 2nd level spells across the board, that can be considered Low Magic and Wide Magic. If you throw high powered magic in that effects the world, it becomes High Magic and Wide Magic. It essentially and X and Y axis of how common magic is with how powerful it is, generally.

But, like all discussions of magic, it's all made up. Most people are going to understand what you mean if you call a setting where every creature has 1 innate 1st level spells as High Magic.

I typically go by High Magic Power, High Magic Frequency, and High Magic Versatility to describe magic as people get it faster. 3 axis system.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I've heard it in conversations about Eberron and how it differs from Forgotten Realms. From the discussions I've read, High Magic = there's powerful, world changing magic in the setting that influences things. A few god-like wizards that control entire nations, for example. Wide Magic or Broad Magic can overlap with High Magic but requires that magic can be spread out and ubiquitous throughout the world. If there are magic cars and industry everywhere but the power level caps out at 2nd level spells across the board, that can be considered Low Magic and Wide Magic. If you throw high powered magic in that effects the world, it becomes High Magic and Wide Magic. It essentially and X and Y axis of how common magic is with how powerful it is, generally.

But, like all discussions of magic, it's all made up. Most people are going to understand what you mean if you call a setting where every creature has 1 innate 1st level spells as High Magic.

So Greyhawk would be High Magic, but not wide, Eberron would be wide magic, but not high, and the Forgotten Realms would be both wide and high magic.

 

[Osgood]

I wonder how many people picked halflings.

runs and hides

I did. Always been a favorite of mine. With Brave, Halfling Luck, and Poison Resistance, stouts may be the best race in the game in my opinion.

 

[tetrasodium]

Huh. What does that mean, I’ve never heard of wide magic before.

Wide magic is an eberron thing. Its easier to explain by crossing off a few well known tropes about magic first.

Wide magic is not starjammer ultra tech as/from magic
Wide .magic is not high magic like tippyverse parts of fr &so on

Eide magic is low magic with some level of ubiquity that is used by every day people in every day life when dealing with every day issues.

Its easy to point to flashy party of eberron like airships sharna war forged etc but wide magic isn't about the flash & other settings are difficult to compare there for various reasons. Looking at rural eberron I'd great though because every setting has rural areas. Keith Baker has a great post about rural eberron & magic in play there that even mentions how different regions might tackle a problem in completely different ways.

Dragonmarks: Rural Eberron

I’m working on a lot of projects right now. Over the next few months I’m going to be putting most of my energy into Phoenix: Dawn Command. Part of the point of developing a new setting …

keith-baker.com

 

[tetrasodium]

So Greyhawk would be High Magic, but not wide, Eberron would be wide magic, but not high, and the Forgotten Realms would be both wide and high magic.

I think Thay might be wider than fr's baseline high. Sure it has the enclaves that supply much of fr's high magic bling, but it also has things like tax stations travel permits public services slavery a defined middle class that exists between the wealthy/powerful nobles & so on. Unfortunately there was that 4e version and 2e/3.x world building was pretty undeveloped just to support existing modules compared to more modern settings.

I say that as a harsh critic of fr as published looking forward to Greenwood's upcoming thay book.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I think Thay might be wider than fr's baseline high. Sure it has the enclaves that supply much of fr's high magic bling, but it also has things like tax stations travel permits public services slavery a defined middle class that exists between the wealthy/powerful nobles & so on. Unfortunately there was that 4e version and 2e/3.x world building was pretty undeveloped just to support existing modules compared to more modern settings.

I say that as a harsh critic of fr as published looking forward to Greenwood's upcoming thay book.

There is enough common magic in FR there in Calimshan for example most people owned at least 1 common magic idea. FR has entire armies of clerics, wizards, etc...,not just in Thay.

Look at the default Matron Mother, she can cast 9th level cleric spells and Udadrow cities can have dozens to hundreds of those Matron Mothers. Mulhorand is also filled with Divine magic.

You have cities of Drow, High Elves, Grey Dwarves, Deep Gnomes, Aasimar, and Dragonborn that where everyone has at least a little magic.

So magic in FR is very wide.

 

[tetrasodium]

There is enough common magic in FR there in Calimshan for example most people owned at least 1 common magic idea. FR has entire armies of clerics, wizards, etc...,not just in Thay.

Look at the default Matron Mother, she can cast 9th level cleric spells and Udadrow cities can have dozens to hundreds of those Matron Mothers. Mulhorand is also filled with Divine magic.

You have cities of Drow, High Elves, Grey Dwarves, Deep Gnomes, Aasimar, and Dragonborn that where everyone has at least a little magic.

So magic in FR is very wide.

I don't disagree about the fr high magic. I just think that thay is deliberately a bit of an outlier with real issues that aren't helped by god tier NPCs & high magic. That is hopefully especially true if it goes back to elves & dwarves being culturally subsumed & militarily oppressed/culled by faster breeding humans & orcs.