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New Legend and Lore is up! Magic Systems as DM Modules
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<blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 6025134" data-attributes="member: 6680772"><p>Um, nowhere in the entire article does it talk about "DM empowerment".</p><p></p><p>It's fairly simple.</p><p>Situation: A variety of people want a variety of magic systems in the game. Some want Vancian, some want spontaneous casting, others want a point system, still others want all of the above.</p><p>Problem: Including all of the above as options in the Players Handbook increases the complexity of character generation, and serves as a barrier to new and casual players.</p><p>Solution 1: Create different magic-using classes, each with a different magic system, and slightly different flavor to guide decision-making. Advantages of this solution is that it's clean, easy to balance, and easy to design.</p><p>Problem 2: Feedback indicates widespread dissatisfaction with this solution. Some enjoy mechanics, but don't want the flavor. Some like the flavor, but aren't wedded to the mechanics. Reskinning/renaming is an option for players, but not a wholly satisfactory solution. Warlocks/Sorcerers can still have more focused flavor and unique mechanics, but the core Wizard class remains undefined satisfactorily.</p><p>Solution 2: Wizard traditions. Each tradition mechanically distinct -- magic systems are siloed into sub-classes. Advantages of this solution is that people can now have their classic Wizard flavor with multiple magic systems, and more in the style of various favored editions.</p><p>Problem 3: Complexity increases. Wizards now dominate other classes in terms of options. In addition to trying balance each distinct class, now each tradition needs to be balanced as well. Core game is meant to be simple and is now bloating.</p><p>Solution 4: Change magic system from a player option to a DM option. This creates little new work for DMs; they would have had to familiarize themselves with the various systems anyway when they were player options, as well as decide which classes/traditions were part of their campaign world. Putting the options in the DMG streamlines character generation, and allows DMs to tailor complexity of options to their particular group.</p><p></p><p>Money quote: "After all, a magic system is big. It defines part of a fantasy world, and building the world is mostly (in many groups, entirely) the DM’s job. Why not let the DM pick and choose, and then make those options available to the players? A player who wants to use a specific system could just ask the DM, in much the same way a player might ask to play a lizardfolk wizard or a warforged character in the Greyhawk setting."</p><p></p><p>Those who are particularly allergic to any hint of Viking hats read this as a lowly player petitioning the mighty DM for a player option, but that's not it at all. Mearls is demonstrating group consensus regarding style of play. Note that he never says, "The DM can withhold certain magic systems if he wants to." He's talking about a DM being considerate of his group, and adjusting the game to their interests. Got a group of veterans who like varied options? "This approach makes it easy to use all of the systems at once in your campaign—perhaps competing empires or arcane academies use markedly different approaches to magic—with a minimum of work." Got a group of newbies and don't want to overwhelm them? Choose one or two systems you think they'll pick up quickly, and introduce others if you and the group want them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iosue, post: 6025134, member: 6680772"] Um, nowhere in the entire article does it talk about "DM empowerment". It's fairly simple. Situation: A variety of people want a variety of magic systems in the game. Some want Vancian, some want spontaneous casting, others want a point system, still others want all of the above. Problem: Including all of the above as options in the Players Handbook increases the complexity of character generation, and serves as a barrier to new and casual players. Solution 1: Create different magic-using classes, each with a different magic system, and slightly different flavor to guide decision-making. Advantages of this solution is that it's clean, easy to balance, and easy to design. Problem 2: Feedback indicates widespread dissatisfaction with this solution. Some enjoy mechanics, but don't want the flavor. Some like the flavor, but aren't wedded to the mechanics. Reskinning/renaming is an option for players, but not a wholly satisfactory solution. Warlocks/Sorcerers can still have more focused flavor and unique mechanics, but the core Wizard class remains undefined satisfactorily. Solution 2: Wizard traditions. Each tradition mechanically distinct -- magic systems are siloed into sub-classes. Advantages of this solution is that people can now have their classic Wizard flavor with multiple magic systems, and more in the style of various favored editions. Problem 3: Complexity increases. Wizards now dominate other classes in terms of options. In addition to trying balance each distinct class, now each tradition needs to be balanced as well. Core game is meant to be simple and is now bloating. Solution 4: Change magic system from a player option to a DM option. This creates little new work for DMs; they would have had to familiarize themselves with the various systems anyway when they were player options, as well as decide which classes/traditions were part of their campaign world. Putting the options in the DMG streamlines character generation, and allows DMs to tailor complexity of options to their particular group. Money quote: "After all, a magic system is big. It defines part of a fantasy world, and building the world is mostly (in many groups, entirely) the DM’s job. Why not let the DM pick and choose, and then make those options available to the players? A player who wants to use a specific system could just ask the DM, in much the same way a player might ask to play a lizardfolk wizard or a warforged character in the Greyhawk setting." Those who are particularly allergic to any hint of Viking hats read this as a lowly player petitioning the mighty DM for a player option, but that's not it at all. Mearls is demonstrating group consensus regarding style of play. Note that he never says, "The DM can withhold certain magic systems if he wants to." He's talking about a DM being considerate of his group, and adjusting the game to their interests. Got a group of veterans who like varied options? "This approach makes it easy to use all of the systems at once in your campaign—perhaps competing empires or arcane academies use markedly different approaches to magic—with a minimum of work." Got a group of newbies and don't want to overwhelm them? Choose one or two systems you think they'll pick up quickly, and introduce others if you and the group want them. [/QUOTE]
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