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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 5531632" data-attributes="member: 3192">Try this for an option:There are a large number of magic items in most fantasy worlds, but they are mostly unique.  They are singular creations by magic-users, not mass produced unless you are in an industrial age fantasy world (or a in a part of your world which is).  Moreover, most of these items are like any other item.  They appear mundane. Some may be blinking energy cubes with slowed time inside, but most are everyday items. In game worlds the "magic aura" cannot be seen without a spell effect like Detect Magic. Magical properties aren't commonly apparent without playing with the item.  Here's an exercise: Look around the room you're in and estimate how many different items are in it.  Then select a handful and think of how they could be a magic item. What would they need to be to be "magic" here and now? Now think what is the real world timeline of each of these objects.  Where have they been since they were constructed? Who has considered them property or had some connection with them? What actions and events have they been a part of? If you can see the investments we have in our real world surroundings, you can better understand what kinds of conceptions players may have upon the fantastical magical creations in the game world.  Beyond the "real" aspects of items, knowing what we consider fantastical is the other part of making magic items engaging.EDIT: Without knowing what items are magic, fewer will be gained. Without knowing what magic or magic items do, fewer effects will be used.  The game world may appear low magic, but the underlying magic of it will be there to discover.  Magic really is the discovery of the unknown.  The less we know about what we are experiencing, the more magical it is. The more we learn about the unknown, the more we desire and value our exploration of it.</blockquote>

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