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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pukunui" data-source="post: 6277903" data-attributes="member: 54629">Excellent questions! Thank you.Right. My initial inclination was to say that there was some kind of witch hunt that drove out magic users and magical creatures, but that would likely result in people fearing/banning mages from their lands, even centuries after magic has all but disappeared, which in turn could result in it being unfun to play a magic user, which isn't my goal.Perhaps it was just, as in real world history, as the empire brought stability and peace to its citizens, they encountered magic and monsters less and less frequently, until it got to the point where they had mostly been reduced to the subject of superstitions and fairy tales. As their "belief" in magic faded, so too did the connection between the natural world and its more magical mirror planes.Perhaps in the more urban areas, mages never disappeared entirely, they just withdrew into their enclaves and the common folk again stopped witnessing their power on a regular basis. "Those wizards always keep to themselves in their towers. Can they even do magic anymore? Maybe they hide away because they're too ashamed to admit that they can't."Perhaps no one even really knows why magic faded. It could be one of the great mysteries of all time. And maybe the fact that it happened as the empire was reaching its height is mere coincidence (or just appears to be).Depends on the monster really. I'm thinking more in terms of the mystical, otherworldly creatures ~ pixies, demons, maybe even dragons. They would've come from these mirror planes originally, and so as the connection faded, they wouldn't have been able to cross over as easily in either direction. Those that remained in the natural world would've been killed or driven away ~ either into the untamed wilds or down into forgotten dungeons and such.There certainly would've been areas outside the empire's borders. I'm thinking more the Roman Empire at its height, not some globe-spanning empire or anything. However, I would imagine that areas outside the empire also lost magic, although maybe not to the same extent.I think it depends on what the mage was doing at the time. I mean, even in a place like Waterdeep, you can't just drop a fireball in the middle of the street without some kind of consequence. I think if the PC was actively trying to hurt the commoners, or was just being harmfully reckless, the commoners would feel a mixture of fear and anger. If the PC was actively trying to help the commoners by dropping a fireball on some bandits or zombies or whatever, then the commoners' relief at being saved might override their fear. The local lord would definitely be keen to speak with such a mage, though. He might be worried at the power the mage possesses, or he might want to try to get the mage into his service so he can control the power.My goal is not to make it a hassle to play a mage. I merely want to restore a sense of wonder and mystery into the world. I don't like the idea that in many D&D worlds, knowledge of the planes and demon lords and whatever else are so commonplace that they might as well be taught in school. The dead rising from their graves shouldn't be something anyone expects to have happen for real. A dragon would be a creature shrouded in myth. Orcs and goblins, though, are probably just going to be part of the setting.Yes, exactly!That's an interesting idea about the Returned. Thanks for sharing.</blockquote>

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