Spells that "ruin" your campaign setting

[pogre]

Greetings,

Assume for a moment I am wanting to create a new campaign world for a D&D campaign.

There are certain spells that inherently change assumptions about the world - Teleportation, wind walk, scry, etc. These spells could lead to a "flavor" in the campaign I don't want.

I have previously banned a few races and classes, but have never touched base spell lists.

Have you removed spells in your "campaign bible" not for rules or mechanical considerations, but to maintain the assumptions of your campaign? How did it work out? Did your players resent the change(s)?

For example, I would like for long distance travel to be meaningful at higher levels in my next campaign - as a result, I am considering banning most fast travel and communication spells.

I appreciate your thoughts,

pogre

 

[Crothian]

In my campaign world teleport exists but the god of travel has a monopoly. Any one not in his guild that uses a teleport spell eventually will attract his attention and will find their destination to not be of their own picking. People can use teleport but it becomes a risk and they never know what might happen.

 

[Lanefan]

I don't usually find teleport and-or planeshift to be much of a problem - in fact they tend to make things more convenient all round as neither me nor the players need to bother with potentially months of overland travel. (I like to vary the adventure settings sometimes - desert for a while, arctic for a while, near home for a while, etc.)

And teleport in my game is not without risk - see the spell write-up in the 1e PH for what I mean. Plane-shift is safe (and can take more people) but I've restricted it such that while you can leave from anywhere you can only arrive at a temple consecrated to your own deity.

Long-range communication is also fine with me, particularly over a range of just a few miles - it allows party scouts to do their job and actually get a report in before they die. Longer-range, say between two party home bases, also adds to the fun.

There really aren't many - if any - spells that truly mess things up for me, mostly because I can use those same spells to mess things up for the PCs: the arms race is thus kept about even.

Lanefan

 

[Ahnehnois]

To me, the only ones that really suggest that level of trouble are the really open-ended polymorphs and the detect alignment spells. I never felt the need to ban either of them.

 

[pogre]

I have really enjoyed games of D&D where spells and powers completely changed the game. However, I am seeking a different high-level game without the flying, invisible, hasted PCs using dimension door, etc. There's nothing wrong with that, and as I said I have enjoyed it previously. I don't have a "problem" with those spells per se.

I am considering e6. However, the real barriers to the kind of campaign I want to build just seem like a few choice spells.

Maybe a different rules set is the solution, but there are a lot of things about high level D&D that would work very well in my concept.

I like the teleport solutions suggested above. I considered having teleport as a complicated ritual spell of some kind with a permanent circle required.

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll have to think this over a bit more.

 

[Celebrim]

Have you removed spells in your "campaign bible" not for rules or mechanical considerations, but to maintain the assumptions of your campaign? How did it work out? Did your players resent the change(s)?

I don't exactly remove them, but I do tend to tone them down.

Teleport spells for example have a maximum range which though it is in miles or tens of miles generally prevents zapping around the world instantly. Fast travel spells and long range communication on the other hand don't really bother me. It allows the PC's to maintain relevance as the scope of the campaign increases, without allowing the PC's to be basically everywhere at once. It also increases the difficulty associated with attempting to create teleport networks to elimenate travel between cities.

Fly is bumped up to 4th level, reducing its prevailance giving the demographic assumptions. Overland Flight goes up to 5th level. A less effective version of flying - Hawk's Wings - exists at 3rd level.

I'm considering also bumping Invisibility to 3rd level mostly for demographic reasons.

Most of the shapechanging spells are reduced in power to the level I feel comfortable with, though this is primarily for balance reasons rather than demographic ones.

Spells with potential high economic impact are given restrictions and limitations to try to reduce 'factory wizard' issues.

No complaints so far.

 

[Yora]

Teleportation is the first type of magic that is not available in my setting.

The second is any effect that creates something from nothing, or makes it appear from somewhere else. Ig anything like that is possible, it only last as long as the spell until it pops out of exidtance again.

Raise Dead exist, but not ressurrection. accidents and death in battle can be reversed, but assassination can be donr easily by stealing the head or heart, or destroying the body with fire or acid. What is left won't be enough to raise. Can also be fun to go hunting for a stolen head.

Divinations only exist to the extent that you can consult spirits of the kand about things that happened in their domain, or to get some advice on a problem. Even they can't see the future, just make an estimated prediction.

 

[diaglo]

read magic for magic users
and cure light wounds for clerics.

the world is changed by those 2 spells alone.
edit: but i wouldn't say ruined.

 

[Gilladian]

I run E6, partly because of exactly what you've specified - 4th and higher level spells put a tremendous kink in the kind of stories I like to tell. I've never been one for epic "change the world" stories; I want to tell how a lowly plow-boy became a king, not how a wizard manipulated reality.

So 4th level spells are rare, difficult and take a great deal of cooperation between high level casters. Most effects are not even understood to be possible, let alone found routinely. However, there are ancient magics such as teleportal systems and huge areas of magically blasted wasteland, that demonstrate high powered magics CAN exist.

Use magic and such as a tool for storytelling, not as a way for the PCs to "win".

 

[pogre]

read magic for magic users
and cure light wounds for clerics.

the world is changed by those 2 spells alone.
edit: but i wouldn't say ruined.

True. Not the best choice of words.
edit: that's partly why it was in quotes - I was struggling with the correct word.