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General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Spells that would ruin the world
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<blockquote data-quote="TYP" data-source="post: 8679077" data-attributes="member: 7036760"><p>Desperately hoping not to get political here, but also, the police of the USA are not a representative sample of what law enforcement looks like. </p><p></p><p>I agree with Stalker's analysis about the economic implications of having to kit out guards with magic detection gear. It is absolutely doable, and it makes perfect sense for there to be elite units trained to detect and deal with magical dangers to lords, wealthy individuals, clergy, etc. Faolyn's non-magical suggestions regarding scent are brilliant ways for people to deal with the problem of a face changing criminal. What bothers me about the magic is the starting point: do people know what they're dealing with? This is another aspect of what makes this kind of magic horrifying to me. </p><p></p><p>Let's start by assuming that people are aware that this magic exists, and are aware enough to know that unscrupulous people can use it for malice. Talk about trust issues! It makes me think of identity theft, and how yeah, I'm wary, because my identity has not been stolen, but someone who has had their identity stolen will be cautious to the point of appearing paranoid. People with the means can protect themselves (which rings too true), but that leaves many vulnerable. And up until now, I've been thinking of person to person violence, but imagine what it would be like trying to track down a con artist who can change their face, or changing your face to look like someone to steal their possessions (see above about speaking to the dead to get past the banker). Terrifying.</p><p></p><p>Personally, though, I've always considered magic to be exotic to common folk. They are aware it exists, but likely haven't seen much of it up close - I know this has changed in recent editions, but it's what I default to. I also think it's cool to have that kind of mystery in the world, but that's just me. Either way, if common folk don't know that much about magic they might not even know what to look for. Maybe they are so baffled they don't even know to call for help, and assume the person just got away. Maybe they ascribe it to other supernatural forces and, in a superstitious panic, start witch hunts or mob killings. </p><p></p><p>And either scenario assumes people actually are able to accurately perceive what happened, which is a big if. Human perception is so unreliable that it's a bit of a handwave to assume the NPCs would have seen and understood enough of what was happening to put together that a guy who looked like <em>this </em>went in, and a girl who looked like <em>that </em>came out. A well prepared person could avoid detection for ages. I shudder. </p><p></p><p>And again, yes, there are many ways a GM can handle it. I just think a world where those kinds of things would become inevitable responses to a threat is horrifying. </p><p></p><p>Changing the subject somewhat, let's just all be glad that Arcane Eye is a fourth level spell that teenagers are unlikely to be able to learn.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TYP, post: 8679077, member: 7036760"] Desperately hoping not to get political here, but also, the police of the USA are not a representative sample of what law enforcement looks like. I agree with Stalker's analysis about the economic implications of having to kit out guards with magic detection gear. It is absolutely doable, and it makes perfect sense for there to be elite units trained to detect and deal with magical dangers to lords, wealthy individuals, clergy, etc. Faolyn's non-magical suggestions regarding scent are brilliant ways for people to deal with the problem of a face changing criminal. What bothers me about the magic is the starting point: do people know what they're dealing with? This is another aspect of what makes this kind of magic horrifying to me. Let's start by assuming that people are aware that this magic exists, and are aware enough to know that unscrupulous people can use it for malice. Talk about trust issues! It makes me think of identity theft, and how yeah, I'm wary, because my identity has not been stolen, but someone who has had their identity stolen will be cautious to the point of appearing paranoid. People with the means can protect themselves (which rings too true), but that leaves many vulnerable. And up until now, I've been thinking of person to person violence, but imagine what it would be like trying to track down a con artist who can change their face, or changing your face to look like someone to steal their possessions (see above about speaking to the dead to get past the banker). Terrifying. Personally, though, I've always considered magic to be exotic to common folk. They are aware it exists, but likely haven't seen much of it up close - I know this has changed in recent editions, but it's what I default to. I also think it's cool to have that kind of mystery in the world, but that's just me. Either way, if common folk don't know that much about magic they might not even know what to look for. Maybe they are so baffled they don't even know to call for help, and assume the person just got away. Maybe they ascribe it to other supernatural forces and, in a superstitious panic, start witch hunts or mob killings. And either scenario assumes people actually are able to accurately perceive what happened, which is a big if. Human perception is so unreliable that it's a bit of a handwave to assume the NPCs would have seen and understood enough of what was happening to put together that a guy who looked like [I]this [/I]went in, and a girl who looked like [I]that [/I]came out. A well prepared person could avoid detection for ages. I shudder. And again, yes, there are many ways a GM can handle it. I just think a world where those kinds of things would become inevitable responses to a threat is horrifying. Changing the subject somewhat, let's just all be glad that Arcane Eye is a fourth level spell that teenagers are unlikely to be able to learn. [/QUOTE]
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