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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 4610390" data-attributes="member: 40177">Ben,Regarding your question on magic.  One approach I've always loved is that of Dark Sun, which makes magic a dangerous force in the world but not inherently dangerous to PCs.  Plus, it's D&D style magic - which usually encourages frequent magic use!  Basically, in Dark Sun, everytime you cast a spell, you drain some of the surrounding plant life.  Since the world is a massive desert, made that way by centuries of too-frequent magic use, the populace naturally has a dim view on arcane magic.  So, if you cast a spell (even if you're a preserver, who does his best to save the environment;  people don't often uderstand the difference), you better hope people don't see you - that's an easy way to get lynched.  So, even though you can cast spells just as often as you can in mainstream D&D, there's a social element that encourages you to be a bit more selective in your casting.  Coupled with the fact that magical spell components are illegal (and sold only in the secretive Elven markets), there's definitely a limitation on spell use in the campaign world.Personally, I'm heading in a similar direction - how to make magic mysterious and rare without making it insidious.  I'm simply saying that no one really knows where it came from (everyone simply woke up months or years after the "apocalypse" with these powers, and are unsure where they came from), and as for "rarity" - while every PC has a neat power, most common folk do not.  Common folk do have powers, but they are often so mild that they are functionally useless (one guy might be very mildly magnetic, while a second is now a very lucid dreamer).  The common theme being that the only people who wake up from the years-long "Sleepwalking" are those who had psychic powers - the rest either die fairly quickly, or become "Nightmare Runners".  the powers themselves are not good or evil, and there's no negative effect for using your powers.  in fact, you can use them an unlimited number of times per day, though some have the equivalents of hit point or action point activation costs.   Each power is tied to one of four psychic powers (corresponding with the four card suits - I'm using cards to determine initiative order, and if your suit comes up, you get a bonus on your spellcasting rolls that round).   As your skill improves, you can use your power to do bigger and better things.For example, you might get the power to walk through walls.  At start, you have to concentrate to use this power, taking your entire round to move through relatively thin walls.  As your power improves, you can use it to move through walls as an action, and later on, you can even do so as part of your regular movement, or use it to drop through the floor to an open ground below.One of my main design goals (I have it written down in red ink on my hand-written notes sheet) is to make each magical power something that must be actively invoked, and each power must be usable both inside and outside of combat.  So, no permanent buffs (i.e. +10% to skill X) that characters write down on their character sheets and promptly forget, and no simple blast attacks (i.e. D&D's Magic Missile) that essentially cannot be used outside of a fight.  Conversely, powers like Clairvoyance will probably exist, but I need to find a way to make them usable inside of combat - maybe a short-range scrying effect that can reveal the movements of hidden enemies.  Hope that gives you an idea where I'm heading.</blockquote>

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