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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jimlock" data-source="post: 5560439" data-attributes="member: 6674931">hmmmmm..... that is a very interesting subject, that perhaps deserves a thread of its own. However, since it has been brought up here, i'll share my two cents.Skills, are generally underpowered in respect to magic, and that is only natural... for magic is magic.However, what in fact weakens the skills in comparison to magic, is the ABUNDANCE OF MAGIC.I disagree on your assumption that skills are minor in scope. If skills are given the right attention, and if they are used properly in the game, one can achieve many a great feat. Provided that one is experienced/skilled enough (portrayed by his ranks) one can jump over enormous distances, one can climb at the speed of an ape, one can have you believe whatever he wants, one can have you believe he is whoever he wants, one can be aware of anything happening around him, no matter how irrelevant, small or silent.... skills can do great things.....Spells can do all the above and more. Point is... how abundant is magic in the world? Are there wizards/clerics/sorcerers/etc... in every corner of the city? Are there magical items in every store in town? How easily can a wizard obtain his spells? Can he learn any spell he wants, whenever he wants, just by declaring that..."i gained a level in wizard...therefore i get this spell and that one.." Does a cleric's deity allow the use of every spell there is? Does the deity interfere with a cleric's actions...his spell casting power?...Can a caster take the form of any beast there is (transmutation) in the monster manuals just by declaring it?...or is it required that he has seen/experienced in some way the very beings he imitates?If i could name one single thing that can break a game is this... Abundance of Magic. I have seen/played games full of magic as well as games where the DM keeps a tight leash on magic (i myself play that way as a DM) and boy... is there a difference.... I have concluded, a long time ago... that its the best way to keep a game balanced. That way, skills are important, martial classes are important, and spell-casters are not gods that can break any game after a certain level.I've been playing D&D since the mid 90s... I've started with 2e, read most of its books, played like crazy... I've read a few 1e books just for the kicks of it, even though i've never played anything prior to 2e... now i only play 3.5... even though i miss 2e so much........Throughout my experience with D&D....somehow..... i've mostly played in campaigns (both as player and as DM) where magic was well controlled....... i don't know if its just me, but i've always had the impression that the books are speaking about how magic should be contained...  how it is not something that is out there for every one to get his hands on. Certainly this wasn't/isn't mediated through actual rules but its hinted in the books ... the D&D novels... perhaps its just me... but i see it everywhere.......Just because the books have all the spells... all the magical items possible... that doesn't mean they are "a volonte" for everyone to take... just because he can afford the price or the level...What makes magic magical is how rare it is...otherwise it loses its magic...</blockquote>

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