D&D 5E What high-level spells could warp society?

[Maxperson]

Unless you do cheese like a Simulacrum to Wish for you, these quasi-immortal casters are only going to burn a Wish that way if it is truly life and death.

That doesn't work in my game. Well, it did and then the first wizard to figure it out used his infinite wishes to make sure no one else could do it and rival him. The PCs, being far from the first wizard to get there, are prevented from being able to cheese that way.

 

[Maxperson]

Yup. Have you seen the movie? That is a much more magical world than decades of TSR material has led me to believe is the norm outside settings like Spelljammer or Planescape.

So in that high magic world, in the most magical country in the world, only about 1 in 10 people have the spark inborn and are able to learn to be wizards.

High magic worlds =/= spellcasters everywhere.

Edit: Also, relatively few in number is just that, relative. A high population world with relatively few casters, can still have a good number of casters.

 

[Stalker0]

So in that high magic world, in the most magical country in the world, only about 1 in 10 people have the spark inborn and are able to learn to be wizards.

High magic worlds =/= spellcasters everywhere.

Edit: Also, relatively few in number is just that, relative. A high population world with relatively few casters, can still have a good number of casters.

there are two principal ideas when we think of high magic worlds.

There is high magic as "labor". This more what the OP noted for this discussion, that there are a lot of high level casters around so high level magic is continuously being used and generated.

Then there is high magic as "wealth". This is where the society warping effects are more about magic items and permanent magical effects. The idea of a Raise Dead, might not be common in this world. It exists, but only a few people can do it, and so the supply is extremely limited. But the idea that a family could commission some golems to be made through True Polymorph, or build a series of teleport circles, creating generational magical power that builds over time. The most common example often quoted is continual flame. Sure it might seem somewhat expensive at the beginning, but multiplied over several generations and it would be reasonable to expect continual flame to be a prominent light source is so many areas....because in the long term the cost is fairly trivial for its immense benefit.

Both create very big societal shifts that likely look far different from the standard medievalish dnd setting. But with the second its less about all magic and more about what magics provide permanent benefits or can be fashioned into magic items, whereas with the first model pretty much any magic is on the table.

 

[Stalker0]

A really interesting model for dnd magic would be a shift in permanent effects.

New Duration: Long - 1 year and a Day.

Change all permanent durations to Long duration.


New Cantrip
Refortify Magic
Target: One magical effect with a long duration
Benefit: The duration is reset.


So what that does is it makes maintaining generational magical wealth require at least some measure of labor, some notion of continuance is required. doesn't have to be high level labor (a cantrip in this case or maybe a 1st level spell), but still someone has to go around and ensure the teleport circles all stay up. someone has to ensure those walls of stone on the palace are maintained, etc.

That allows for both a cost that might limit some generational wealth, and also provide plot hooks for adventures:

1) The Garnes family's front wall of stone just collapsed. It looks like the magic hasn't been maintained. Is the Garnes family's Fortifier working for another family....are they being threatened?

2) While much of the magic in old tombs decays away....we find a magical effect that is still ongoing. who is maintaing the effect?

3) The town of elagon is getting is yearly refortification, and the fortifier is late. The PCs need to escort the fortifier before the durations run out, and ensure no further delays occur.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I didn’t read all previous posts, but minor illusion being a cantrip warps society as much as any thing. You’d live in a world where you could trust absolutely nothing that you see or hear because some jerk ass 1st level bard might be in the area.

Sort of like the internet. Maybe this is what was really meant by "the internet of things" - real things are AI deep fakes...

 

[kigmatzomat]

So in that high magic world, in the most magical country in the world, only about 1 in 10 people have the spark inborn and are able to learn to be wizards.

High magic worlds =/= spellcasters everywhere.

Edit: Also, relatively few in number is just that, relative. A high population world with relatively few casters, can still have a good number of casters.

10% is a huge number.

In comparison, 0.8% of Americans are active military and 6.2% are veterans. Then 4% of Americans are employed in healthcare.

Which means your exemplar country could have a military that was 100% casters plus an all-caster health care system.

Alternately, 8% of Americans work in IT. Imagine every IT worker you know had magic. Plus another 2% of the populace.

10% is huge.

 

[Dausuul]

1 minute worth of people for a veeeery expensive spell. might be good for diplomats and special force and the oddbillionaire , thas about it.

One diamond can power unlimited castings. There's a high one-time investment, but after that, the marginal cost is zero.

(Well, zero plus a 9th-level spell slot. In most worlds that would be worth more than the diamond, but not this one.)

 

[Maxperson]

10% is a huge number.

In comparison, 0.8% of Americans are active military and 6.2% are veterans. Then 4% of Americans are employed in healthcare.

Which means your exemplar country could have a military that was 100% casters plus an all-caster health care system.

Alternately, 8% of Americans work in IT. Imagine every IT worker you know had magic. Plus another 2% of the populace.

10% is huge.

That's in the population most likely to produce wizards. Other populations won't be nearly as high.

 

[Micah Sweet]

So in that high magic world, in the most magical country in the world, only about 1 in 10 people have the spark inborn and are able to learn to be wizards.

High magic worlds =/= spellcasters everywhere.

Edit: Also, relatively few in number is just that, relative. A high population world with relatively few casters, can still have a good number of casters.

My concern is less with how many casters there are, and more about how visibly magical the world appears from the perspective of...basically anyone in it.

 

[kigmatzomat]

That's in the population most likely to produce wizards. Other populations won't be nearly as high.

Sure. So let's cut those in half and compare to jobs that people have a feel for their frequency

• 5% - all the active and former members of the military, minus the coast guard, or the entire healthcare industry (physician down to medical record specialists)
• 2.5% - every physician, nurse (nurse practictioner, RN, LPN) and nursing assistant in the US
• 1.25% - every physician, nurse practitioner and registered nurse (essentially everyone who can officially make a diagnosis)
• 0.6%: every physician, nurse practitioner, pharmacist and pharmacy tech in the US.
• 0.3% - every physician in the US
• 0.1% - every pharmacist in the US