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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6830308" data-attributes="member: 996">Gandalf provided exposition.&nbsp; Tons of stultifying exposition, especially in the first book.&nbsp; Even when he defeated the Balrog, he did it 'off-screen' and then provided exposition about it later.&nbsp; A rogue Charlatan with expertise in History and Deceive could do a pretty fair imitation of Gandalf.&nbsp; He'd need some fireworks, and a flashlight.&nbsp;&nbsp; Oh, and a wheelbarrow, of course, never forget the wheelbarrow.That's the thing:&nbsp; stories don't flow in real-world time, they flow in scenes and plot points and important events and character development and even flashbacks.&nbsp; It makes plenty of sense.&nbsp; Whenever you want/need to establish the character can use magic, you pop off with a cantrip, even if it's just prestidigitation or something, though, with the combat focus of traditional D&amp;D, a combat-useable attack cantrip is a good idea.You should also be able to do something much more dramatic, some of the time, or you're just part of the scenery.&nbsp; By the same token, you can't be doing that 'some of the time' thing too frequently or systematically, or it could undermine the story/setting.The same considerations make just as much sense for any character-establishing trait, magical or otherwise.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 6830308, member: 996"] Gandalf provided exposition. Tons of stultifying exposition, especially in the first book. Even when he defeated the Balrog, he did it 'off-screen' and then provided exposition about it later. A rogue Charlatan with expertise in History and Deceive could do a pretty fair imitation of Gandalf. He'd need some fireworks, and a flashlight. Oh, and a wheelbarrow, of course, never forget the wheelbarrow. That's the thing: stories don't flow in real-world time, they flow in scenes and plot points and important events and character development and even flashbacks. It makes plenty of sense. Whenever you want/need to establish the character can use magic, you pop off with a cantrip, even if it's just prestidigitation or something, though, with the combat focus of traditional D&D, a combat-useable attack cantrip is a good idea. You should also be able to do something much more dramatic, some of the time, or you're just part of the scenery. By the same token, you can't be doing that 'some of the time' thing too frequently or systematically, or it could undermine the story/setting. The same considerations make just as much sense for any character-establishing trait, magical or otherwise. [/QUOTE]

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