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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 6853348" data-attributes="member: 53980">Sure, that works too. I was assuming that Fennel lives in a world where people know that magic and magic-users exist, they just probably don't know much in the way of details. So when they see someone who looks like he might be a magic-user from the stories, they let him know the rules.Besides, since it's D&D we're talking about here, it's generally bad form (IMO) for the DM to pull something like that without the player's knowledge. There's a fairly big difference between "people in this world are suspicious of magic" and "magic-users are kill on sight in many civilized areas". Presumably a magic-user would have a general sense of how he might be received in an area, assuming the third town isn't abnormal.Right. So if Fennel the Idealist's Magic for the Masses program doesn't work out (because he's no longer among the living), it's safe to say that it's unlikely that anyone is going to take his place anytime soon. Hence, a world of cantrip using casters filled with magic-distrustful common-folk.That seriously depends on what cantrips the caster has at his disposal. It isn't as though you have all cantrips in 5e. A 1st level wizard only has 3 cantrips. Sure, he might take Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp and Prestidigitation. In that case you might be right. On the other hand, he might take Chill Touch, Light and Mage Hand. In that case he'd have dirty robes, need to know how to use flint and steel, and might want to keep a staff or dagger handy in case he is unable to withdraw from melee.IMO, D&D magic has never followed your first and most important rule of wizardry outside of perhaps when the PCs are on a mission. Even in 2nd edition I can recall spellcasters using magic to pull pranks while in town, such as the gnome mage who used shocking grasp to zap a fellow party member who happened to be leaning against a metal banister. There are systems out there which do follow your rule. In Mage, for example, you risk paradox most times that you use magic. In D&D, the biggest penalty for casting most spells is not having the slot available again until the next day.Disregarding the above for the moment, there are plenty of scenarios where you might never want to use magic unless you need to. Take Dark Sun for instance. Using magic willy-nilly in that setting is a great way to end up dead. You don't even need as extreme a setting as Dark Sun per se. Simply make magic use taboo. So? It's not as though in their very first 1e/2e game the wizard player magically knew the most efficient use of spell slots. It was learned behavior. There's zero reason that a cantrip using wizard player can't learn the same thing, assuming they don't simply intuit it, since it is not rocket science. It's like saying that the fighter player will suddenly not know how to play his character if the guards confiscate his weapons as the gates. I've played a 5e wizard, and I certainly didn't rely on magic to solve every problem.The types of players who are okay with that sort of thing will roll with it, and those who aren't will complain. I saw those types of complaints back in 2e. It is hardly a new phenomenon. IME, it has everything to do with the player's attitude, and absolutely nothing to do with the rules.</blockquote>

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