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<blockquote data-quote="Belegbeth" data-source="post: 1690265" data-attributes="member: 17228">JoeGKushner is exactly right -- most classic fantasy novels have been &quot;low magic&quot; in nature (and I'm surprised he didn't mention the goliath -- Tolkien -- in his list of classic fantasy authors).&nbsp; It is a desire to recreate the feel of those novels -- as opposed to the &quot;common magic&quot; worlds found in contemporary video games -- that leads many DMs to pursue this approach to campaign design.(As an aside, the term &quot;low magic&quot; is IMO too vague -- there is a difference between a &quot;low power&quot; magic world, and &quot;low frequency&quot; magic world.&nbsp; E.g. magic is quite subtle and 'weak' in Tolkien's Middle-Earth, whereas in Vance's Lyonnesse novels it is very powerful but quite rare.)DnD campaigns in which magic is pervasive and commonly available can feel more like science fiction worlds (where magic just plays the role of technology) than true fantasy settings.&nbsp; This is not meant as an insult -- such settings can be very fun to play in.&nbsp; But they don't resemble the fantasy worlds described in most classic fantasy novels.Well, if a DM justifies his decision ahead of time, with reference to features of his/her campaign world, then I think that this is perfectly fine.&nbsp; There is absolutely NO reason why everything in the DnD books needs to be included in a given campaign (e.g. if I am running a campaign based on Medieval European cultures, and monks do not fit, then it should be perfectly fine for that class not to be available to players).&nbsp; In my campaign setting, for example, there is no Astral Plane, and hence no spells associated with it.&nbsp; I thankfully have never had players whine about such restrictions in my campaign -- they are more concerned with developing the unfolding plots in the world -- and would not want to play with players who did.&nbsp; (Creating an interesting campaign setting involves knowing what to leave OUT as much as it involves knowing what to include.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Belegbeth, post: 1690265, member: 17228"] JoeGKushner is exactly right -- most classic fantasy novels have been "low magic" in nature (and I'm surprised he didn't mention the goliath -- Tolkien -- in his list of classic fantasy authors). It is a desire to recreate the feel of those novels -- as opposed to the "common magic" worlds found in contemporary video games -- that leads many DMs to pursue this approach to campaign design. (As an aside, the term "low magic" is IMO too vague -- there is a difference between a "low power" magic world, and "low frequency" magic world. E.g. magic is quite subtle and 'weak' in Tolkien's Middle-Earth, whereas in Vance's Lyonnesse novels it is very powerful but quite rare.) DnD campaigns in which magic is pervasive and commonly available can feel more like science fiction worlds (where magic just plays the role of technology) than true fantasy settings. This is not meant as an insult -- such settings can be very fun to play in. But they don't resemble the fantasy worlds described in most classic fantasy novels. Well, if a DM justifies his decision ahead of time, with reference to features of his/her campaign world, then I think that this is perfectly fine. There is absolutely NO reason why everything in the DnD books needs to be included in a given campaign (e.g. if I am running a campaign based on Medieval European cultures, and monks do not fit, then it should be perfectly fine for that class not to be available to players). In my campaign setting, for example, there is no Astral Plane, and hence no spells associated with it. I thankfully have never had players whine about such restrictions in my campaign -- they are more concerned with developing the unfolding plots in the world -- and would not want to play with players who did. (Creating an interesting campaign setting involves knowing what to leave OUT as much as it involves knowing what to include.) [/QUOTE]

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