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General Tabletop Discussion
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World Building: Did magic evolve?
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<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 9055358" data-attributes="member: 6801845"><p>One of the default assumptions of D&D has long been that there was once an advance version of civilization that fell. It helps explain where all those dungeons come from. It also means that there are legendary items and artifacts, magic that people once understood and mastered but that is now out of reach.</p><p></p><p>So to answer your question, people once understood magic better than the current world. That fundamental understanding has been lost so spells originated from lost magical theories, wizards know how to cast a fireball but that's just because we have fragmentary knowledge of magic from the ancients. Kind of like someone with no understanding of the technology finding a flashlight and knowing how to use it without knowing how it works.</p><p></p><p>Another possibility is just that people are shaping magic to their will and the incantations and gestures are just there to help the wizard's intellect shape the magic into a fireball. The magic is always there, but mere mortals are limited into what they can produce. There are rules in the DMG for making new spells, along with guidelines of how powerful they should be. Ninth level spells are simply the most powerful effect of manipulating magic people can obtain. Spells like fireball are used not because they are the only way a 5th level wizard could use magic, it's because it's a common useful standard. That, and because it's a game that simplifies everything.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I disagreed with that theory on the other thread. I don't think everyone that would like to become a caster can become a caster.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I just chalk this up to game streamlining. But in-universe? It just happens that fireball for whatever reason is relatively easy to create for the power level the caster has obtained.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Why do all cell phones look and function basically the same way? Because there's a pattern that works fairly well given the technology that we have. People have tried alternatives and they fell out of favor for various technologies for different reasons. Remember when augmented reality was going to be the next big thing and Google released augmented reality glasses (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass)" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass)</a> If you don't that's because it simply didn't appeal. Clerics have cure wounds because it works so there's no reason to reinvent the wheel.</p><p></p><p>Last, but not least, people used stone, wood and bone for millennia for many reasons. It wasn't because they were less intelligent (they may have been more intelligent, they certainly had skills we've lost) it was because the tools worked for them and the pressures of survival didn't give them the options to develop metal tools.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 9055358, member: 6801845"] One of the default assumptions of D&D has long been that there was once an advance version of civilization that fell. It helps explain where all those dungeons come from. It also means that there are legendary items and artifacts, magic that people once understood and mastered but that is now out of reach. So to answer your question, people once understood magic better than the current world. That fundamental understanding has been lost so spells originated from lost magical theories, wizards know how to cast a fireball but that's just because we have fragmentary knowledge of magic from the ancients. Kind of like someone with no understanding of the technology finding a flashlight and knowing how to use it without knowing how it works. Another possibility is just that people are shaping magic to their will and the incantations and gestures are just there to help the wizard's intellect shape the magic into a fireball. The magic is always there, but mere mortals are limited into what they can produce. There are rules in the DMG for making new spells, along with guidelines of how powerful they should be. Ninth level spells are simply the most powerful effect of manipulating magic people can obtain. Spells like fireball are used not because they are the only way a 5th level wizard could use magic, it's because it's a common useful standard. That, and because it's a game that simplifies everything. I disagreed with that theory on the other thread. I don't think everyone that would like to become a caster can become a caster. I just chalk this up to game streamlining. But in-universe? It just happens that fireball for whatever reason is relatively easy to create for the power level the caster has obtained. Why do all cell phones look and function basically the same way? Because there's a pattern that works fairly well given the technology that we have. People have tried alternatives and they fell out of favor for various technologies for different reasons. Remember when augmented reality was going to be the next big thing and Google released augmented reality glasses ([URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass)[/URL] If you don't that's because it simply didn't appeal. Clerics have cure wounds because it works so there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Last, but not least, people used stone, wood and bone for millennia for many reasons. It wasn't because they were less intelligent (they may have been more intelligent, they certainly had skills we've lost) it was because the tools worked for them and the pressures of survival didn't give them the options to develop metal tools. [/QUOTE]
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