My troupe and I 've been playing Mage for some time and entered D&D for the first time. We find the magic system, storywise, lacking. How do magi learn magic, new spell, how do they cast them, any druid can use the same spells? Does a magic missile always look the same or does a wizards personal style of magic shape it.
Just, where can I get more storymaterial to give it more depth. Not more rules, storymaterial, basics?
help me out here
magic... how?
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Jester of the FoS
- Jester of the Dark Comedy
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D&D's magis system is a set of rules. Rules that govern combat and frequency of use. Rules that govern environmental modifiers and random chance. Just plain rules for almost every concievable situation.
The how is up to the Dungeon Master.
There are no hard and fast constants. It's all environmental and subject to the setting. Some worlds like the Forgotten Realms have large magical colleges and roaming teachers. Magic is accepted and wizards are scholars. In Dragonlance magic is a restricted art controled by a single monolithic organization that regulates use and teaches its members spells and the like.
In both cases how the wizards learn magic is vastly different. One might be approached by a mage or offered an apprenticeship while another might find a place in a sanctioned magical school. One might learn spells crafted by ancient wizards or penned by powerful dragons while the others learn the controlled Art as handed down by the gods. In one the mages use the arcane language of dragons to manipulate the Weave with the other has them speaking Magius and controling the power of creation left over from the forging of the world.
In Ravenloft, the default seems to always be to assume a more Real World approach. Wizards learn their magic from old tomes and scrolls, leftover books from a forgotten time. I've always assumed there are few new spells created and all magical knowledge has to be wrested from time, rediscovered and remembered.
A wizard might stumble down the path of magic after accidently discovering a book of spells in an ancient library. As they progress in their career they understand more of its secrets.
They search for more books of knowledge, adapting what they find and attempting to make it useable.
Which do you prefer?
There are no rules that control such cosmetic details. If you feel the missile (or any spell) is an extention of personaly of subject to individual modification, then why not? If you think that magic is controled and limited and shaping it would be difficult then say no.
The only guideline I can offer is that any cosmetic change should in no way convey a benefit another cosmetic change would not. A player suggesting that, because his magic missile is shaped like an arrow, he can fire the spell through a small slit is stretching the spell.
It's your world, do what you want with it!
The how is up to the Dungeon Master.
There are no hard and fast constants. It's all environmental and subject to the setting. Some worlds like the Forgotten Realms have large magical colleges and roaming teachers. Magic is accepted and wizards are scholars. In Dragonlance magic is a restricted art controled by a single monolithic organization that regulates use and teaches its members spells and the like.
In both cases how the wizards learn magic is vastly different. One might be approached by a mage or offered an apprenticeship while another might find a place in a sanctioned magical school. One might learn spells crafted by ancient wizards or penned by powerful dragons while the others learn the controlled Art as handed down by the gods. In one the mages use the arcane language of dragons to manipulate the Weave with the other has them speaking Magius and controling the power of creation left over from the forging of the world.
In Ravenloft, the default seems to always be to assume a more Real World approach. Wizards learn their magic from old tomes and scrolls, leftover books from a forgotten time. I've always assumed there are few new spells created and all magical knowledge has to be wrested from time, rediscovered and remembered.
A wizard might stumble down the path of magic after accidently discovering a book of spells in an ancient library. As they progress in their career they understand more of its secrets.
They search for more books of knowledge, adapting what they find and attempting to make it useable.
Does a magic missile always look the same or does a wizards personal style of magic shape it.
Which do you prefer?
There are no rules that control such cosmetic details. If you feel the missile (or any spell) is an extention of personaly of subject to individual modification, then why not? If you think that magic is controled and limited and shaping it would be difficult then say no.
The only guideline I can offer is that any cosmetic change should in no way convey a benefit another cosmetic change would not. A player suggesting that, because his magic missile is shaped like an arrow, he can fire the spell through a small slit is stretching the spell.
It's your world, do what you want with it!
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Darkknight
- Agent of the Fraternity
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- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:13 am
- Location: Racine, WI
Jester is absolutely right. I had a character who played a Wu-Jen and added his own flare... magic missles with streamers, colored smoke, etc.
NOw as for how peopple learn... Again absolutely up to you and the character. I gave one of my characters a book that spoke with him, taught him magic and then tried to place the wizard's soul into his body. Some use foci, other can use whatever you deem as intersting.
NOw as for how peopple learn... Again absolutely up to you and the character. I gave one of my characters a book that spoke with him, taught him magic and then tried to place the wizard's soul into his body. Some use foci, other can use whatever you deem as intersting.
I remember the first war, the way the sky burned... Faces of angels destroyed.
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Dion of the Fraternity
- Lurker Maximus
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- Location: Baguio City, Philippines
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aah, we have decided to take the best of both worlds. standard wizard is hermetic. hala go verbena, anchorites are choristers.
The whole thing just needs more depth now, but I'll leave that to the players.
I'm also considering translating some spells, erm, rotes.
(darn difficult tiping with a baby on the lap who tries his outmost best to hit the keybord
)
The whole thing just needs more depth now, but I'll leave that to the players.
I'm also considering translating some spells, erm, rotes.
(darn difficult tiping with a baby on the lap who tries his outmost best to hit the keybord
)