In a game that I'm currently playing in, the DM has decided that knowledge about magic is very common. For example: If my character casts a spell, every enemy has a chance to make an arcana check to see if they can identify the spell. It works both ways, so the PCs aren't at a disadvantage here. He also runs the Arcana skill as a Detect Magic/Identify skill that could allow you to know if there was magic around you, or the general properties of a magic item.
This got me curious as to how other people run magic in their games. I tend to be of the mind that if you aren't a spell caster you don't know anything about magic other than that it is a thing that exists, and there are red potions that heal you if you drink them. Also I like to further separate the magic into Arcane and Divine, mostly because I started playing Pathfinder, so an arcane caster wouldn't know much about divine magic, and vice versa.
I'm pretty shit with a gun in real life, but I can easily name several different types of firearms and manufacturers that have been mentioned in news recently (not to mention my knowledge of equipment tables from various RPGs). I'm also familiar with many different diseases and common cures, and have a basic understanding of how cars works despite having no license or even interest in cars. Heck, werewolves, vampires, and trolls don't even exist in this world, but I've known how to defeat them ever since I first picked up a comic book.
Therefore, I assume that if I lived in a world full of actual magic, real gods, and nearby monsters, I'd have a basic understanding of them too because they would be types of things everyone talks about when something happens.
I mostly follow the DMG for identifying magic items. A character can tell an item is magical simply by handling it, can get a sense of what kind of magic it has by studying it for an hour, and knows all about what it does and how to use it after they attune it. But how many charges it has and whether or not it is cursed is DM's discretion when and how to reveal.
I treat magic like a foreign language, it's something you might recognize but you're probably not going to understand it. Magical items will have a feel, as will the words a caster uses for their spells, that innately lets anyone know that it's magical. In this way anyone can "feel" that there's magic even if they don't know what is being cast or know that there's something special about the item they've acquired.
In regards to casting a spell, one must understand the language or they must have an intimate knowledge with the spell to know what it is. For example; an arcane caster could know what another arcane caster is casting since their language is the same, however, an arcane caster would not know what a divine caster is casting since the languages are distinct. The exception is if a group has been around a caster long enough to figure out their "go to" spells and begin to recognize the words to specific spells. A wizard who casts mage armor before every battle will, due to the frequency, teach their party what that spell's words are simply by using the spell so often. Cantrips will easily be learned by the rest of the party since, as with the caster, these spells are the staple of their learning and are used so often. This does not imply that they will be able to cast the spells, simply that they are going to recognize the words, much like the way many people recognize programming language but they couldn't write code to save their life.
With magical items it's easy to feel that there is power coming from an item, but it takes extra steps to understand what that power means. I prefer to limit that understanding to attunement on many items, but powerful rare or artifact level magical items require the Identify spell. If a character picks up a magical shield, they'll feel the power that is imbued in it and, with proper attunement, they'll unlock its potential. If a character picks up a staff and the power from it is so powerful that it radiates out and anyone near it can feel the power, it's probably an artifact and they'll need to use Identify on it to figure out what they have. If the group comes to a door, and the rogue starts to search for traps, it's possible that while they run their fingers across the locking mechanism that they feel the twinge of a magical energy. Again, they won't know what that magical energy means, just that there's a touch of magic in that location.
Magic may be somewhat common in the game but that doesn't make it common knowledge. Otherwise wizards, paladins, warlocks, etc. wouldn't need special training to harness their powers. Every npc in the game could pick up a spell scroll, or spell book, or prayer book, and start lobbing magic missile, spiritual weapon, or tasha's hideous laughter whenever they felt like it.
In a game that I'm currently playing in, the DM has decided that knowledge about magic is very common. For example: If my character casts a spell, every enemy has a chance to make an arcana check to see if they can identify the spell. It works both ways, so the PCs aren't at a disadvantage here. He also runs the Arcana skill as a Detect Magic/Identify skill that could allow you to know if there was magic around you, or the general properties of a magic item.
This got me curious as to how other people run magic in their games. I tend to be of the mind that if you aren't a spell caster you don't know anything about magic other than that it is a thing that exists, and there are red potions that heal you if you drink them. Also I like to further separate the magic into Arcane and Divine, mostly because I started playing Pathfinder, so an arcane caster wouldn't know much about divine magic, and vice versa.
Let me know how you guys do things!
I'm pretty shit with a gun in real life, but I can easily name several different types of firearms and manufacturers that have been mentioned in news recently (not to mention my knowledge of equipment tables from various RPGs). I'm also familiar with many different diseases and common cures, and have a basic understanding of how cars works despite having no license or even interest in cars. Heck, werewolves, vampires, and trolls don't even exist in this world, but I've known how to defeat them ever since I first picked up a comic book.
Therefore, I assume that if I lived in a world full of actual magic, real gods, and nearby monsters, I'd have a basic understanding of them too because they would be types of things everyone talks about when something happens.
I am one with the Force. The Force is with me.
I mostly follow the DMG for identifying magic items. A character can tell an item is magical simply by handling it, can get a sense of what kind of magic it has by studying it for an hour, and knows all about what it does and how to use it after they attune it. But how many charges it has and whether or not it is cursed is DM's discretion when and how to reveal.
I treat magic like a foreign language, it's something you might recognize but you're probably not going to understand it. Magical items will have a feel, as will the words a caster uses for their spells, that innately lets anyone know that it's magical. In this way anyone can "feel" that there's magic even if they don't know what is being cast or know that there's something special about the item they've acquired.
In regards to casting a spell, one must understand the language or they must have an intimate knowledge with the spell to know what it is. For example; an arcane caster could know what another arcane caster is casting since their language is the same, however, an arcane caster would not know what a divine caster is casting since the languages are distinct. The exception is if a group has been around a caster long enough to figure out their "go to" spells and begin to recognize the words to specific spells. A wizard who casts mage armor before every battle will, due to the frequency, teach their party what that spell's words are simply by using the spell so often. Cantrips will easily be learned by the rest of the party since, as with the caster, these spells are the staple of their learning and are used so often. This does not imply that they will be able to cast the spells, simply that they are going to recognize the words, much like the way many people recognize programming language but they couldn't write code to save their life.
With magical items it's easy to feel that there is power coming from an item, but it takes extra steps to understand what that power means. I prefer to limit that understanding to attunement on many items, but powerful rare or artifact level magical items require the Identify spell. If a character picks up a magical shield, they'll feel the power that is imbued in it and, with proper attunement, they'll unlock its potential. If a character picks up a staff and the power from it is so powerful that it radiates out and anyone near it can feel the power, it's probably an artifact and they'll need to use Identify on it to figure out what they have. If the group comes to a door, and the rogue starts to search for traps, it's possible that while they run their fingers across the locking mechanism that they feel the twinge of a magical energy. Again, they won't know what that magical energy means, just that there's a touch of magic in that location.
Magic may be somewhat common in the game but that doesn't make it common knowledge. Otherwise wizards, paladins, warlocks, etc. wouldn't need special training to harness their powers. Every npc in the game could pick up a spell scroll, or spell book, or prayer book, and start lobbing magic missile, spiritual weapon, or tasha's hideous laughter whenever they felt like it.