Hi everyone. I've had a campaign idea sitting around for a while. Not sure when I'll run it, but I'd like your opinions about a central part of the campaign.
The setting is a low-magic setting, where magic is greatly feared, and people who use magic are hunted down. Some of the more 'magical' races have withdrawn into their own enclaves, and are generally viewed with suspicion (Dragonborn, Tieflings, etc). The party will be from various backgrounds (letting the players make those decisions), but would be part of/working for pro-magic people who are trying to recover what they can--relics, spellbooks, etc. There's also an organization responsible for getting rid of the 'last remaining' magic users a generation ago, and they are still around being creepy and fascist.
I'm looking for opinions about how to handle spellcasting. In this setting, would it be better or more interesting to:
just leave the rules as they are, where most people will be very obvious when spellcasting
give everyone the Subtle Spell ability of Sorcerers (by assuming that, if you can use magic in this setting and are still alive, you have learned to do it without calling attention to yourself)
something in between--maybe give everyone a chance to do magic subtly, a skill check, where failure means the spell still works, but it was obvious. Sorcerers could still take Subtle Spell which would guarantee subtlety.
This is a tough question. In your campaign setting, why is magic feared?
My first impression is to leave rules as they are, and perhaps have players make a deception check or something else if random people start wondering if they are "magic users". I would also leave the rules as is, and then have the party figure out ways to misdirect attention --- assuming you can get all in the party to buy in. For a twist, someone in the party could be a "mage finder" or informant, but that would then lead to intra-party conflict which while fun briefly, isn't really fun for a longer running campaign (imo).
summary: I would leave the rules as is, and then let the party constantly be in a state of making "interesting decisions" when they choose to use magic in your world.
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"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
I figure the degree of attention drawn to oneself would be relative to two things; the spell level and the player's level. High level players are better trained to be subtle about their magic and this would be part of their training in this time, but higher level spells require a great deal of devotion to the words and manipulations of the hand to execute the spell so the effort is more likely to give one away. Also, asking about, talking about or possessing some unusual spell components would be a problem too.
Magic users in this environment would have to be part Rogue to hide, misdirect or distract the public when such things need to happen. They may also need a few cantrips that may be used with the least effort and no material components.
I think it sounds like a great idea for a story arc and I think the search for magic should be used more by all magic focused characters when they travel to new places. It should happen as fluidly as a bard going to the inn or boys in the 20th century trading baseball cards.
I've been really interested in a low-magic setting for a while now so I've been thinking about this too.
To me, this is exactly what the Sleight of Hand is for. Hiding your somatic gestures and keeping your arcane focus out of sight while you cast fit in with how the skill works. Then depending on how you want magic to work, the verbal component of the spell can be hidden in a rhyme or something similar. The character might talk strangely at times and wear loose fitting cloths, but that wouldn't raise any suspicion to every day citizens.
I would leave it more or less as is, sleight of hand may let you hide somatic components to some extent but it's hard to hide the oddity of saying weird stuff with specific pitch and resonance.
The biggest factor in identifying a caster in such a setting should probably be identifying that a spell was cast. If the spell itself isn't subtle, at least a few of the people nearby should be able to identify the caster. If the spell itself didn't make the event memorable, the odd phrases or gestures can probably pass mostly unnoticed as long as the caster remains a stranger.
I would leave the rules as is. It will make playing a spell caster challenging, but that is part of the setting. Spells with subtle or less flashy effects may be possible to cast without attracting undue attention. Fireball is going to scream "there is a mage here!" Many of the combat cantrips will also be very noticeable. A spell like read Languages will probably be safe less the caster calls attention to themselves.
I see no reason that you wouldn't be able to hide the somatic gestures of a spell using Sleight of Hand. It could require a similar contest to pick-pocketing someone, the caster's roll vs any NPC's passive Perception that is in the area and could catch the act. The thing that is going to be difficult will be the number of rolls that are required in that type of situation. However another idea that may work better for this; set a DC based on how difficult you believe it would be to deceive the group of NPCs. Now the player can still try to cast the spell without having the somatic gestures noticed, and you take into account that there are 4 NPCs in the area that may notice.
The component aspect of the spell is easily hand-waved by a component pouch, arcane focus, or holy symbol, with exception to expensive components. There's no reason to be too concerned with this for the first few levels but when it comes to 2nd level, and higher, spells you'll start to find components that are going to be more difficult to acquire and have a cost associated. As with the somatic gestures, you can use the Sleight of Hand you rolled to tie in the use of the components, focus, or symbol. I do like the idea that acquiring the components that have a cost tied to them will have a risk associated. A caster walking into a shop and asking for a diamond so they can cast Revivify should raise some eyebrows.
The hardest part would be the verbal aspect of casting a spell, it's the most difficult thing to hide in my opinion. As is described in the PHB: "...the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion..." and this is important for the style of game you're playing. If we were to use television/movies as an analogy, in many of them, a spell caster starts sounding very different and their voice becomes strange. Whether their voice becomes sinister, booming, otherworldly, or even reverberates, it's something that is very easy to distinguish and would be impossible to hide with a simple skill check. The exception to this that I've found is when the words were spoken in an specific language that was unlike the normal languages spoken, so it sounded out of place in that manner.
If I were in your shoes, I'd allow the first two pieces, M and S, to be worked out with a skill check, but the V would need some tool or ability to disguise. Sorcerers would inevitably take Subtle spell, so I'd figure out a way to give a limited use item that would grant the Subtle spell type effect that other casters would be able to use. I'd work out a black market where these types of items could be found and purchased. I would also really work out the social dynamics of what happens in particular locations when/if a spell caster is found. Some places may not care, some places my have a militant reaction, and others may embrace a spell caster. The idea of an anti-magic society is interesting, but make sure that there is something to contrast the anti-magic movement so that the players can see whether they want to be pro or anti magic as they adventure further.
How often would magical players be worried about their spellcasting being spotted? If its mostly just during social encounters, I think the above recommendations should be fine to hide the somatic signs of spellcasting.
As for verbal, perhaps its not an issue if your players invest in some social, non-verbal spells:
Friends might finally become more useful (if you rule that since NPCs don't know magic, they're less aware they've been magically influenced), minor illusion could be fun as well. Catapult at lv 1 could work as a distraction to avoid a hustle. There's not a huge amount of spells here, but it depends how often your party are likely to need them! Perhaps they'll have to rely on their natural wits to get by townsfolk.
If they need to hide their magic during combat encounters then yes this might become more difficult :c.
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Hi everyone. I've had a campaign idea sitting around for a while. Not sure when I'll run it, but I'd like your opinions about a central part of the campaign.
The setting is a low-magic setting, where magic is greatly feared, and people who use magic are hunted down. Some of the more 'magical' races have withdrawn into their own enclaves, and are generally viewed with suspicion (Dragonborn, Tieflings, etc). The party will be from various backgrounds (letting the players make those decisions), but would be part of/working for pro-magic people who are trying to recover what they can--relics, spellbooks, etc. There's also an organization responsible for getting rid of the 'last remaining' magic users a generation ago, and they are still around being creepy and fascist.
I'm looking for opinions about how to handle spellcasting. In this setting, would it be better or more interesting to:
Thoughts?
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
This is a tough question. In your campaign setting, why is magic feared?
My first impression is to leave rules as they are, and perhaps have players make a deception check or something else if random people start wondering if they are "magic users". I would also leave the rules as is, and then have the party figure out ways to misdirect attention --- assuming you can get all in the party to buy in. For a twist, someone in the party could be a "mage finder" or informant, but that would then lead to intra-party conflict which while fun briefly, isn't really fun for a longer running campaign (imo).
summary: I would leave the rules as is, and then let the party constantly be in a state of making "interesting decisions" when they choose to use magic in your world.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
I figure the degree of attention drawn to oneself would be relative to two things; the spell level and the player's level. High level players are better trained to be subtle about their magic and this would be part of their training in this time, but higher level spells require a great deal of devotion to the words and manipulations of the hand to execute the spell so the effort is more likely to give one away. Also, asking about, talking about or possessing some unusual spell components would be a problem too.
Magic users in this environment would have to be part Rogue to hide, misdirect or distract the public when such things need to happen. They may also need a few cantrips that may be used with the least effort and no material components.
I think it sounds like a great idea for a story arc and I think the search for magic should be used more by all magic focused characters when they travel to new places. It should happen as fluidly as a bard going to the inn or boys in the 20th century trading baseball cards.
I've been really interested in a low-magic setting for a while now so I've been thinking about this too.
To me, this is exactly what the Sleight of Hand is for. Hiding your somatic gestures and keeping your arcane focus out of sight while you cast fit in with how the skill works. Then depending on how you want magic to work, the verbal component of the spell can be hidden in a rhyme or something similar. The character might talk strangely at times and wear loose fitting cloths, but that wouldn't raise any suspicion to every day citizens.
I would leave it more or less as is, sleight of hand may let you hide somatic components to some extent but it's hard to hide the oddity of saying weird stuff with specific pitch and resonance.
The biggest factor in identifying a caster in such a setting should probably be identifying that a spell was cast. If the spell itself isn't subtle, at least a few of the people nearby should be able to identify the caster. If the spell itself didn't make the event memorable, the odd phrases or gestures can probably pass mostly unnoticed as long as the caster remains a stranger.
I would leave the rules as is. It will make playing a spell caster challenging, but that is part of the setting. Spells with subtle or less flashy effects may be possible to cast without attracting undue attention. Fireball is going to scream "there is a mage here!" Many of the combat cantrips will also be very noticeable. A spell like read Languages will probably be safe less the caster calls attention to themselves.
I see no reason that you wouldn't be able to hide the somatic gestures of a spell using Sleight of Hand. It could require a similar contest to pick-pocketing someone, the caster's roll vs any NPC's passive Perception that is in the area and could catch the act. The thing that is going to be difficult will be the number of rolls that are required in that type of situation. However another idea that may work better for this; set a DC based on how difficult you believe it would be to deceive the group of NPCs. Now the player can still try to cast the spell without having the somatic gestures noticed, and you take into account that there are 4 NPCs in the area that may notice.
The component aspect of the spell is easily hand-waved by a component pouch, arcane focus, or holy symbol, with exception to expensive components. There's no reason to be too concerned with this for the first few levels but when it comes to 2nd level, and higher, spells you'll start to find components that are going to be more difficult to acquire and have a cost associated. As with the somatic gestures, you can use the Sleight of Hand you rolled to tie in the use of the components, focus, or symbol. I do like the idea that acquiring the components that have a cost tied to them will have a risk associated. A caster walking into a shop and asking for a diamond so they can cast Revivify should raise some eyebrows.
The hardest part would be the verbal aspect of casting a spell, it's the most difficult thing to hide in my opinion. As is described in the PHB: "...the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion..." and this is important for the style of game you're playing. If we were to use television/movies as an analogy, in many of them, a spell caster starts sounding very different and their voice becomes strange. Whether their voice becomes sinister, booming, otherworldly, or even reverberates, it's something that is very easy to distinguish and would be impossible to hide with a simple skill check. The exception to this that I've found is when the words were spoken in an specific language that was unlike the normal languages spoken, so it sounded out of place in that manner.
If I were in your shoes, I'd allow the first two pieces, M and S, to be worked out with a skill check, but the V would need some tool or ability to disguise. Sorcerers would inevitably take Subtle spell, so I'd figure out a way to give a limited use item that would grant the Subtle spell type effect that other casters would be able to use. I'd work out a black market where these types of items could be found and purchased. I would also really work out the social dynamics of what happens in particular locations when/if a spell caster is found. Some places may not care, some places my have a militant reaction, and others may embrace a spell caster. The idea of an anti-magic society is interesting, but make sure that there is something to contrast the anti-magic movement so that the players can see whether they want to be pro or anti magic as they adventure further.
How often would magical players be worried about their spellcasting being spotted? If its mostly just during social encounters, I think the above recommendations should be fine to hide the somatic signs of spellcasting.
As for verbal, perhaps its not an issue if your players invest in some social, non-verbal spells:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells?filter-class=0&filter-search=&filter-verbal=f
Friends might finally become more useful (if you rule that since NPCs don't know magic, they're less aware they've been magically influenced), minor illusion could be fun as well. Catapult at lv 1 could work as a distraction to avoid a hustle. There's not a huge amount of spells here, but it depends how often your party are likely to need them! Perhaps they'll have to rely on their natural wits to get by townsfolk.
If they need to hide their magic during combat encounters then yes this might become more difficult :c.