So we've all heard it before, WIDE magic not HIGH magic. Spells of 2nd to 4th level are super uncommon. Spells of 5th level and up are the stuff of legend, and 8th and 9th are pretty much just resultant of dragonshards or eldritch machines. My question is this:
If you're a caster, would you play it that you are just special/legendary/THE best at magic in the world, or do you think there's a cap on the spell levels you have access to before you have to multi class out?
Casters in Eberron are no more mythical than casters in any other setting. 'Wide, not High' makes no sense in a setting where magic is basically a scientific process - 'High Magic' would still be rare the way people who're doctorate-level physicists and engineers are pretty damn rare today, but they wouldn't be held in religious awe. They'd simply be paragons in their field.
Recall also that in Eberron, magic is used in ways the PCs don't have access to. The Dragonmarked Houses can create flying airships powered by bound elementals; the PCs may be able to cast High Arcana 6th-level or higher magic, but they sure as hell can't make magic airships. Adventurers have long been specialists in Immediate Action, while other PCs that are less capable in explosive or emergency situations can be much more capable when given time, tools, and an opportunity to plan.
Keith Baker himself said that magewrights can use magic in a way a typical PC adventurer can't, because they spent years learning how to do exactly that. if you wanted to, you could spend a few years learning how to cast a magewright's specialized rituals, but in any game worth playing you have Better Things To Do than studying how to cast Knock as a ritual with 25gp worth of dragonshard dust for five years. That's the angle to take - there are people in Eberron who're specialists that can accomplish more or different things than you can, but you're the specialist in accomplishing the maximum amount of shit that six seconds can accommodate accomplishing.
I wouldn't say level 2 spells are super uncommon, as there are some common magic items in eberron that are made using 2nd level spells. And warforged were likely made by level 10 or equivalent spellcasters.
If PCs get to level 13 or higher when they get really powerful magic, they will just be considered a 1 in a million talent.
Honestly, high level casters may actually be more common in eberron than in forgotten realms, but they are still not common by any means.
I'm going off of a section starting on page 41 of Wayfinder's Guide that explicitly states that 2nd and 3rd level spells are uncommon, 4th and 5th are rare, and 6th and up is very rare/legendary and "likely tied to an eldritch machine or a manifest zone."
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So we've all heard it before, WIDE magic not HIGH magic. Spells of 2nd to 4th level are super uncommon. Spells of 5th level and up are the stuff of legend, and 8th and 9th are pretty much just resultant of dragonshards or eldritch machines. My question is this:
If you're a caster, would you play it that you are just special/legendary/THE best at magic in the world, or do you think there's a cap on the spell levels you have access to before you have to multi class out?
Casters in Eberron are no more mythical than casters in any other setting. 'Wide, not High' makes no sense in a setting where magic is basically a scientific process - 'High Magic' would still be rare the way people who're doctorate-level physicists and engineers are pretty damn rare today, but they wouldn't be held in religious awe. They'd simply be paragons in their field.
Recall also that in Eberron, magic is used in ways the PCs don't have access to. The Dragonmarked Houses can create flying airships powered by bound elementals; the PCs may be able to cast High Arcana 6th-level or higher magic, but they sure as hell can't make magic airships. Adventurers have long been specialists in Immediate Action, while other PCs that are less capable in explosive or emergency situations can be much more capable when given time, tools, and an opportunity to plan.
Keith Baker himself said that magewrights can use magic in a way a typical PC adventurer can't, because they spent years learning how to do exactly that. if you wanted to, you could spend a few years learning how to cast a magewright's specialized rituals, but in any game worth playing you have Better Things To Do than studying how to cast Knock as a ritual with 25gp worth of dragonshard dust for five years. That's the angle to take - there are people in Eberron who're specialists that can accomplish more or different things than you can, but you're the specialist in accomplishing the maximum amount of shit that six seconds can accommodate accomplishing.
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I wouldn't say level 2 spells are super uncommon, as there are some common magic items in eberron that are made using 2nd level spells. And warforged were likely made by level 10 or equivalent spellcasters.
If PCs get to level 13 or higher when they get really powerful magic, they will just be considered a 1 in a million talent.
Honestly, high level casters may actually be more common in eberron than in forgotten realms, but they are still not common by any means.
I'm going off of a section starting on page 41 of Wayfinder's Guide that explicitly states that 2nd and 3rd level spells are uncommon, 4th and 5th are rare, and 6th and up is very rare/legendary and "likely tied to an eldritch machine or a manifest zone."