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Questions about "everyday magic" in D&D
bioshrike
Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,729 Arc User
In the interest of staying focused, assume all questions relate to the specific world/plane/dimension Neverwinter takes place in.
1. What kind of mundane utility would a wizard be able to get out of their magic? Could they do things like animate a broom to sweep on its own, or to chill a beverage?
2. Just how difficult is it to learn magic in the first place? If one couldn't master the kind of combat magic our characters use, are there versions that would be more useful for things like construction, or even just mundane tasks?
3. Overlooking the meta-mechanics involved in crafting items via the professions, just how difficult and time consuming would it be for a wizard to enchant an item? I mean, something like a knife that doesn't dull or a kettle that can boil water on its own would be immensely useful - does that kind of magic exist?
4. Can wizardly magic heal injuries at all? If one could reliably make healing potions, how do they fit in with things like sickness or infections? Is germ theory known in Neverwinter, or do must ailments have a magical aspect to them?
5. We see Quorthon astrally project himself to several locations during our play-through. Is this extremely hard to do? Do scouts or messengers employ this technique as well, or is it too risky/costly to be used for such mundane purposes?
6. Just how common are magical items supposed to truly be? Would enchanted arrows or sling bullets be too wasteful?
7. Is there any sort of scale against which magical ability can be measured? Is there some sort of "detect magic" skill employed when a crime or unknown person is investigated? How subtle can one be while still casting magic?
That's all for now, but I may have more questions later.
1. What kind of mundane utility would a wizard be able to get out of their magic? Could they do things like animate a broom to sweep on its own, or to chill a beverage?
2. Just how difficult is it to learn magic in the first place? If one couldn't master the kind of combat magic our characters use, are there versions that would be more useful for things like construction, or even just mundane tasks?
3. Overlooking the meta-mechanics involved in crafting items via the professions, just how difficult and time consuming would it be for a wizard to enchant an item? I mean, something like a knife that doesn't dull or a kettle that can boil water on its own would be immensely useful - does that kind of magic exist?
4. Can wizardly magic heal injuries at all? If one could reliably make healing potions, how do they fit in with things like sickness or infections? Is germ theory known in Neverwinter, or do must ailments have a magical aspect to them?
5. We see Quorthon astrally project himself to several locations during our play-through. Is this extremely hard to do? Do scouts or messengers employ this technique as well, or is it too risky/costly to be used for such mundane purposes?
6. Just how common are magical items supposed to truly be? Would enchanted arrows or sling bullets be too wasteful?
7. Is there any sort of scale against which magical ability can be measured? Is there some sort of "detect magic" skill employed when a crime or unknown person is investigated? How subtle can one be while still casting magic?
That's all for now, but I may have more questions later.
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"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
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"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
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Yes many spells could imo be used in such a way. Though usually not done that I've seen. It's usually fairly costly, but doable for an adventurer. I can imagine nobles have probably paid for many such things. No arcane in general doesn't heal. Exceptions could be considered of the artificer class as they have some healing but it's not quite that same. Depends on the dm I've seen high magic and low magic campaigns.
1. What kind of mundane utility would a wizard be able to get out of their magic? Could they do things like animate a broom to sweep on its own, or to chill a beverage?
Cantrip - can do almost anything mundane from make someone sneeze to flip a pancake.
2. Just how difficult is it to learn magic in the first place? If one couldn't master the kind of combat magic our characters use, are there versions that would be more useful for things like construction, or even just mundane tasks?
Almost all mortal beings have innate magic inside them, they just need to tap into it.
3. Overlooking the meta-mechanics involved in crafting items via the professions, just how difficult and time consuming would it be for a wizard to enchant an item? I mean, something like a knife that doesn't dull or a kettle that can boil water on its own would be immensely useful - does that kind of magic exist?
As a DM, I generally made my users spend one week for every level of spell they tried to enchant upon an item. Yes, magic like that does exist, indeed. The things like the knife or the kettle would be relatively easy for a schooled mage, if they have the proper training, time and resources.
4. Can wizardly magic heal injuries at all? If one could reliably make healing potions, how do they fit in with things like sickness or infections? Is germ theory known in Neverwinter, or do must ailments have a magical aspect to them?
Innately, no. There are some spells that will affect how fast one regenerates, bringing back from death, and the like, or give temporary hitpoints through constitution. Healing generally exists in the realm of divine or nature magic however. Some afflictions can be cured or slowed down through arcane magic, like blindness, deafness, or poison.
5. We see Quorthon astrally project himself to several locations during our play-through. Is this extremely hard to do? Do scouts or messengers employ this technique as well, or is it too risky/costly to be used for such mundane purposes?
Astral projection is very risky, for imagine a string attached to you. This string connects you to your astral form. If an Astral being or traveler were to find a way to locate that cord and sever it, you would die instantly if you failed your system shock check. However, on the same hand, the Astral Plane is as vast as the infinite space istelf, so finding that cord would be a feat in itself, even for a god.
6. Just how common are magical items supposed to truly be? Would enchanted arrows or sling bullets be too wasteful?
Magical items are a part of everyday life in most cities. It is the rural villages that tend to be sparser on magical items.
7. Is there any sort of scale against which magical ability can be measured? Is there some sort of "detect magic" skill employed when a crime or unknown person is investigated? How subtle can one be while still casting magic?
That depends on the place and what means of protection and detection it has. For example, in Baldur's Gate, the city mages have the ability to detect magic spells being cast within the city. In places like Myth Drannor, that is enveloped in a Mythal, a lot of magic is simply prevented by the Mythal itself and the Mythal itself even has the ability to not allow any Evil aligned beings inside it.
There are magical items that can be used to track down magic use and magical items as well.
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8. You mentioned "cantrips" - Are there wizards that specialize in these, or are they kind of considered "child's play" by more experienced magic users? Are there divine or infernal (DC and SW) versions of these, too?
9. The impression I'm getting is that in most cities, magical items are fairly common. Are these tightly controlled, or is there an open market for these? Can people that aren't magically trained use these?
10. Does being trained in how to use/cast magic also make one more susceptible to magical curses or other such negative effects? Do many magical creatures have an innate sense for magic and magic users? Can one protect oneself from such detection and/or prevent the use of magic by others, if so trained?
11. One of the companions is an animated scarecrow - The flavor text states that they are smarter than other constructs. Are such minions looked down upon by regular people? Would a wizard get weird looks if they had such a servant carrying bags for them as they traveled or visited a tavern, etc? Just how difficult would it be to create something like a magically animated butler that can understand basic commands, (and carry them out competently)?
12. Given the dangers you guys pointed out with astral projection, is there a safer way to either view some place from afar, or to otherwise convey messages back and forth, through magic?
13. Given that wizards don't generally deal with healing, like you pointed out, how are they at tasks like mending damaged armor, or conjuring things like clean bandages?
14. Can wizards use magic to communicate with animals, or to gain the aid of other supernatural entities, (in an amicable sense, not by simply enslaving them)?
15. Are there magical ways to either extend your life, or to transfer your essence into something like a suit of armor or statue that you animate, which don't delve into necromancy?
16. What about things like light spells or enchanting clothing so it doesn't get dirty? Would these fall under the category of "cantrips" like you previously mentioned?
17. Let's say that a person devoted themselves to a particular deity, and started down the path of being a cleric - would they be shut out of ever learning arcane magic? Is it a restriction imposed by said deity, or is it a matter of divine magic cancels arcane magic? Are there cases of a cleric becoming a wizard, or a warlock trying to learn regular arcane magic?
My main interest in the cantrips is that it seems that these little feats, if used cleverly, could make for an interesting character - and if one didn't need the kind of dedication to learn cantrips, then it would still leave time to train in other areas.
Thanks again!
"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
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http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/sending.htm
And arcane and divine casting together, multi-classing cleric/mage was available, but there's also fancy ways of doing it
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/mystic-theurge
(aka things Becky learned from reading comics)
Neverwinter Census 2017
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edit*
The way I always thought of cantrips is that they are the easy spells your instructors taught you when teaching you how to first touch and manipulate arcane energy.
Cantrips come in both arcane and divine magic. They changed some in 4th and 5th. For example, in 5th edition, Ray of Frost is a cantrip. They come in a variety of forms and can each be considered spells in their own right. Back in earlier editions, cantrips could not cause direct damage or harm but could through cause and effect. In 4th that changed and now in 5th edition, spellcasters can become more adapt in cantrip use at 6th level, known as Potent Cantrips.
9. The impression I'm getting is that in most cities, magical items are fairly common. Are these tightly controlled, or is there an open market for these? Can people that aren't magically trained use these?
That all depends on the city and/or region. In free cities like Waterdeep and Neverwinter, magical items are widely available on the market. However, most non-evil ruled cities have restrictions on magic, like Necromancy for example, would be a magic that would only be found in black markets as illicit goods in places like Neverwinter or Waterdeep.
Most magical items can be used by anyone who owns them. However, some items are specifically attuned to divine or arcane spellcasters, which would require special training to use, or knowlege of, which in 5th edition is an Intelligence check for Arcana.
10. Does being trained in how to use/cast magic also make one more susceptible to magical curses or other such negative effects? Do many magical creatures have an innate sense for magic and magic users? Can one protect oneself from such detection and/or prevent the use of magic by others, if so trained?
Indeed, being someone with magical power would increasingly make them easier to track if they didn't properly conceal themselves from prying eyes and detection. Yes, there are many creatures that can sense, and even devour magic, like the Hakeashar and Phaerimm. Indeed, there are spells and magical items that one can use to cloak themselves or detect magic. To go to the extreme, High Priests of Mystra can cast "Eye of Mystra" which will strip a being of all magic, but that spell's use is strictly governed by the Goddess herself and generally only her Chosen use it with success. To a lesser degree, the spell Antimagic Field will negate all magic while it is within its area.
The spell Obscure Object for example can be used to prevent an item from being seen with divination magic. Then there's spells like Nystul's Magical Aura which allows you to change your magical aura to some other type.
11. One of the companions is an animated scarecrow - The flavor text states that they are smarter than other constructs. Are such minions looked down upon by regular people? Would a wizard get weird looks if they had such a servant carrying bags for them as they traveled or visited a tavern, etc? Just how difficult would it be to create something like a magically animated butler that can understand basic commands, (and carry them out competently)?
Again, that would all depend on the region and its general tolerance of magic and constructs. In metropolises like Waterdeep, seeing a servant construct would not be out of the ordinary at all. However, go to a small back-water village and you'd be bound to get some people gawking, perhaps even a following of curious onlookers or the occasional "burn the witch" zealot.
12. Given the dangers you guys pointed out with astral projection, is there a safer way to either view some place from afar, or to otherwise convey messages back and forth, through magic?
Indeed. Divination magics and communication magics are quite common among nobles and wizards, even priests and bards. The spell Clairaudience/Clairvoyance for example can be used to hear and communicate at long distances.
13. Given that wizards don't generally deal with healing, like you pointed out, how are they at tasks like mending damaged armor, or conjuring things like clean bandages?
Very likely. Mending broken items is relatively easy for a schooled mage. The cantrip spell Mending for example would mend broken items. However, magical items would require much more power than a mere cantrip. Conjuring items is also something that can be done, so it would not be unheard of to be able to conjure some clean bandages, or cast a spell to clean dirty ones.
14. Can wizards use magic to communicate with animals, or to gain the aid of other supernatural entities, (in an amicable sense, not by simply enslaving them)?
Indeed, wizards can cast spells to speak and understand other languages as well. Tongues for example, allows a bard or mage to speak any language.
15. Are there magical ways to either extend your life, or to transfer your essence into something like a suit of armor or statue that you animate, which don't delve into necromancy?
Not that I can think of off hand, however it wouldn't be theoretically impossible. Generally, any arcane magic that deals with health or life essence is a necromancy spell. Like the necromantic Clone spell, which creates an inanimate version of the caster or target and upon death of that target, their life essence is transferred into their inanimate clone, giving them new life. Keep in mind, Necromancy isn't an inherently evil magic, it just has a bad reputation for such. Such would be like saying a Sword is evil because it can kill something, where-as Mystra would say that magic is neither good nor evil, but rests upon the purpose it is used for and the being that uses it.
16. What about things like light spells or enchanting clothing so it doesn't get dirty? Would these fall under the category of "cantrips" like you previously mentioned?
Yes, cantrips would fall into that category and could be used for such. Again, the cantrip spell Mending can be used for that. However, to make such permanent, one would need to also use a Permanency spell to make the magic permanent, aka "enchanting it." Else it would be a one-off casting. There are other spells though that can affect light and cleanliness, like Light/Darkness, Dancing Lights, Faerie Fire, and Flare.
17. Let's say that a person devoted themselves to a particular deity, and started down the path of being a cleric - would they be shut out of ever learning arcane magic? Is it a restriction imposed by said deity, or is it a matter of divine magic cancels arcane magic? Are there cases of a cleric becoming a wizard, or a warlock trying to learn regular arcane magic?
Elminster Aumar for example is a Fighter/Rogue/Cleric/Wizard/Psionic. In D&D, one can multi-class or dual class. However, in some editions, once you stop a class and start another, you can no longer raise in the stopped or dropped class, but you don't loose your abilities that you've learned so far. Dual Classing is harder as your experience is equally (or as determined by the DM) divided up among your chosen classes.
However, if a Mage for example takes on Specialization in one school of magic, they will not be able to cast spells from an opposing (or in the case of 3rd edition a school they choose) school of magic. Divine casters are allowed to cast spells up to level 7 from the Spheres of Magic their God allows and then can only cast spells up to 4th level from other Spheres. Some gods may strictly disallow a specific Sphere all-together.
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Interesting change in 5e. I have to get around to getting a 5e book.
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More or less the rules on magic in the books is there to prevent us from being overpowered. They are there to keep balance. However how magic is used outside those rules is pretty lenient.
Elminster is a massive chain pipe smoker and he uses magic just as much as his hands to hold his pipe; often making the transition seamlessly. Other wizards often use magic for mundane tasks like gathering materials around their studies. Basically if it is a mundane task they can use magic to do it.
The changes to Fourth Edition were actually done partly to encourage and allow this within the rules with At-Will powers.
However all of this is very much on the roleplay side of things. There are those (of both good and evil alignment) which feel like magic is too important to use frivolously. They see it as disrespectful to do these mundane tasks with magic. So while some wizards will do silly things like hold pipes in midair freely and carelessly others will only ever use magic upon necessity.
And oddly enough in my experience of lore those are actually more often than not evil wizards. Evil wizards who consider the mundane beneath them tend to use slaves before considering using magic to assist them.
But all of this is of course on the roleplay end of the spectrum and would mainly exist in novels or PnP and ultimately in the realm of DM Control.
These mundane tasks are perfectly fine in essence but when used in the context of throwing buckets of water on fire elemental or having brooms bash into enemies to distract them it crosses the fine line between mundane and effective. Some DM's will permit it and simply make up some rules which make logical sense while others simply put their foot down and say play by the rules.
So as always with his wonderful game called D&D...
It's your world. Your imagination is the limit.
There's a wonderful scene in the Dresden Files novels where the main character uses a sweeping spell to keep scorpion constructs at bay. While it may not be put down in rules in pnp, that kind of creativity to solving problems is great. It's part of what I think of when I think of a wizard, intelligent use of "energy" to produce the greatest effect at the least "cost".
I'm just picturing a wizard sitting in a comfy chair, reading a book to the soft glow of a floating orb of light, while some construct of his tends to a self-heating cauldron of soup for dinner...
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