Magic in Ravenloft

VAN · Magic in Ravenloft

Quite all sources of RL say that is a low-magic demiplane.

How do you treat magic and wizards at your campaigns?

There are only afew wizards that quite always are hidden and cautious? Or are there some places where they can freely use their magic?

And since are only a few wizards, how are they getting new spells? Just killing other wizards and getting their spellbooks?

BigBadQDaddy

I've always treated it as a secret art.
I find it adds a lot of mystery and paranoia if magic is treated as it where very taboo and had many supersticious annotations attatched to it.
For instance, in my ongoing Paridon game, my NPC is a member of the Divinity of Mankind who practices magic in secret.
I just felt that if the general population of a place like Paridon had access to magic, the city itself would lose some of it's charm. I try to run it as close to London as possible without saying "This is just London, but with shapechangers."
I do use spellcasters as sideshow attractions as seen in the "Haeckels Tale" episode of the Masters of Horror TV series.

Rafael

Basically, like BBQD does - except that this varies by domain. Darkon, for example, is pretty much like Greyhawk/FR for me, and so I use similar magic environements/ existence of magic in daily life.

VAN

I agree that magic should be treated as secret art. I find correct the wizards have their own towers and live there away from towns, villages etc. In that way no one can disturb them and at the same time the commoners don't live with the fear that the big bad wizard will wake up a day and start dashing fireballs around!

But from that to having wizards burned alive, as happens in Tepest is a great difference.

Dementlieu is the best place for a wizard for me. I think it's the only domain you can use magic in pubblic without problem. Darkon is second.

alhoon

Darkon as said in the Gaz, has very secretive wizards that hide their power if not their profession. The people of Darkon is afraid of magic and they have the saying "The day you see magic is the day you die". From what I have understood from the Gaz, Wizards there are very protective of their spells and except from research, stealing magic from other wizards is their best bet.

Rafael

Yeah, but I don't play by the Gazs... Black Box Gamer here!

Seriously, as much as I like the Gazs, that is already too much detail for my games. I check them whenever I run out of ideas, but don't rely on them for building my games. My Darkon is essentially Greyhawk, with a slightly darker tone. Thus, there are magic academies, and people can learn and practice magic freely.

Azalin is usually not portrayed as an evil foe

VAN

ewancummins

In my version of Ravenloft most people fear the supernatural. Clerics of well known and accepted faiths are well received. Anyone else using magic is suspect. Wizards, bards, druids, etc- any of them might do something bad if angered. Every farmer knows that bards will steal your daughter using sorcerous charms, druids who are angered will dry up old Bessie's udders without a second thought, and wizards delight in changing people into toads. Best to keep a respectful distance and not anger them. Except in weird places like Tepest, my Ravenloft commoners aren't always burning witches and attacking everything magical- they just try and stay away from such things.

Rafael

For me, it depends usually on what effect I want to have n the group - if the adventure I wants to run dictates high magic. it's high. If low, it's low.

I seldomly run pure RL cvampaigns - so I keep the setting flexible.