D&D General What *is* D&D? (mild movie spoilers)

Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
The rules have never supported that though - even back when there where only four classes, half of them where spellcasters. D&D has always been high magic, if you want to play it otherwise you need to make substantial alterations to the published rules.
D&D PCs have always supported high magic. The actual setting? That has varied quite a bit, and the current version as shown in the movie is a high magic  world.
 

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D&D PCs have always supported high magic. The actual setting? That has varied quite a bit, and the current version as shown in the movie is a high magic  world.
A setting where the PCs are pretty much the only spellcasters doesn't make much sense - it's PC exceptionalism taken to the extreme. And it's never existed in official publications - take a look at the Gygax written early adventures - there are generally several high level NPCs in the local village, including clerics. And rival adventuring parties have always been a thing. And enemy wizards OC.
 
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Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
A setting where the PCs are pretty much the only spellcasters doesn't make much sense - it's PC exceptionalism taken to the extreme. And it's never existed in official publications - take a look at the Gygax written early adventures - there are generally several high level NPCs in the local village, including clerics. And rival adventuring parties have always been a thing. And enemy wizards OC.
Do those things lead to a world with highly visible magic surrounding everything, like the movie has? A lot of that stuff back in the day was pretty isolated, or at least not flashy. Most of the OSR doesn't look like the movie, and it sure as heck was based on D&D.
 



Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
With a high level cleric in every village?

Where everyone has psionic powers?

A hollow world full of animal-people?
A hidden hollow world most people never saw. Also, psionics are mostly pretty subtle, and clerics aren't going around casting flashy spells and showing off in every village.
 


With a high level cleric in every village?

Where everyone has psionic powers?

A hollow world full of animal-people?
I feel I'm not qualified to comment on DS and Greyhawk, but animal-people does not a high magic world make. Having said that, there are geographic areas within Mystara that are indeed high magic, and certainly the modules reflect an abundance of magic items which irks me, but those were early days of design. What I do like about the setting is that they allow for the tempering of the overall magic via the drain of the radiance from the Nucleus of Spheres.
 

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