Erebus
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2008
- Messages
- 4,773
Magic is widely available to PCs in fantasy RPGs. In D&D, for instance, the classes who do not give magical ability are much less numerous than those who do : even paladins, rangers and bards - the concepts of which have nothing to do with magic - can cast spells.
I think that making magic so easily available ends up cheapening it, making it less impressive, mysterious and threatening than it would otherwise be.
In traditional stories (such as the arthurian legends or the 1001 nights), heroes were never spellcasters ; magic was limited to "NPCs", who could be benevolent or malevolent, but were always powerful and enigmatic. The early fantasy novels, such as Conan or the Lankhmar series, did not have spellcasting heroes. Even in LOTR, Gandalf is clearly apart from the rest of the Fellowship and he's not directly involved in the main quest for very long.
So, what would you think of a fantasy CRPG which would not allow the player to cast spells ? The closest example I can think of would be "The Witcher". While Gerard can use magical Signs, they're clearly limited and a far cry from real magic.
I think that making magic so easily available ends up cheapening it, making it less impressive, mysterious and threatening than it would otherwise be.
In traditional stories (such as the arthurian legends or the 1001 nights), heroes were never spellcasters ; magic was limited to "NPCs", who could be benevolent or malevolent, but were always powerful and enigmatic. The early fantasy novels, such as Conan or the Lankhmar series, did not have spellcasting heroes. Even in LOTR, Gandalf is clearly apart from the rest of the Fellowship and he's not directly involved in the main quest for very long.
So, what would you think of a fantasy CRPG which would not allow the player to cast spells ? The closest example I can think of would be "The Witcher". While Gerard can use magical Signs, they're clearly limited and a far cry from real magic.