Though the world was created by the eight gods, and almost every nation founded by the chosen peoples of a particular deity, since their departure from the face of the planet there is little left of what other fantasy genres might traditionally call “magic.” Rumors abound of mad wizards toiling for ages in order to exert control over natural forces, but these are as much bedtime stories for children as they are remnants from history long past.
Surely there are individuals of extraordinary skill, prowess, and will, but—in most people’s minds—there’s no reason to think that magic is what separates them from anyone else. “Magic” is something specific, something secret, and something rare; magic is a direct gift from the gods themselves.
The origins of magic, and its level of acceptance by the general population—when it isn’t shrugged off as coincidence or feats of mortal prowess—varies a great deal depending on the culture and country at hand. Sendars, for example, are likely to be passively impressed that someone has obtained the blessing of the gods, and leave it at that. Tolnedrans would eye the magician with suspicion, and may go so far as to have the person arrested under suspicion of being an enemy agent or provocateur. Angarak grolims would put the person to death for challenging their authority.
In most cases, polite society is very happy to ignore the fact that magic and world-spanning prophecies exist; wielders of such skills and knowledge are warned, either by societal pressures or by overt instruction, to keep their gifts private, explanable, and easily forgotten.
Select individuals have made a name for themselves and their sorcerous abilities—including Belgarath and Polgara, life-long deciples of Aldur, as well as their bitter foes Zedar and Ctuchik, deciples of Torak—using their fame and legendary reputations to persuade and sometimes even bully men and women of station into doing their bidding, but the common person is hardly to believe that they would ever come across such luminaries from history. These powerful wizards have well-learned the value of secrecy and tact, erupting into their true power and revealing their true nature only when absolutely necessary and in the most dire of circumstances.
You would not part an old man from his walking stick?
— Gandalf, a sly dog
While there are many magic-powered classes and sub-classes available in Dungeons and Dragons, and that may feel incongruous with the setting as presented above, the mechanics of the classes won’t be changed for this campaign. How they’re reflected in the world and how they manifest themselves, surely, but not what they actually do.
On the other hand, legend also holds that the gods themselves do intervene in times of great need, and perhaps a blossoming of more magic in the world is exactly the kind of push they can give while humanity quivers on the brink of cataclysmic war…
Some small changes befitting the campaign setting:
- Magic is incredibly rare, and when it can’t be ignored it’s often mistrusted
- Teleportation beyond line of sight/immediate area is all but unheard of
- There is functionally only a single plane of reality. This means many spells which affect/rely on other planes (such as Blink or Plane Shift) either don’t exist or will be reworked to fit within the cosmology