D&D 5e campaign

You could have kept this between you and me, Edna.

>firearms exist
You asked for an 1860's specifically little lady.

All that's changing is lifespan, something that rarely comes up in games anyways, especially when the OP made it clear they did not intend to play beyond a level 10 Order of the Awakened Mystic.

Magical aptitude is kept, just not as much of a boon depending on where you are. Age is irrelevant for this game, per OPs specifications.

It's an alternate history setting, so clerics of a god governed by a Lutheran state would be under different leadership than say Catholic, Muslim, or Hindu.

So what if the cops who asks for papers are a cleric and a paladin? Why would a world spanning empire not employ the best?

The law is to give the commoners a sense of security from forces they don't understand, it works to protect them and the state, and in cases like not-england it would protect the caster as well from mobs of spiteful citizens.

Certain scientific practices were outlawed for quite a while, some still are. I cannot just build a nuclear reactor in my kitchen without getting arrested and punished for it.

Someone who throws a fireball or summon a pack of wolves because they're drunk is dangerous. Thus more lawfully inclined citizens would propose measures to protect the common man, the backbone of society, from them.

The setting is biased, it's not-victorian era Earth. A violent period in history.

>Thus more lawfully inclined citizens would propose measures to protect the common man, the backbone of society, from them.

"Sir, this lowly minstrel laid hands on my entire diseased family and cured them of all diseases, even my father's blindness!"

"Better outlaw that."

You're reaching desperately.

>Two men are dead in Pigsden, and a third in custody, following a violent confrontation broke out with the Pale Unicorn late last Saturday. The man arrested, a middle aged gentlemen from Sandwich, is accused of practicing withcraft without a license, and off using occult arts to commit murder and inflict considerable damage to private property.

Why did the wizard do it? Because even the most educated can have short tempers, especially when drinking.

You can murder and damage property without magic. If anything it's easier to do it without magic in 5e.

Correct and it's still a crime.

Guess what else you need a license for? A gun.

Guess what an average traveler wouldn't be allowed to carry around? A cannon.

But trying to impose law and order against unlawful use of magic? That's what breaks your immersion?

>It's an alternate history setting, so clerics of a god governed by a Lutheran state would be under different leadership than say Catholic, Muslim, or Hindu.
What does this have to do with getting a 'you can do god's will' stamp on your passport?

>Guess what else you need a license for? A gun.
>In the 1860s

A gun? Please, stuff a rag in a bottle of alcohol, light it up, and throw it. Instant arson.

You're entering a state where the governing or majority religion opposes yours. Why would they authorize you to work divine magic from a different god? Many places wouldn't. You still could, of course, you just run the risk of being punished for it. Same as if you walk around swing a sword at people.

Restrictions on the possession and carrying of firearms have existed in England since the 1590's. In the 1820s you have the Vagrancy Act, which allowed people to be arrested "for intent to commit a felonious act" with any weapon at all. Why would that not apply to magic as well?

Also illegal, that's kind of the point.

>Also illegal, that's kind of the point.
But you don't make it illegal to carry alcohol and handkerchiefs.

Correct, you make it illegal to transport/distribute large amounts of alcohol without proper licensing and fees paid, and you give the enforce the ability to arrest any and all person under the suspicion of possessing the intent to commit arson.

This is basic law people.

>make it illegal to transport/distribute large amounts of dangerous magic items
>arrest people under the suspicion of possessing the intent to Fireball a building
Now THAT's a lot more reasonable than banning magic.

>Restrictions on the possession and carrying of firearms have existed in England since the 1590's.
Since 1515, actually (based on property values if I'm reading it correctly). But the first English law which required one to purchase a license for their firearm was not issued until 1870, before which one was perfectly within their rights to carry there gun wherever they wished as long as they didn't plan to shoot someone.

Even then, the last law before the Vagrancy Act was over two hundred years old and it only dealt with the use of birdshot.

I guess I'm going to have to post the entire conversation between Edna and myself here.

In not-london, knowledge of spells that rival the offensive power of a cannon would be limited to access only by those who need to know them.

arcane magic requires a license from the government or a university or guild.

Just like how divine magic would require a license from the government or church.

This was all said from my second e-mail to Edna, a full 13 hours after I received two from her(him?) describing what they wanted. I was describing the world as a whole, since Edna did not specify which part of 18th-19th century earth inspired fantasy she wanted to play in, so I generalized and painted of picture of the world on average.

>go outside London
>sorry your license isn't valid here

ITT: supremely pedantic people miss the point and don't even answer the OP's question. Never change, tg.

The setting sounds cool, though. Maybe the restriction on magic could extend only to certain schools, to circumvent the issue of beneficial versus harmful spells, but the idea is solid. Certain spells that are inherently beneficial, like the restoration example, would probably be totally fine as long as a professional with a license was the one using them; a license pretty much any doctor in the setting would want/be required to have.

That could actually lead to an interesting implication: the only doctors people trust anymore are the ones a church is not only paying, but who seem to be drawing miracles directly from God. The possibility of corruption is overlooked because people are being cured of ailments that would otherwise have crippled them for life.

Post logs.

>the only doctors people trust anymore are the ones a church is not only paying, but who seem to be drawing miracles directly from God
Lesser Restoration is also on the bard list.

It wasn't required until it became a problem due to Napoleonic War vets brandishing firearms around the country side.

Now imagine that you're country has always had a percentage of the population that can thrown firebolts strong enough to kill a man as a level one caster. It would make sense that laws restricting their use, and systems aiding the government in regulating public exposure them, would come into play even earlier.
I really don't know why this is an issue. OP wanted to play a Noble, which I was fine with, so it would make sense that the character would be licensed without a problem. They would just have to be careful when it comes to using mind controlling powers granted by their class. If they make a mistake, and get caught breaking the law, they get punished for it.
But nope, better post a thread on Veeky Forums to show the guy who I asked to run a game for me how wrong he is.

Don't suppose you'd be willing to play then?

I don't want the effort I've put into the setting to go to waste. I'd actually rather like to continue developing it.

I'll leave that to OP, if she's so inclined.

I'm already in a couple games at the minute, but maybe. Do you already have a group?

Not for this game, no. This all started when I offered to run a OWoD, Savage Worlds, or 5e PbP game for an OP yesterday who was frustrated with how often/quickly PbP games die.

Op of this thread e-mailed me asking for a live 5e game and I said I'd be willing to run one.

So far I've been planning it because no I know has the time, and Gamefinder threads tend to produce mixed results at best during the height of summer. It is vacation season after all.

So as of now, it would either be a 1v1 (or 2v1 if OP is will to accept the setting) through roll20, d20pro, or MapTools. I'll keep looking for players interested, or if you have friends who'd like to join they're free to.

My only concern is time. I'm available weekends from 8-11 EST and 13-16 EST. Does that work for you?

The unedited exchange: pastebin.com/xrpZh7dZ

I don't see the problem. I mean, they make thieves' class abilities illegal in most settings and nobody complains about that

>Wherof be it enacted by the King our Sovereign Lord with the assent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by authority of the same, that if any person or persons, after the first day of May next coming, use devise practice or exercise, or cause to be used devised practiced or exercised, any Invocations or conjurations of Sprites, witchcrafts enchantments or sorceries, to the intent to get or find money or treasure,or to waste consume or destroy any person in his body members or goods, or to provoke any person to unlawful love, or for any other unlawful intent or purpose, or by occasion or color of such things or any of them, or for despite of Christ, or for lucre of money, dig up or pull down any Cross or Crosses, or by such Invocations or conjurations of Sprites witchcrafts enchantments or sorcery or any of them take upon them to tell or declare where goods stolen or lost shall become, That then all and every such Offence and Offences, from the said first day of May next coming shall be deemed accepted and adjudged Felony; And that all and every person and persons offending as is above said their Counselors Abettors and Procurers and every of them from the said first day of May shall be deemed accepted and adjudged a Felon and Felons; And the offender and offenders contrary to this Act, being thereof lawfully convicted before such as shall have power and authority to here and determine felonies, shall have and suffer such pains of death loss and forfeitures of their lands tents goods and Castles as in cases of felonies by the course of the Common laws of this Realm, And also shall lose privilege of Clergy and Sanctuary.

Don't most magic spells still have some item requirements? You can easily change the rules on that, make it so that having prepared items does require the license, or that they are obviously visible and even the laziest guard would be paying attention.

Not psionics.

That is something that would be included in the lawful practice of magic of any kind.

How do you propose to identify arcane vs divine magic? It's not like there is an easy test for it and many spells turn up on both lists.

Government mandate.

Anyone found casting magic without a license is brought in. People with talent are directed to the right part of the DMV equivalent that handles it. People who are jerks and misuse it will probably be hunted down and killed, like any other crazy with a gun.

Entirely by the type of license they have. Acquiring an authentic professional license would typically require proof of training and graduation, passing a proficiency test, and possibly more.

Thus, in a civil society like not-england, there would also exist student licenses and permits, and areas where license free learning is permitted, so long as the area itself is certified and overseen by a professional.
It's not as if every nation would have roaming death squads hunting down suspected psionics and arcane casters for the gallows.

Just some of the less than civil ones.

I think I've ID'd the same storefront six times today.

How would anyone identify psionics at all? They don't show up on Detect Magic.

I'd outlaw magic if that were the only spell in existence.

Then I'd prepare a small elite of people permitted to cast it and charge ridiculous prices for people to access it.

Go Chinese on it.

"The blood of people with a peculiar ability will react differently to this sulfide mix than yours or mine. Here, a sample of what to look for. Notice these parts? A strong sign."

I really like how nobody has answered OP's question yet. Is it too hard for you guys?

>Entirely by the type of license they have. Acquiring an authentic professional license would typically require proof of training and graduation, passing a proficiency test, and possibly more.

But there are spontaneous options for both arcane and divine. How do you propose to separate a Sorcerer and Favored Soul, when they could have the exact same spells.

That would be tricky, for sure. Most likely the increased difficult of identifying, tracking down, and persecuting a rogue psionic would lead to harsher penalties to make people less inclined to use psionics to break the law.

In an african empire where mind powers are seen as heresy or demonic in origin, likely death by mob while sleeping if someone sees or says something.

just riffing off of this
>border patrol looks through your spellbook when you cross the border
>police can check foreigner spellbooks
>this makes sorcerers and other non spellbook based casters more dangerous

>19th century
>African empire

Would you like some links?

Is this picture supposed to be like human boatlights? They looks kinda' like them.

I situation like that, assuming the individual could pass the tests for either institution, would be dealt with more as an act of fraud than anything else. At least in a place like not-england or not-prussia.

You'd be walking a knifes edge regardless.

Yes but how would you discover any such fraud? There isn't any reasonable way to detect 'This is divine magic' or 'This is arcane magic'

Watch the behaviors and actions of the individuals, that's where the identifiers would be. It would certainly be difficult and a high profile crime.

Such as? What is there that indicates Arcane vs Divine?

Arcane being punishable by death but Divine just being a permit really requires some way to actually easily tell them apart.

This shit could never be enforced.

Have you not been reading? It's only punishable by death in places like not-arabia

In places like not-england you can get a cheap license to practice and use magic. Done and done.

Divination spells would likely be used to guide special, zealous, teams to criminals in places like not-arabia.

You're asking a question that is entirely dependent on the setting and controlled by the GM. Perhaps divine spells cast by arcane casters use different gestures than normal, or require different words be spoken. Small things.

Give me a few days and I'll type up a rather lengthy list of ways agencies could go about this.

Yeah but if you want to go around the world, you're pretty much fucked if you're a magic user.

And like 2/3rds of the classes in 5e are magical.

You'd also be fucked if you're English in a lot of places. Or a woman traveling alone. Or a black in Europe, or an American Indian in a lot of places.

Sounds like you want to run some grimderpy "muh low fantasy" bullcrap.

Seems like a fantastic setting to play an arcane trickster.

It's amazing how you went from '18th/19th century inspired' to 'we're playing in historical fantasy take it or leave it kthxbie' at the drop of a hat.

I run OWoD, SW, and 5e, and sometimes GURPS, what did you expect?

I've long gotten bored with satisfying roleplayer power fantasies and building games inspired by 80s fantasy cartoons or this months flavor of anime.

I have the right to choose what I run. OP has the right to not play.

Nah, arcane tricksters still have verbal and somatic components.

well most normal people don't like fantasy being leftist diversity propaganda

Low fantasy doesn't mean grimderp shit.

I am wholly within my rights to make that choice.

I was planning a game for a random stranger I've never met, who first contacted me yesterday demanding to play either a winged, mind altering and controlling, tiefling or a gnome with the same powers, and will settle for no less than starting at level 5 with an uncommon magic item of their choice.

Then they run to Veeky Forums to try and garner support for why I'm not allowed to create the setting I'm running how I want.

you don't like realism, got it.

so don't play in this game.

done, problem resolved.

He could have said that sarcastically.

Or he's referring to the thrill of increased risks.

And? Your a damned rogue, either your sanctioned and thus legal either way, or operating illegally in which case you have magic to steal shit mundanely protected 99% of the time.

>Details of a setting are slightly dependent on what my players are seeking. What era, regions, and walks of life would you like to explore? Do you prefer games focused on socializing, business, politics, combat, stealth, etc? I have enough time and materials that I can be reasonably flexible/

If you don't like players making requests on what kind of game they'd like to play, don't give them carte blanche, dumbass.

>Hey, I'd like to say up front that I don't want to run a game with that much magic or fantasy races. That fine with you?
Should have said this from the start.

>What's to stop the border guards filling your party mage with bullets while they get ready to cast a spell?
>What game of 5e are you playing where any caster can solo a bunch of armed soldiers that have guns while level 10 or under?

Come on user, I know circle jerking over the caster boogie man is 'in' right now but think before you post, I know you can do better.

He was agreeing with you. There's no reason to crack down on casters in 5e, especially if you're never hitting level 11.

Yeah, I screwed up. I think now I'M the one that needs to think before posting.

>slightly

You seemed to have missed this word.

I did, through the course of one e-mail.

This thread is the result of that one e-mail where I laid down what I was willing to run.

OP responded by making this thread.

No, from the start.

Honestly, the only thing I can really say here is that the proposed setting likely wouldn't gel with 5e's mechanics. Unknown armies seems like it'd fit the bill more, especially since in that magic users are required to be in some way insane.

Yes

It also sounds really poorly thoughout.

>divine magic requires a permit from each nation traveled to

Makes no sense.

This was well before the start. The game hasn't even begun yet. I've yet to even receive a character sheet from OP for me to review and approve.

OP doesn't like the setting, he doesn't have to play in it. If he wants a specific setting, he had 13 entire hours, a whole morning, to provide me with details of what exactly he wanted. He chose not to. I created a setting. He responded to two e-mails by running away to Veeky Forums to complain. I will not be running anything for him now or in the future.

Only absolute madmen use D&D for low fantasy.

>If he wants a specific setting, he had 13 entire hours, a whole morning, to provide me with details of what exactly he wanted. He chose not to.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, are you nuts?
>He responded to two e-mails by running away to Veeky Forums to complain.
That's not what the pastebin shows.

Makes complete sense. Have you ever brought weapons into another nation? It's a pain in the ass mate. Lots of legal paperwork, lots of money being exchanged, lots of stamps and cards.

Now imagine smuggling guns into a country. I would imagine a nation would be very very upset at you for bringing to potential of 6d6 fire damage without asking for permission.

He took out the time and dates mate. One sec.

See the only problem with this is that you go "muh realism!", copying all the bullshit from history but not adjusting it to the fantastical elements now existing.

>women are second class citizens because muh realism!
But they can learn magic just as well as men, which is a fucking huge equalizer.
>negroes are all slaves/third class citizens because muh realism!

Slavery would be outdated ridiculously fast when a single caster can do the work of dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of slaves instantly.

Not to mention that all it takes is one slave taking up religion really hard and now you have actual zombies on your hand.

If you are actually playing in a setting where you fix all those holes with houseruling away spells, restricting access to certain spells to certain groups of people, etc. it could maybe work, but then you still need to explain while the status quo stayed the same.

How do you check for it? Real weapons take up space, need care, ammo, etc. You can't just ask for a permit for every single devout looking person.

Especially since in a world with actual gods doing actual miracles, devoted people would be through the fucking roof.

Also, 6d6 fire damage is probably an arcane spell.

>he had 13 entire hours, a whole morning

assuming you mean 12am-1pm

I am usually asleep for much of that time, and because I am a functional adult at work for almost all the rest of it

I don't know about OP but I guess you're probably unemployed

Some people actually have things to do with their lives

>she's
there's your problem

Started building this setting yesterday when it was requested I run a game. I'm going to take time fleshing everything out.

Materials mostly. Religious symbols, holy books etc. Those would be confiscated in say not-arabia.

I work full time as a contractor, I just happen to be on vacation for the next few weeks. Last month I was enjoying terminal leave. Is that wrong?

That's just me guessing because I honestly have no clue about OPs gender, that's why I've been switching between her, he, she, him, they, OP, etc.

Tried making laws impeding a religion with actul mircales.

What will happen there is you get a new ruling family.

>Materials mostly. Religious symbols, holy books etc. Those would be confiscated in say not-arabia.

Unless you houserule in that those are always needed for casting spells, you know the cleric can still cast most of his spells even when naked, right?

Not to mention that making or buying a holy symbol while inside the country should be really easy unless literally only clerics with permission can do that; so nobody but them can have a bible or a cross on the wall or a picture of jesus or whatever.

>that's why I've been switching between her, he, she, him, they, OP, etc.
Everyone is male by default, until proven otherwise

Some rules will change some won't. That depends on a large number of variables that can't be determined at this point in time, seeing as the setting is in it's infancy.

I've said many many times that the rules would depend on the country. Meaning OP had a chance to work something out. They decided Veeky Forums was a better solution.

Going from the logs, you never said in your emails to MAKE A WHOLE FUCKING SETTING.

>Also, 6d6 fire damage is probably an arcane spell.

8d6 damage from Fireball.

Fireball is a spell some clerics and druids can pick up, but divine magic is fine :^)

>Materials mostly. Religious symbols, holy books etc. Those would be confiscated in say not-arabia.

Wouldn't this be such a huge diplomatic blunder that it'd end all trade relations between non-Arabia and not-Europe?

If clerics and paladins can be real, why hasn't the Vatican ruled over Europe since it was first established?

I said to give me clear guidelines as to what you wanted. At this point OP will have to go without a game. They approached me, they did not like my terms, so no game. That easy.

Considering there are still christian populations in the middle east, Christianity would not be heavily impacted. Limited preaching hours, limited number of religious buildings and schools, and maybe even no open celebration of non-muslim holidays.

That wouldn't end all trade relations, the money's too good.

Now a cleric of christ getting caught casting holy bolts for 4d8 damage within the ottoman empire? that's not good, depending on who the target is.

Because war and international politics are complicated.

It's not always about the biggest stick or the best casters.

Also, clerics and paladins can be real for any faith, even old ones. There could very well be secluded or secret societies of clerics and paladins dedicated to regional pantheons.

>I said to give me clear guidelines as to what you wanted. At this point OP will have to go without a game.
He/she gave clear guidelines. You didn't ask for a whole fucking setting.
>Now a cleric of christ getting caught casting holy bolts for 4d8 damage within the ottoman empire?
Who'd give a flying fuck? He can kill some dudes, but anyone who can fight can kill dudes too.