Hiding Magic

[Double King]

I'm working up a campaign that includes a territory with much law and little patience for unregistered or unlicensed magic items and spell casters.

Can any of you help me with some ideas about how players and villains can go about slipping through the system?

Thanks in advance for any help. ;)

[Thoth-Amon the Mindflayerian]

Double King wrote:

I'm working up a campaign that includes a territory with much law and little patience for unregistered or unlicensed magic items and spell casters.

Can any of you help me with some ideas about how players and villains can go about slipping through the system?

Thanks in advance for any help. ;)

You might sneak a peak at WFRP(warhammer fantasy roleplay). They handle it very well.

Thoth-Amon

[Eyebite]

Double King wrote:

I'm working up a campaign that includes a territory with much law and little patience for unregistered or unlicensed magic items and spell casters.

Can any of you help me with some ideas about how players and villains can go about slipping through the system?

Thanks in advance for any help. ;)

Check out the 2e Dark Sun setting, if you can. They had a skill in it (would be equivalent to a feat now) called "Somatic Concealment" that spellcasters used to hide their use of magic.

You might also look into having spellcasters make use of Sleight of Hand to hide their hand gestures. Might want to think up some other feats too that allow them to get around the verbal components. The Eschew Materials feat gets around most material needs - so a spell caster wouldn't have obvious and incriminating spell components on his person (other than expensive materials).

Otherwise, spellcasters might "hide" their spell components in their jewelry, hair, etc.

Just some random thoughts.

[Xellan]

There are feats that deal with this very issue, as well as a skill trick.. Check Complete Adventurer, and Complete Scoundrel for starters. Also look into the consolidated feat list on the WotC site (you have to go to the archive, and click on the D&D brand archives, I think). Finally, check the DragonDex, which still has a list of all the articles and whatnot ever put out by dragon. There's a master index that'll take you to feats specifically, or you can go to the article index to hunt through the article titles to see if there's anything likely. It's late, or I'd add the links myself. I'll try to remember to do it later, if you haven't had any luck finding any of that stuff.

[Rezdave]

Double King wrote:

Can any of you help me with some ideas about how players and villains can go about slipping through the system?

Silent Spell

Still Spell

In older editions Nystul's Magic Aura could be reversed to hide auras as well as create them. A lot of unauthorized research would go into similar effects.

Imagine a misdirection that affected arcane sight and things like that.

Take a lot of your normal detect object/creature/alignment and create versions that detect magical energy. Then create counters to them.

There's a great reference in the One Ring thread to Gandalf casting a spell and basically setting off alarm bells for the mystically aware throughout the region.

Stuff like that.

HTH,

Rez

[ArchLich]

For the law side I would use the "first line of defence" as magic lampposts. Each post emits a certain colour glow (blue?) when a magical aura gets within 30' of it. This allows the enforcement squad to check the peoples licenses in a now random manner.

[Double King]

so much great advice. you've all given me a lot of homework. particularly in tracking down some of that reading material. Thank you!!

so far as the law side goes the furthest i'd gotten were roaming garrisons with either detecting devices or mages employed. I would guess that a big city/state that was systematically trying to control magic would be most concerned about suppressing it from 1st through 3rd levels, knowing that more powerful artifacts and users would be a substantially different problem then just civic order.

I've been thinking about the magic in my campaign as a sort of molecular substance that bonds in very particular ways so that it manifests rarely in stone, mineral and in some instances in plant form (through mineral traces). So, i've been wondering if i shouldn't allow for some sort of "kryptonite" too that is sort of an anti-magic substance.

Please keep them coming if you've got any ideas to share.

[ArchLich]

I wouldn't say "kryptonite" But it cause make magic resistant creatures and magic weakening plants to exist. Also it would make magic haevy waters, wood and minerals that are extremely easy to make into magic items or are great for powering spells.

[Double King]

ArchLich,

interesting. I hadn't considered the water part of that equation. not sure how to answer that yet. i'll have to sit on it a spell.

i plan on making the synthesis of the magic compound rare enough that it won't be obvious. the specific ecology of that i haven't worked out and may not need to go into that level of detail. i just need to make sure for that end that i have a reasonable vehicle for wands/potions and other enchanted items.

great feedback.