rpg

@juergen_hubert It’s tricky to build a setting that actually examines this sort of privilege not just because we know how people born to privilege behave in the real world (forming an aristocratic class and - if pressed - coming up some sort of narrative like noblesse oblige or divine Right of Kings), but also because well before 3rd edition’s take on sorcerers was a thing, many medieval fantasy worlds had people born to unearned magical power and privilege: gods.

A setting with divinities who are actively using their power to better the world can easily make the inborn power of a typical PC or point of view character feel irrelevant. OTOH those which feature apparently-inactive deities probably inspire many born to power to worry about themselves first, and others second (or never)

Sounds like a GM problem. It's been pretty clear to me when I read Eberron back then (never been much of a DnD head) that sorcerers were "talented children" assholes, as opposed to the raging wizard nerds who had studied to get there.

Not using this dynamic is completely on your GM and player group in general. And it's a damn shame!

In D&D sorcerers started in Dragonlance after the Chaos War left Krynn without magic. Palin Majere became the first sorcerer, having already been a wizard, when an aspect of Takhisis taught it to him. It wasn't innate, but it was spontaneous rather than vancian. There were also mystics, which were similar but divine rather than arcane, but when the sorcerer class was picked up for 3e they weren't included.

The main takeaway from sorcerers though isn't that they're somehow "special", it's that they don't have to memorize spells. Their magic is innate because they're related to a creature type that gets spell-like abilities. Same as plenty of other types of characters who have SLAs, like drow or furbolgs or numerous other creatures.

If anything, the association with wild magic probably works to their detriment socially. Wizards have arcane magic, but at least they know how it works. I'm not really sure where you're drawing a connection between the social stigma of unpredictable magic and being treated as "better" than anyone. I haven't seen lore that supports the idea.

I don't know... The whole "We're so special" part of sorcs always felt like over compensating to me. People who don't have innate magic can cast a wider variety of stuff than they ever can. The person who learned it from the ground up, instead of just inheriting it, can do anything they want with it, unlike a sorc.

I like Midgard, the first German fantasy ttrpg, in that regard. Every character has magic talent as a stat like dexterity, strength or int. When starting out, only some classes have already learned to use that inherent ability everyone has but there's rules for learning magic for non magic classes. Granted this cost a helluva lot of exp to do but it is possible and takes a bit away from that special people factor

Now you've inspired me. I should make a character who's 1 level in sorcerer, the rest in wizard, and the premise is that they set out to prove everyone wrong that they're not just going to rely on their inborn talents and they're ready to do the work!

I feel like the Dragon Age series has a nice take on it. Oh, you've been born with magic? Great, time to take you away from your home and family and put you in a tower with other mages where you'll be under constant guard by mage hunters for the rest of your life. See you never <3

I'd also like to see it come with relevant costs. Much in the same way genius and madness often go hand in hand. Not full on oracle's curse, more like how some beautiful people struggle being taken seriously or respected for their minds, or how some neurodivergent people just get difficult subjects while struggling with aspects of ordinary life.

But yeah generally I'm in full agreement with you. Show me the half orc who only got a chance in their hometown because they're a sorcerer and that resulted in complicated emotions. Show me the noble whose family paid good money for their child to be a sorcerer and now they're off trying to prove themselves. Show me a society in which a sorcerer child is considered an unimaginable blessing even though that bloodline may leave their sibling a hated tiefling and then use it to show a golden child/scapegoat sibling dynamic enforced not necessarily by the parents, but by the whole community.

The Locked Tomb did both. Necromancers are a blessing and privileged. There are roles in society only they're allowed to fill. But they're also chronically ill. They're frail and sickly and look and feel like they're dying. That actually would give credence to if they were to not like being like that.

The Deriny cycle by Kurtz is actually pretty great. You have some super human having access to some magic. And throagh the books they go for m super elite to persecuted minority before being accepted again.

Magic being either genetic on ea random birth gift would indeed have a major sociological impact. But in a setting where we have high magic, elves and dragon the whole sociology is anyway impacted

While the Eberron setting doesn't directly tie dragonmarks to the Sorcerer class, it does explore hereditary magic as a privilege. In general, if you're not of the bloodlines who are "supposed to" get particular constructive magic and want to go into business using that magic, you need to either sign a contract with the appropriate Dragonmarked House or they'll go Pinkerton on your ass. This cuts the other way, too, where anyone in the House with such powers is pressured to participate.

To my fair for DnD does imply that all player characters are special and that's why they can do what they do. Especially when the magical classes. All priests can say the words but only those blessed will manifest the clerical / druidic magics. They are the special ones but still have to learn to power up.

Also it's not as binary in Dnd. There's a reason not every NPC is high level regardless of age. Most settings have implied that at a certain point a spellcaster maxes out the spells they can do. All those casters who can do 1st level spells only some are implied to be still learning but others are just as good as they can be.

So there's isn't one class that is special but all of them

Racism and prejudice are missing from your equation. The sorcerer is different but only treated special in character creation because they get free shit. In the world they would be hated and feared as the person who started fires as a child or drowned a local cow. They would have a rumor of death or destruction follow them wherever they go

Good on your for not thinking of how much your personal frustrations would impact the behavior of the world. It's hard to think beyond prejudice and racism.

People hate different people for existing and different people exist: they can be called "special" but they are still different. And special people exist. That's what makes Einstein and Mozart and many others stand out in history. Differences exist. How your world treats them is what makes a good story.

I wonder if innate magic could be an analog to natural intelligence? People are born on a bell curve, and you can't change your genetics, but you can work with what you have.

So less like the black and white world of Harry Potter, where you have magic or don't, and more like magic talents in Xanth, where everyone gets a magic talent, and people with really powerful ones tend to be interesting and go on to do great things.

The thing about society though is that intelligence doesn't always mean you will contribute. Some "smart" people exploit others and amass wealth.

Who the pretty lady