Author Topic: Magic in Barovia?  (Read 5314 times)

Maiyannah

  • First Watcher
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1329
  • Courage is the soul of life.
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #25 on: November 28, 2022, 09:46:38 AM »
you might not know it, and things in the past have followed a strange wave in fashion and customs, but nowadays garda are rather vanilla and well liked all around. In the past the average life expectancy of a garda was 2-3 months.

yeah this is very true. I have some very fond memories of really harsh garda. One time a guard gave a cultist of Nerull a iron boot (clamped his foot in a brick mold, poured that hot iron on in). I also remember the time when the garda would use the torture chamber. I think there was a dip in such things because players for a while seemed to be very much attached to the characters and perhaps some struggled to differenciate IC and OOC, and so it became safer to not do such things, to make players more comfortable on the server.

Ravenloft, gothic horror and even straight up horror, can be difficult to achieve if we focus too much on comfort, it's a setting that's not supposed to be comfortable for the characters that are stuck in it... Even my native mage is only just recently starting to be open to outlanders that she's got magic, she's still terrified that the man she loves will find out she's a witch though, because to her that would be the end of her living a normal Barovian life. Horror has consequences for every action, be they good consequences or bad. Like a character decided to help a garda take out a criminal by using magic. A good deed, but surely one that will go punished for using such devilry around so many innocent people. We can do things as players to bring the setting back to core, like our self proclaimed "PC NPC". I've always felt that those of us playing natives are taking up the mantle to help keep the setting true, even if it may rob us of potential rp, but to me that potential loss is well out weighed by being able to help keep the setting real.

Speaking only for myself, I come from having roleplayed in another setting that also has some pretty grimdark elements.  The character I played was a vampiress, and she was legendary levels of not-nice.  She once used necromancy to keep someone's husband that was piked on her estates wall alive because his wife annoyed her, levels of not-nice.

The problem this presents that some people do not consider: it can be very taxing on some players to play that kind of villain.
Especially when - as I tried to be - you're still trying to considerate of the gaming experience of others.  You end up in a double bind: if you are playing your character naturally as evil as they are, then you would not be hesitating to do these things.  However, on an OOC level, I was always quite reticent unless I knew the other player was cool to play along, because those kinds of scenes have long-lasting consequences for those involved, and that's something the player should be consenting on.  So you end up either being very harsh to at least some people whom don't want to accept that consequence, or you end up coming off as weak to those you're trying to essentially subjugate as a villain.  Neither is good for the game - one on an OOC level, the other IC.

It's my belief if the players that were so flagrant with magic on outskirts were willing to accept it came with the jackboots of the law on your neck, then it would be less of a problem.  However, a lot of them that are that blatant, are also the ones who tend to be unaccepting of said consequences.

I don't know that I have a good answer for that.
Currently:
Livu Olmstead - First Watcher of Helm
Emmanuelle de le Foret - Ezrite escapee from Hazlan

Also:
Sarabeth d'Gagne - Ghastrian artist
Sabina Ennaies - Barovian road warden

Day Old Bread

  • Red Academy
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1873
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #26 on: November 28, 2022, 10:12:21 AM »
you might not know it, and things in the past have followed a strange wave in fashion and customs, but nowadays garda are rather vanilla and well liked all around. In the past the average life expectancy of a garda was 2-3 months.

To me, this has been more of a reflection of the players outside of the garda faction, not inside of it.  My observations have been that many players simply don't want to deal with the consequences of their actions IC and so they resort to either breaking character and doing murder things or flat out ignoring murder things. Or they complain about garda faction being to mean which, as it turns out, is not really fun for either side.

Couple that with the over abundance of higher levelled characters in the area and you've got an impotent guard faction who's only recourse is to RP punishments and, as a whole, can't do much to enforce the law. Thus they turn "vanilla" because it's easier than dealing with all of the complaints from disgruntled Karens who simply don't want to observe the setting.

Rant over.

End of the day as many here have stated, most of whom I know to be conscientious observers of the setting, it all comes down to player agency. Keep observing the setting and others will follow eventually. The more we can get on board with it, the better the experience here will be.

Maffa

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1110
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #27 on: November 28, 2022, 10:21:57 AM »
I would've related that to the fact that there is no drain faction to speak of nowadays  :lol: so the exact opposite

the only one misbehaving are newly misted, due to them not knowing more than as a way to challenge authority, but for what i could see everyone looks quite well behaved in general, once Pog removed himself...


Character List:

Marph - Closured
Marius Rucescu - Closured
Romeo Lascaris - Closured

Merry Munchkin

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 934
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #28 on: November 28, 2022, 10:32:31 AM »
Next NCE concept: Tepestani inquisitors on the witch hunt to end all witch hunts; outlanders.

But in all seriousness I think part of the issue is a lack of native characters and a surpluss of outlander characters. It can be hard to solidify the setting when there are vastly more outlanders than natives playing. Best thing we can do is to play more natives and help bring the server back to canon setting material.

I proposed an all native character NCE once.  I still think it is a great idea.


Burleigh Burrowell - RIP

Day Old Bread

  • Red Academy
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1873
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #29 on: November 28, 2022, 10:42:51 AM »
Next NCE concept: Tepestani inquisitors on the witch hunt to end all witch hunts; outlanders.

But in all seriousness I think part of the issue is a lack of native characters and a surpluss of outlander characters. It can be hard to solidify the setting when there are vastly more outlanders than natives playing. Best thing we can do is to play more natives and help bring the server back to canon setting material.

I proposed an all native character NCE once.  I still think it is a great idea.

Bunch of Barovias just sitting around musing about the fact that, for once, they aren't being annoyed by obscene amounts of outlander ridiculousness.

ladylena

  • Gundie Mom
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 3259
  • Meow!
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #30 on: November 28, 2022, 10:50:13 AM »
Next NCE concept: Tepestani inquisitors on the witch hunt to end all witch hunts; outlanders.

But in all seriousness I think part of the issue is a lack of native characters and a surpluss of outlander characters. It can be hard to solidify the setting when there are vastly more outlanders than natives playing. Best thing we can do is to play more natives and help bring the server back to canon setting material.

I proposed an all native character NCE once.  I still think it is a great idea.

Bunch of Barovias just sitting around musing about the fact that, for once, they aren't being annoyed by obscene amounts of outlander ridiculousness.

That would be oddly satisfying. A slew of Garda, basking in the fact that no outlanders were causing trouble, natives letting their children run outside the city walls cause no witches or fey to eat them!
Currently playing:
                          Narcissa Bogdan

Maffa

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1110
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #31 on: November 28, 2022, 10:54:54 AM »
Fun fact: native barovians have no reasons to loiter in the outskirts without outlanders. They have a whole walled city to live in!

(including the residential district which IMO is prettier than the savant)


Character List:

Marph - Closured
Marius Rucescu - Closured
Romeo Lascaris - Closured

Barovian Female Peasant 2.0

  • Undead Slayer
  • ***
  • Posts: 187
  • Don't trust the Old Noapte.
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #32 on: November 28, 2022, 10:59:30 AM »
Fun fact: native barovians have no reasons to loiter in the outskirts without outlanders. They have a whole walled city to live in!

(including the residential district which IMO is prettier than the savant)

Agreed, Vallaki should be used more...

Agony

  • Red Vardo Traders Front
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 5595
  • "You will know agony!" - Ghostly Armor
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #33 on: November 28, 2022, 11:03:58 AM »
You guys are being excellent, which is great, but let's try to get back to the topic of the post.

Thanks!


Myrza

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 609
  • Under the Crimson Sun...
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #34 on: November 28, 2022, 11:28:57 AM »
you might not know it, and things in the past have followed a strange wave in fashion and customs, but nowadays garda are rather vanilla and well liked all around. In the past the average life expectancy of a garda was 2-3 months.

yeah this is very true. I have some very fond memories of really harsh garda. One time a guard gave a cultist of Nerull a iron boot (clamped his foot in a brick mold, poured that hot iron on in). I also remember the time when the garda would use the torture chamber. I think there was a dip in such things because players for a while seemed to be very much attached to the characters and perhaps some struggled to differenciate IC and OOC, and so it became safer to not do such things, to make players more comfortable on the server.

Ravenloft, gothic horror and even straight up horror, can be difficult to achieve if we focus too much on comfort, it's a setting that's not supposed to be comfortable for the characters that are stuck in it... Even my native mage is only just recently starting to be open to outlanders that she's got magic, she's still terrified that the man she loves will find out she's a witch though, because to her that would be the end of her living a normal Barovian life. Horror has consequences for every action, be they good consequences or bad. Like a character decided to help a garda take out a criminal by using magic. A good deed, but surely one that will go punished for using such devilry around so many innocent people. We can do things as players to bring the setting back to core, like our self proclaimed "PC NPC". I've always felt that those of us playing natives are taking up the mantle to help keep the setting true, even if it may rob us of potential rp, but to me that potential loss is well out weighed by being able to help keep the setting real.

The torture room is still used, and there are still harsh punishments (someone got blinded very recently). I don't really think guard characters are easy on anyone compared to how it was back then.

Maiyannah

  • First Watcher
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1329
  • Courage is the soul of life.
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #35 on: November 28, 2022, 12:06:00 PM »
you might not know it, and things in the past have followed a strange wave in fashion and customs, but nowadays garda are rather vanilla and well liked all around. In the past the average life expectancy of a garda was 2-3 months.

To me, this has been more of a reflection of the players outside of the garda faction, not inside of it.  My observations have been that many players simply don't want to deal with the consequences of their actions IC and so they resort to either breaking character and doing murder things or flat out ignoring murder things. Or they complain about garda faction being to mean which, as it turns out, is not really fun for either side.

Couple that with the over abundance of higher levelled characters in the area and you've got an impotent guard faction who's only recourse is to RP punishments and, as a whole, can't do much to enforce the law. Thus they turn "vanilla" because it's easier than dealing with all of the complaints from disgruntled Karens who simply don't want to observe the setting.

Rant over.

End of the day as many here have stated, most of whom I know to be conscientious observers of the setting, it all comes down to player agency. Keep observing the setting and others will follow eventually. The more we can get on board with it, the better the experience here will be.

This leads to the question of: what can we do to deal with people whom are disrespectful of the setting, as players?  It would be unreasonable to demand that the DMs deal with it every time, and likely largely impossible if we want them running interesting events and doing the other little things we do.

I do agree leading by example is a good approach for those that are ameneable to it, but the cynic in me is of the opinion those likely aren't the players whom are problematic to begin with.

In the previous setting I used to roleplay in, people whom were acting clearly out of setting would be deemed "insane", and depending on where you were in any given place, that'd mean anything from incarceration to death.  That's one possible approach, but not the only one; others here know much better than a newbie playing for a week like me would when it comes to conventions here.

[edit]:

That would be oddly satisfying. A slew of Garda, basking in the fact that no outlanders were causing trouble, natives letting their children run outside the city walls cause no witches or fey to eat them!

I actually feel like the danger of this and rowdiness of some of the outlanders is part of the town's vibe, honestly.  I do think that a lot of thise seems to stem from a combination of a garda that can't well-enforce the laws for a variety of reasons others here have commented on, and players of characters whom don't want to accept the consequences of their actions.  While I can't speak for them, as I'm not one of them, I can't imagine the people who play garda PCs want to deal with someone screaming bloody murder OOC because they disposed of a practictioner of the dark arts.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2022, 12:13:49 PM by Arthiel »
Currently:
Livu Olmstead - First Watcher of Helm
Emmanuelle de le Foret - Ezrite escapee from Hazlan

Also:
Sarabeth d'Gagne - Ghastrian artist
Sabina Ennaies - Barovian road warden

ladylena

  • Gundie Mom
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 3259
  • Meow!
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #36 on: November 28, 2022, 12:38:45 PM »
In the past there was use of the asylum, and I can remember a palpable fear regardless of level of getting sent there. So that could possibly be something we bring back, now that would entail getting permission from the DM team to use the place IC, otherwise, we could have a player open a mental asylum sort of thing inside Vallaki and team up with the garda to house and treat people that are "insane". Bring out the fear of being sent to the loony bin where you'd be subject to ye olde mind medicine (lobotomies weren't a thing until the 20th century, but many other horrifying treatments existed) and get the newest, best quackery to calm the mind or correct it.

I think ultimately the best thing we can do is to try to remind people of the setting we are all playing in and be ready to accept whatever consequences our actions have. It helps to remember that IC is just that, IC. If it feels like someone is being very disruptive or blatantly not caring about the setting, screenshot it with the chat windows combined and send it off to the DM team.

Something that could perhaps be done would be a little blurb during the character creation phase that reminds us all of the setting and the horrors to expect, I've also always felt we need a blurb about how clerics from outside the land of mists suddenly loose their godly connection as that is a rather important aspect of the setting that often times seems to go overlooked. Regarding magic in Barovia though, perhaps we could breathe some life into the farther western parts of Barovia where they are more likely to drown a suspected witch.   Hopefully with the rp restriction being removed from vallaki we might get to see some garda who get into the higher levels, possibly even end game level. That would permit them some more agency to enforce things. Perhaps even allowing the garda to go out on training missions and do some dungeoning around Vallaki (Like clearing the sewer, mid levels being tasked with hunting the wererats, etc), that way they'd have access to more exp and higher levels, which may make it easier to deal with outlanders.

In regards to magic though, it may be neat to get a little post going with the societal view of magic in each of the towns/villages that we have in Barovia so that we can get a better feel.
Currently playing:
                          Narcissa Bogdan

Day Old Bread

  • Red Academy
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1873
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #37 on: November 28, 2022, 05:14:42 PM »
you might not know it, and things in the past have followed a strange wave in fashion and customs, but nowadays garda are rather vanilla and well liked all around. In the past the average life expectancy of a garda was 2-3 months.

To me, this has been more of a reflection of the players outside of the garda faction, not inside of it.  My observations have been that many players simply don't want to deal with the consequences of their actions IC and so they resort to either breaking character and doing murder things or flat out ignoring murder things. Or they complain about garda faction being to mean which, as it turns out, is not really fun for either side.

Couple that with the over abundance of higher levelled characters in the area and you've got an impotent guard faction who's only recourse is to RP punishments and, as a whole, can't do much to enforce the law. Thus they turn "vanilla" because it's easier than dealing with all of the complaints from disgruntled Karens who simply don't want to observe the setting.

Rant over.

End of the day as many here have stated, most of whom I know to be conscientious observers of the setting, it all comes down to player agency. Keep observing the setting and others will follow eventually. The more we can get on board with it, the better the experience here will be.

This leads to the question of: what can we do to deal with people whom are disrespectful of the setting, as players?  It would be unreasonable to demand that the DMs deal with it every time, and likely largely impossible if we want them running interesting events and doing the other little things we do.

I do agree leading by example is a good approach for those that are ameneable to it, but the cynic in me is of the opinion those likely aren't the players whom are problematic to begin with.

In the previous setting I used to roleplay in, people whom were acting clearly out of setting would be deemed "insane", and depending on where you were in any given place, that'd mean anything from incarceration to death.  That's one possible approach, but not the only one; others here know much better than a newbie playing for a week like me would when it comes to conventions here.

[edit]:

That would be oddly satisfying. A slew of Garda, basking in the fact that no outlanders were causing trouble, natives letting their children run outside the city walls cause no witches or fey to eat them!

I actually feel like the danger of this and rowdiness of some of the outlanders is part of the town's vibe, honestly.  I do think that a lot of thise seems to stem from a combination of a garda that can't well-enforce the laws for a variety of reasons others here have commented on, and players of characters whom don't want to accept the consequences of their actions.  While I can't speak for them, as I'm not one of them, I can't imagine the people who play garda PCs want to deal with someone screaming bloody murder OOC because they disposed of a practictioner of the dark arts.

In a lot of ways, some of us are doing it. We hold true to the setting as best we can. We call out, without being overly agressive, those who don't. Sometimes we have to disguise it as IC, but eventually they do get it. 

I think the best thing to do is to continue to advocate for more setting appropriate behavior whenever you can. My characters often spend their nights either out adventuring or hidden away in doors. Rarely do they sit out at night gazing at the stars. The reason is twofold. Firstly, the night is dark and full of terrors. Secondly, it's illegal and many of my characters are lawful.

When it comes to magic, my beguiler makes little attempt to hide her abilities now, mostly because she's confident in her skills as a caster and is smart enough to abide the laws of the land. Should a sudden inquisition arrise, I think her demeanor would change drastically different. Even though she knows magic and isn't terribly afraid to use it or show it, she knows where to use and show it. Furthermore, she openly calls out those who would so brazenly cast in front of the xenophobic and rhabdophobic populace of Vallaki.

It makes me wonder if certain areas could be scripted to increase OCR when spells are cast rather than just doing so in the presence of NPCs. The fact that someone can cast freely in Vallaki at night because everyone is inside suggests that none of these homes have windows that a hapless observer might look out at any given moment. Time to make suggestion post!

SardineTheAncestor

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1779
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #38 on: November 28, 2022, 08:06:07 PM »
It's my belief if the players that were so flagrant with magic on outskirts were willing to accept it came with the jackboots of the law on your neck, then it would be less of a problem.  However, a lot of them that are that blatant, are also the ones who tend to be unaccepting of said consequences.

I don't know that I have a good answer for that.

My answer is usually to just walk away. You have a choice to engage with, or not engage with, any kind of RP that seems like it's not your thing.

It's one thing to be patient and give people a chance, that's perfectly fine. You can try to teach them through positive reinforcement, or just ignore their character's strange behaviour and see if they do it again. Negative reinforcement on the other hand, as you've noticed, doesn't work out; spending your time actively trying to fight against people who don't care about the setting is going to burn you out.

That's the thing with hubs like the outskirts, you've got so many people there for so many hours on end, and sometimes the only excitement that happens all day is an outcast racing Radu, or someone leaving a door open. Eventually you are going to see someone slip up or act out, and the guards can only do so much, whether there's 2 of them or 8 of them, they can't do it all on their own. At the end of the day they are here to RP, not enforce the setting from an OOC standpoint.

You can try your hardest but sooner or later you will come to realise your energy is better spent rewarding the kind of RP you do want to see. Spend time around people who respect the setting - they're not being tangibly rewarded otherwise.

I don't stick around in hubs because of this. While they attract all kinds of activity, that doesn't mean they foster all kinds of RP. Another thing is the misconception in theory vs practice. In theory, sure, the outskirts should be a slice of Barovia, with some outlander vibes on the side. In practice, most days it's a slice of every approved D&D setting with a little Barovian on the side. You can passively respect the setting and hope it'll be the former all you like, but even if you put in active effort, the results will be temporary.

The dev team seems to be open to/looking into adding more stuff that will curb this kind of behaviour where it threatens immersion, by adding more mechanical consequences. I think this is where we'll see the most success and the most concrete change. It will never be beaten, it will just change forms, but it's a lot better than leaving it the way it is.

But from the player's side of things, I think our best tools are patience, the power of walking away, and reporting excessively bad behaviour. It is a rule here not to adversely affect the enjoyment of others, and it is not your responsibility to try and use tells to let people know they're out of line. If your character can't convince them via completely IC means, it is time to retire from that RP, take some screenshots or a video recording if need be and let the DMs have a chat with them instead.
Insatisfait permanent, c'est ça l'apanage du champion.

Maiyannah

  • First Watcher
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1329
  • Courage is the soul of life.
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #39 on: November 30, 2022, 11:53:14 PM »
It's my belief if the players that were so flagrant with magic on outskirts were willing to accept it came with the jackboots of the law on your neck, then it would be less of a problem.  However, a lot of them that are that blatant, are also the ones who tend to be unaccepting of said consequences.

I don't know that I have a good answer for that.

My answer is usually to just walk away. You have a choice to engage with, or not engage with, any kind of RP that seems like it's not your thing.

So just now, we had two PC garda, with retinues.   A lady walks up to the vendor, asks straight up for a *wizards robe*, and nothing happens, she walks off some moment later, even after several people remarked in various ways on it.

My immersion just existed, stage left.

It's hard to ignore that kind of flagrancy.
Currently:
Livu Olmstead - First Watcher of Helm
Emmanuelle de le Foret - Ezrite escapee from Hazlan

Also:
Sarabeth d'Gagne - Ghastrian artist
Sabina Ennaies - Barovian road warden

SardineTheAncestor

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1779
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #40 on: November 30, 2022, 11:56:32 PM »
Honestly that's par for the course. People do this without thinking or without knowing at all. I know it sounds elitist but I really just ignore stuff like that and walk away, it's why I rarely go to the outskirts or MC in the first place except to pass through.
Insatisfait permanent, c'est ça l'apanage du champion.

Day Old Bread

  • Red Academy
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1873
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #41 on: December 01, 2022, 12:02:11 AM »
It's my belief if the players that were so flagrant with magic on outskirts were willing to accept it came with the jackboots of the law on your neck, then it would be less of a problem.  However, a lot of them that are that blatant, are also the ones who tend to be unaccepting of said consequences.

I don't know that I have a good answer for that.

My answer is usually to just walk away. You have a choice to engage with, or not engage with, any kind of RP that seems like it's not your thing.

So just now, we had two PC garda, with retinues.   A lady walks up to the vendor, asks straight up for a *wizards robe*, and nothing happens, she walks off some moment later, even after several people remarked in various ways on it.

My immersion just existed, stage left.

It's hard to ignore that kind of flagrancy.

You've also got to consider that most garda are aware of the vast number of outlander witches who call the outskirts home. To the point where some assume they're all witches. That being the case, are they going to freak out and try to arrest everyone, or are they going to read the room and deal with the issue when a better opportunity arises? That same garda that let it slide might be planning to ambush the witch, cut out their tongue and break their hands at a later date. Or they might be a corrupt spellcaster themselves.

The fact that the setting opens up into the outskirts simply means that there's going to be a lot more debauchery there than anywhere else on the server, barring perhaps the MC. Set your expectations for some degree of silliness in that place in particular. If we policed every little thing it'd be a sure fire way to drive people away from the server. With 100's of players, you're going to get a few that are either unaware or ignorant, but they often figure it out after a little guidance. Some just never will, and thats ok. We're not at the tabletop, nor are we in an MMO. We're somewhere in between.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2022, 12:07:23 AM by ZSRunner »

FinalHeaven

  • Ba'al Verzi
  • The Underworld
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1796
  • dat boi
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #42 on: December 01, 2022, 12:15:12 AM »
It's my belief if the players that were so flagrant with magic on outskirts were willing to accept it came with the jackboots of the law on your neck, then it would be less of a problem.  However, a lot of them that are that blatant, are also the ones who tend to be unaccepting of said consequences.

I don't know that I have a good answer for that.

My answer is usually to just walk away. You have a choice to engage with, or not engage with, any kind of RP that seems like it's not your thing.

So just now, we had two PC garda, with retinues.   A lady walks up to the vendor, asks straight up for a *wizards robe*, and nothing happens, she walks off some moment later, even after several people remarked in various ways on it.

My immersion just existed, stage left.

It's hard to ignore that kind of flagrancy.

There is nothing flagrant about this scenario, though.  It is not illegal to be a wizard/sorcerer/what have you in Barovia, or Vallaki specifically.  Numerous magical items are sold in the Vallaki outskirts on a daily basis.




Maiyannah

  • First Watcher
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1329
  • Courage is the soul of life.
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #43 on: December 01, 2022, 12:29:52 AM »
I think I'm going to step away from this discussion before I say something uncharitable.

But I will end on this: If expecting that people not trample the setting is unrealistic of me, then I'm happy to be called unreasonable.
Currently:
Livu Olmstead - First Watcher of Helm
Emmanuelle de le Foret - Ezrite escapee from Hazlan

Also:
Sarabeth d'Gagne - Ghastrian artist
Sabina Ennaies - Barovian road warden

Grendlykins, Simp of Azalin Rex

  • Society of the Erudite
  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 746
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #44 on: December 01, 2022, 03:15:01 AM »
There is nothing flagrant about this scenario, though.  It is not illegal to be a wizard/sorcerer/what have you in Barovia, or Vallaki specifically.  Numerous magical items are sold in the Vallaki outskirts on a daily basis.

It is not illegal, but Barovia is not founded on the basis of a coherent legal system, as has been explained to me in the past by DMs. Barovian law is divided into 'what is codified by the Count and his underlings' and 'everything else that the local Garda feel like enforcing'. As to the justification of magical items being sold daily; the trends of the playerbase are not consistent with the canonical state of the land.

Barovia, if memory serves, has a public event that I am reluctant to refer to as a holiday, centered around locating a foreigner and burning them alive for no crime other than being present before the mob. In the Gazetteer regarding Barovia, it is even more clearly spelled out; magic is not tolerated beyond that of the clergy. Those that traffic in it are considered to be associates of demons. These are points that should be considered on the topic of accepting magical items in trade. When players traffic in magic items that are subtle enough to not be discernible by the Garda, or trade in them behind closed doors and in dark, shadowy alleyways, it satisfies both the cultural imperatives of the Barovian people and the desire for players to have shiny things. Doing so in the open, blatantly and flagrantly, only serves to lessen the intended narrative of the region.

That people "openly" trade in magical items on a daily basis is not an implicit act of permission by the Garda, but is itself a result of their superstitious nature and lack of learning; they cannot recognize all but the most blatantly magical of items. The organisation of the Garda is largely dictated by it's constituent members, which over time will wax and wane, as well as individuals shuffling in or out, with all the attendant results thereof; including varied outlooks on such topics as trafficking in magical goods. There have been times in the server's history where the Garda have entirely culled all trade in everything not mundane and times where the Garda themselves resort to using magical possessions.

Ultimately it does not matter whether it is illegal or not to traffic in magical items in Barovia; it is socially and culturally unacceptable, which trumps all other considerations. Canonically, if the Garda fails to suppress outlanders and their ways, mob rule soon takes over in a spectacularly violent fashion. Obviously, the DMs are not in the business of running a mob of NPCs through Vallaki every week to ensure that people toe the line.

tl;dr

magic bad, outlanders bad

Madame Trousers Son

  • Gendarmerie
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2153
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #45 on: December 01, 2022, 03:44:55 AM »
Yes, the Garda do have some IC ability and power to play up to the setting; so if you feel strongly on the issue, you could look to playing one.

Though I would caution that it's an often thankless task that may feel like you're trying to hold back the ocean. There have been eras where the Garda were notoriously cruel, iron-fisted, and very keen to destroying magical wares and punishing merchants for selling them. But this puts them on a path of active conflict and considering that Garda aren't meant to be equipped to deal with higher level outlanders, these Garda may not have a very long life span. The pushback is also quite legitimate, after all.

At the end of the day I think it's important not to get overzealous about these things and see the Outskirt dynamic as just that: an ebb and flow which will never have much of an established culture because it's where a lot new folk come in.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

Myrza

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 609
  • Under the Crimson Sun...
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #46 on: December 01, 2022, 04:22:51 AM »
I don't know about magic items, even some garda items are magical.

Madame Trousers Son

  • Gendarmerie
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2153
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #47 on: December 01, 2022, 04:43:03 AM »
I don't know about magic items, even some garda items are magical.

Can you elaborate? Do you mean +1 AB gear with skill bonuses? By the books that can be considered masterwork rather than magical.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

Maffa

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1110
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #48 on: December 01, 2022, 04:43:55 AM »
the problem is that by convenience, the outskirts acts as a bazaar for outlanders, whose vision of life and magic is way more relaxed. Not only that, but the sums of coins moved around is ridiculously huge compared to the cost of living and wages of the people inside the walls.

But the outskirts are also at a stone throw by the city walls. realistically speaking, these deals should happen further away, maybe by petre, maybe in the drain. but changing the way people peddle would change the fisionomy of the serverso... lets just keep it like that...


Character List:

Marph - Closured
Marius Rucescu - Closured
Romeo Lascaris - Closured

Myrza

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 609
  • Under the Crimson Sun...
Re: Magic in Barovia?
« Reply #49 on: December 01, 2022, 05:09:15 AM »
I don't know about magic items, even some garda items are magical.

Can you elaborate? Do you mean +1 AB gear with skill bonuses? By the books that can be considered masterwork rather than magical.