Spell Taboos

[Nibbens]

Okay, so I'm wondering how many DM's set up "Spell Taboos" within their games and why they do it. For example - to use the normal one, Necromancy. There's no rule that says in order to be a necromancer - you have to be evil or chaotic, yet many societies in D&D (or in Pathfinder, at least) view the animating of the dead (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/spells/animateDead.html#animate-dead) as zombies or skeletons as a taboo act - one that "bad people" or "the insane" would do, and many AP's reinforce this trait as portraying Necromancers as the bad guys and evil.
This is akin to a "Taboo" - something which is not "illegal" per-say, but socially frowned upon by all in that world.

So, my question is do other DM's out there set up Taboos with some of their other spells? Particularly, I find many of the "mind altering or spells that pull information from unwilling targets" 'unfair play' and akin to violation. My societies which I create treat them as such. If someone catches a wizard doing detect thoughts, they'll likely jail him, etc etc.

I was just wondering if any Dm's have heard of/done things like this/ if they have had success with them?

[defiantdan]

I generally run a D&D world where there are no magic taboos. Animate dead, mind detection, ressurection are just part of everyday life. It's hard to believe in a world where Magic is so powerful and common place that people would scoff at it or find anything about bizarre. if it was the first high level wizard with mind rape would just start brainwashing anyone who did think it. Magic alters reality. Necromancy isn't any more evil or taboo than Conjuration, Transmutation or Enchantment. My player's like it so far. It's pretty common place to find most people sporting protection against evil trinkets, zombie and skeleton simple servants and such. if everyone has it, nothing is over powered sort of mentality.

The boards talk about many of the disfucntions of dnd. I like to write in possible solutions using magic. like the wightocalypse. Why can't undead be neutral or good or reasoned with? maybe their necropolis is appeased by a neighbouring city with "statues stone to flesh" or by their own lich wizards and clerics. Creating an industry of meat bags to feed and appease them.

[atemu1234]

There is a sociological definition for taboo - taboos are ALWAYS illegal, by definition. You're thinking folkways and mores.

[yellowrocket]

What's more humane than not sending young men to battle? You could make whole armies out of the undead. Frankly that's always been a sticking point on necromancy for me. And less of a need for graveyards and body disposal when you can use the bodies right away.

Mind reading and compulsion can still be views as wrong because that erases free will but on the other hand it allows a hive mind like efficiency of used correctly.

[Werephilosopher]

Mage's disjunction is often taboo in D&D, though in a more meta sense.

[defiantdan]

Mage's disjunction is often taboo in D&D, though in a more meta sense.

as is sunder, wall of salt, and the fleshraker dinosaur :p

edit: That is another aspect I throw in to the game. certain components of dnd are controlled by higher level npc's. Druids trying to get a fleshraker dinosaur have to get proper documentation and licensing. Like a gun. Same with certain spells. if they are caught abusing them (planar binding for example) they get punished.

[Seto]

I have one such taboo but it's homebrew-specific. In my setting, there's a magical barreer around the Material (and the Ethereal and the Shadow and the Inner planes) that prevents anything from getting to the Astral and Outer Planes (there's a caveat for dead souls travelling to their final resting place). So, Calling and Summoning spells that conjure Outsiders effectively traps them on the Prime, which makes some of them too happy and some others too furious for everyone's sake.
In consequence, Calling magic is banned from every Magic academy and kept a secret, Summoning magic is studied only theoretically and only in some secret circles. There are some renegade sects that dabble in these kinds of magic, but they're universally frowned upon and hunted. Most non-spellcasters don't even know magic can do that (contrary to Necromancy, for example).

[defiantdan]

I have one such taboo but it's homebrew-specific. In my setting, there's a magical barreer around the Material (and the Ethereal and the Shadow and the Inner planes) that prevents anything from getting to the Astral and Outer Planes (there's a caveat for dead souls travelling to their final resting place). So, Calling and Summoning spells that conjure Outsiders effectively traps them on the Prime, which makes some of them too happy and some others too furious for everyone's sake.
In consequence, Calling magic is banned from every Magic academy and kept a secret, Summoning magic is studied only theoretically and only in some secret circles. There are some renegade sects that dabble in these kinds of magic, but they're universally frowned upon and hunted. Most non-spellcasters don't even know magic can do that (contrary to Necromancy, for example).

Pretty sure all the Wish (SU) outsiders can still get their buddies there and back again.

[Forrestfire]

For me, it's mostly the meta things. Disjunction, Celerity, Polymorph Any Object, some of the stronger divinations... In some games, they're fun (well, Celerity is, when not abused too much), but many spells just cause things to break down or cause needless extra work for the DM.

In the fluff areas, I personally have a distaste for mind-control magic and Charm/Dominate effects, so I rarely use them when playing, and generally keep them to bad guys when DMing. Other things are pretty much fair game, like animating unintelligent undead and the like.

[daremetoidareyo]

What's more humane than not sending young men to battle? You could make whole armies out of the undead. Frankly that's always been a sticking point on necromancy for me. And less of a need for graveyards and body disposal when you can use the bodies right away.

Mind reading and compulsion can still be views as wrong because that erases free will but on the other hand it allows a hive mind like efficiency of used correctly.

Actually, this would make a great campaign.

Kingdom A converted to an all undead army, and Kingdom B saw the logic of it immediately. They meet on the battlefield, and land in near immediate stalemate, with mages working shifts on both sides re-resurrecting undeads. The nature of warfare then changes, to win the confrontation, the military in kingdom A shifts towards mageslaying shadows, while kingdom B trains vampire spell thief special ops. Kingdom C pioneers the wightocalypse, and Kingdoms A and B develop divine undead repulsive sanctuaries (mages need safety) that eventually lead to the creation of an elite unicorn riding "turn undead" priest/paladin cavalry, which has limited use for undead rank and files, so once again, demi-human infantry is re-introduced into battle.

Then, Kingdom C's conquered lands have so much trouble with wights, they begin summoning xang yas and positive energy elemental spirits, a technique quickly gobbled up by Kingdoms A and B for their living soldiers. They get to a point where they begin trapping positive energy in amulets, (dog tags) that grants protection from any undead, plus they now have a source of constant regeneration, making battles take forever to win, so Kingdom B, in it's hail mary move, starts a secret bard training program, maxing out bluffs and diplomacy, and then winds up defeating Kingdom A through a nasty street level coup by playing on the commoners weariness with warfare. A sociological sneak attack! boom! The kingdom has a nasty french revolution and the bards act as puppet a puppet legislature for Kingdom A.

Finally, two kingdoms are kinda united as one, except the constant withdrawls from the positive energy plane has weakened the entire positive energy plane, which begins to become subsumed by the now comparatively more powerful negative energy plane, and messing with the quasi-elemental planes, the leaders of which send armies of highly intelligent crystal, lightning, radiance and steam elementals to 1.) kill all the life on the planet as it is apparently wildly irresponsible, and 2.) free the positive energy being contained by xang-ya slavery and amulet manufacturing in order to return the raw power back to the positive energy plane.

Unfortunately, humans begin conjuring ash and salt quasi-elementals to fight to protect themselves against these four angry positive quasi elemental invaders. Kingdom C decides to begin training warlocks and malconvokers to summon outsider help to save the world, meanwhile the positive energy plane is getting weaker, and....someone comes up with the idea to simply siphon negative energy into the world to bring it back into balance. An idea that would be great, if there weren't so many loose devils and mad warlocks fighting with angry elementals all the time. So the siphoning of negative energy has to occur out of sight and mind: maybe in the underdark. An underdark that has been doing super well with its new set of nearly immortal constantly beatable positive energized slaves. With all of the kingdoms united under a terrible elderbrain whose aboleth allies have en-scummed most of the drow. A minority rebel faction of CE drow is the only potential ally left that has at least some of the resources necessary to begin channelling negative energy directly onto the planet at the industrial level. A process which they totally support out of mindflayer spite.

[Nibbens]

There is a sociological definition for taboo - taboos are ALWAYS illegal, by definition. You're thinking folkways and mores.

Ah, for some reason. my Sociology 102 escaped me. lol. I thought it was the opposite. haha. Nevertheless, I stand corrected!

[Nibbens]

Actually, this would make a great campaign.

Kingdom A converted to an all undead army, and Kingdom B saw the logic of it immediately. They meet on the battlefield, and land in near immediate stalemate, with mages working shifts on both sides re-resurrecting undeads. The nature of warfare then changes, to win the confrontation, the military in kingdom A shifts towards mageslaying shadows, while kingdom B trains vampire spell thief special ops. Kingdom C pioneers the wightocalypse, and Kingdoms A and B develop divine undead repulsive sanctuaries (mages need safety) that eventually lead to the creation of an elite unicorn riding "turn undead" priest/paladin cavalry, which has limited use for undead rank and files, so once again, demi-human infantry is re-introduced into battle.

Then, Kingdom C's conquered lands have so much trouble with wights, they begin summoning xang yas and positive energy elemental spirits, a technique quickly gobbled up by Kingdoms A and B for their living soldiers. They get to a point where they begin trapping positive energy in amulets, (dog tags) that grants protection from any undead, plus they now have a source of constant regeneration, making battles take forever to win, so Kingdom B, in it's hail mary move, starts a secret bard training program, maxing out bluffs and diplomacy, and then winds up defeating Kingdom A through a nasty street level coup by playing on the commoners weariness with warfare. A sociological sneak attack! boom! The kingdom has a nasty french revolution and the bards act as puppet a puppet legislature for Kingdom A.

Finally, two kingdoms are kinda united as one, except the constant withdrawls from the positive energy plane has weakened the entire positive energy plane, which begins to become subsumed by the now comparatively more powerful negative energy plane, and messing with the quasi-elemental planes, the leaders of which send armies of highly intelligent crystal, lightning, radiance and steam elementals to 1.) kill all the life on the planet as it is apparently wildly irresponsible, and 2.) free the positive energy being contained by xang-ya slavery and amulet manufacturing in order to return the raw power back to the positive energy plane.

Unfortunately, humans begin conjuring ash and salt quasi-elementals to fight to protect themselves against these four angry positive quasi elemental invaders. Kingdom C decides to begin training warlocks and malconvokers to summon outsider help to save the world, meanwhile the positive energy plane is getting weaker, and....someone comes up with the idea to simply siphon negative energy into the world to bring it back into balance. An idea that would be great, if there weren't so many loose devils and mad warlocks fighting with angry elementals all the time. So the siphoning of negative energy has to occur out of sight and mind: maybe in the underdark. An underdark that has been doing super well with its new set of nearly immortal constantly beatable positive energized slaves. With all of the kingdoms united under a terrible elderbrain whose aboleth allies have en-scummed most of the drow. A minority rebel faction of CE drow is the only potential ally left that has at least some of the resources necessary to begin channelling negative energy directly onto the planet at the industrial level. A process which they totally support out of mindflayer spite.

0.0
... whut?

LOL. In all seriousness, that's pretty impressive! I'd run that game! lol.

[Jeff the Green]

There is a sociological definition for taboo - taboos are ALWAYS illegal, by definition. You're thinking folkways and mores.

That's not true, at least not in traditional or colloquial usage. First, many taboo acts are proscribed only for certain individuals. Untouchables perform taboo acts that are especially accursed and priests perform taboo acts that are especially holy, and there are some things taboo only for kings and priests. Second, it's actually very common for there not to be laws against it because there's an expectation that there are supernatural punishments. A lot of societies never actually punished cannibalism because it was assumed that something horrible would happen to the perpetrator anyway. Finally, it's also applied to things that merely make one ritually unclean, like touching dead bodies or eating improper foods.

[Fouredged Sword]

In my games, there is the big three of evil that spellcasters tread very carefully around. Conjuration from the lower plains, Necromancy, and Enchantment. Of the three, summoning from the lower plains is the most acceptable, enchantment the least.

Nobody cares if you summon a dretch or two. Charming people is seen as very evil. Necromancy is seen as bad as it hurts the world slightly if overused. All in all, people will pair with a necromantic army and make an evil pact or two to kill and enchanter in a heartbeat.

[Flickerdart]

A fireball literally burns someone to death. Is murder not morally objectionable anymore?

[GreatDane]

If there are taboo spells (either meta- or society-wise), the most important thing is to mention it at the beginning of the campaign so everyone's aware of them.

That said, there are a few such taboos in the campaign I'm currently DMing. I've got some common ones, like protection from law and most things that create undead, that will get you jailed / charged as a criminal if you cast them in civilized areas. I've also got a few setting-specific ones; for example, raising the dead is illegal both by law and divine edict.

I use the necromancy taboo because it is the intended fluff of D&D, and the expected fluff of my players. Undead are unholy, perverse, and evil, and are thus outlawed. Raising the dead is taboo in this campaign because a) it shuts the revolving door of death in D&D that so many complain about (unless the PCs resort to unpalatable methods, which is a more interesting story arc than "aaand he's back, let's go") and b) it fits in with the feel of the setting, which has a strong emphasis on the order of the world.

[Fouredged Sword]

A fireball literally burns someone to death. Is murder not morally objectionable anymore?

In my games, murder is not necessarily taboo. Yes, killing the innocent is evil, but ending the life of a bandit... not so much. Dominating a bandit and parading him around as a puppet though, not going to be acceptable even in a situation that you are allowed to kill him.

In my games, enchantments that are used in combats acceptably are those with short duration and do not enslave the target. Suggestion is fine, dominate person less so (though carefully used one can skirt the line)

[Nibbens]

A fireball literally burns someone to death. Is murder not morally objectionable anymore?

Ah, I'd like to address this. Yes, murder is morally objectionable - but consider the whole basic premise of D&D. Good guys, "defeat" the bad guys (I know there are evil campaigns and such, but I'm talking about the usual "heroic quest for blah blah blah").

Defeat doesn't always mean kill, but even paladins whom are the epitome of divine righteousness, kill living things.

Of course murder is morally objectionable, but the whole structure of D&D is based around vanquishing the other guy and taking their stuff. The same thing occurs in war porn games like CoD or any RPG - "kill the bad guys, get the exp!" There are "intended victims" in any game where a player wields a specifically defined amount of power.

To take away the right to "defeat the enemy and get rewarded for doing so" is a game that many wouldn't play... And that says a few things about our society as a whole - but I'm not going there.

Nevertheless, of course murder is objectionable, but I'm curious people's opinions about which spells are worse than just the usual plain ole death by damage.

[Telok]

In Alaska raising huskies for food and leather is taboo. I don't know of any laws that would prevent it but someone would probably shoot you.

[Flickerdart]

In Alaska raising huskies for food and leather is taboo. I don't know of any laws that would prevent it but someone would probably shoot you.
Specifically huskies? Are other dogs allowed?

[Nibbens]

Quote Originally Posted by Telok
In Alaska raising huskies for food and leather is taboo. I don't know of any laws that would prevent it but someone would probably shoot you.


Specifically huskies? Are other dogs allowed?

LOL. Comedy at its finest.

[RoboEmperor]

My DM taboos necromancy and non-beneficial enchantment spells. You use them and the entire surrounding is unhelpful to you, so you gotta hide it. Even your leadership followers will have a 50% chance to jump ship.

It's actually fun. Playing a necromancer (wizard) feels like playing a criminal mastermind.

[Sam K]

The boards talk about many of the disfucntions of dnd. I like to write in possible solutions using magic. like the wightocalypse. Why can't undead be neutral or good or reasoned with? maybe their necropolis is appeased by a neighbouring city with "statues stone to flesh" or by their own lich wizards and clerics. Creating an industry of meat bags to feed and appease them.

Well, undead can't be Good because the guys who run the "Good party" says they cant join. Really, lots of strange alignment things in D&D starts making sense when you look at it like that. Sending people off to die in honorable combat is totally good, because Kord has a great interest in the whole "dying honorably" industry. But undead? None of the "Good party" board has any stock in that industry, so totally Evil.

Ok, maybe it's not as much "making sense" as it is "disturbing", but just look at western society. The way we legalize stuff hardly make sense. It's all politics.

[TheEmperor]

I heard talk about Necromancy being good, and more humane! Well, you'd be happy to hear that there's an amazing campaign setting called Millennial King, and since it's on 1d4chan, I'd rather not link it.

On a side note, while I do not DM, a few people I've played under have handled Necromancy as "taboo" because of a lack of understanding. That the people think it's pulling unwilling souls from their resting state, and stick them back into their bodies, where they're forced to obey their master.

Also because of the whole "disturbing the body is disturbing the soul".

[Telok]

Specifically huskies? Are other dogs allowed?

You could probably get away with chihuahuas pretty well, but huskies are something of a local favorite. And ya, no laws I could find against raising dogs for meat.

[Zarrgon]

I use a lot of Taboos:

Dwarves, in general, don't like flashy magic, except in war. So almost all dwarven magic must be hidden and unseen. Dwarves favor buff spells and spells that don't look like obvious magic.

Northern dwarfs love any magic that deals with rocks, but magic that deals with wood is taboo.

Southern dwarfs have a taboo on ice and cold magic.

Elves don't like necromancy in public, but often use the magic in private. Elves also do not like spells that look bad, such as spells that deal with mud, worms, or oil. they also have a strong dislike for destructive spells that hurt nature.

Green elves have a strong taboo vs fire magic

Moon elves have bright light and sun taboos

Gold elves have dim light and moon taboos

Most cities have taboos vs illusions and mind control magic. It's a big deal to even accuse someone of doing so.

[Curmudgeon]

Mordenkainen's Disjunction will bring a game to a halt, sometimes for hours, so it's taboo. The interaction of Starmantle with natural weapons isn't defined (destroyed claws ??), so it's taboo.

There are a bunch of spells that make huge differences to skill checks — well out of proportion to what skill modifiers are available without magic — so they're taboo: Glitterdust (-40 to Hide), Glibness (+30 to Bluff), Guidance of the Avatar (+20 to anything).

[Karl Aegis]

Anything that'll get an Inevitable after you is usually not a good idea. Mostly because you start stacking up outsiders tracking you down very quickly.

[M Placeholder]

I have one such taboo but it's homebrew-specific. In my setting, there's a magical barreer around the Material (and the Ethereal and the Shadow and the Inner planes) that prevents anything from getting to the Astral and Outer Planes (there's a caveat for dead souls travelling to their final resting place). So, Calling and Summoning spells that conjure Outsiders effectively traps them on the Prime, which makes some of them too happy and some others too furious for everyone's sake.
In consequence, Calling magic is banned from every Magic academy and kept a secret, Summoning magic is studied only theoretically and only in some secret circles. There are some renegade sects that dabble in these kinds of magic, but they're universally frowned upon and hunted. Most non-spellcasters don't even know magic can do that (contrary to Necromancy, for example).

Dark Sun has the Gray, which is the plane of the dead and blocks it off from the Astral, so you cannot get divine magic, arcane magic nor monsters. In Ravenloft, you can summon outsiders, but they will be PISSED that they cannot return to their home planes.

For the Dark Sun setting, any sort arcane magic, as it requires life energy from plants to use. Most of the world has been laid waste as a result.

[Lorddenorstrus]

Optimized wizards in general. To be specific if it involves some ridiculous combination of magic that lets you solo the dragon that was intended to be a PARTY ENCOUNTER. Or NUKE CITIES. Our entire group doesn't allow it. And it's made widely known when a new person joins us.

[M Placeholder]

I banned Harm from my Clerics spell list, as its brutally overpowered.

As for the Wizard in my game, the setting means she has to hunt out spellbooks, so I can spot any overpowered combinations of spells and how likely she is to use them.

[defiantdan]

I banned Harm from my Clerics spell list, as its brutally overpowered.

As for the Wizard in my game, the setting means she has to hunt out spellbooks, so I can spot any overpowered combinations of spells and how likely she is to use them.

How is harm brutually overpowered? it's range touch and has a save. Brutually overpowered is a druid companion fleshraker with venomfire. at caster level 11 that's three attacks that do 11d6 that also pins and grapples an opponent. Brutally over powered is a fell drain cloud of knives.

[Milo v3]

To reduce the taboo-ness of the necromancy school, in one game I had my caster create helpful necromantic spells, like a ward on an inn that kills weak creatures like rats, skeletal limbs for amputees, a blessing that stops the physical effects of aging, etc.

[WeaselGuy]

At the end of 2013, the campaign I was playing in (which was a precursor to the campaign currently on hold), we were faced with an interesting situation. The major city was about to be assaulted by an army of kobolds, bugbears, orcs, goblins, evil humans and even quite a few dragons and half dragons. We, the good guys, had managed to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom of elf warriors, a tribe of elf eagle-riders, a clan of dwarves and, of course, the human kingdom we were in, all to help combat the enemy army.

We were still outnumbered. So, I, as the paladin/griffonrider (with the highest diplomacy) actually went to the temples of Wee Jas and Nerull, and brokered a peace accord with them, in exchange for their help combating the enemy forces. On the morning of the big battle, as the enemy troops marched on the kingdom, the dead literally rose from their graves to impede their forces. While kobolds and orcs were busy fighting skeletons and zombies, I lead flights of eagle riders in bombing runs against the opposing army, dropping casks of alchemist's fire in the midst of their formations.

Well, the battle was intense, but the point is, even in a kingdom that predominately worships St Cuthbert and Pelor, and where the churches of Wee Jas and Nerull are, at best, shunned, when the chips were down you take what you can to secure your freedom. And, to quote a MTG card (Drudge Skeletons):


"The dead make good soldiers. They can't disobey orders, they never surrender, and they don't stop fighting when a random body part falls off."

[Nibbens]

At the end of 2013, the campaign I was playing in (which was a precursor to the campaign currently on hold), we were faced with an interesting situation. The major city was about to be assaulted by an army of kobolds, bugbears, orcs, goblins, evil humans and even quite a few dragons and half dragons. We, the good guys, had managed to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom of elf warriors, a tribe of elf eagle-riders, a clan of dwarves and, of course, the human kingdom we were in, all to help combat the enemy army.

We were still outnumbered. So, I, as the paladin/griffonrider (with the highest diplomacy) actually went to the temples of Wee Jas and Nerull, and brokered a peace accord with them, in exchange for their help combating the enemy forces. On the morning of the big battle, as the enemy troops marched on the kingdom, the dead literally rose from their graves to impede their forces. While kobolds and orcs were busy fighting skeletons and zombies, I lead flights of eagle riders in bombing runs against the opposing army, dropping casks of alchemist's fire in the midst of their formations.

Well, the battle was intense, but the point is, even in a kingdom that predominately worships St Cuthbert and Pelor, and where the churches of Wee Jas and Nerull are, at best, shunned, when the chips were down you take what you can to secure your freedom. And, to quote a MTG card (Drudge Skeletons):

I love me some Drudge skeletons! haha. Anyway, what happened to your paladin for securing the forces of Wee Jas and Nerull? I'm curious how that all went down.

[WeaselGuy]

I love me some Drudge skeletons! haha. Anyway, what happened to your paladin for securing the forces of Wee Jas and Nerull? I'm curious how that all went down.

Since it was in defense of a nation, and I rolled well on my diplomacy, I didn't fall or anything like that. The necromancers didn't make any sacrifices or anything of the sort either, they just went to their cemeteries and cast Raise Dead on their own petitioner's remains.

We actually ended up losing the battle. The king was assassinated by a crossbow sniper and severed our lines of communication, and a bugbear dread commando ended up sabotaging our alchemist fire stockpile, so the eagle riders retreated, leaving me to lead the charge against a dragon with my companions. Our cleric plane-shifted when things started going the way of the dodo, our bard ended up in melee combat, the sorceress fell in battle against the dragon right before the glaivemaster and I did (why attack a pair of tin-cans when there is a rag-doll nearby? Dragons are smart, ya'know). The pixie scout went invisible and flew away after I died, quickly followed by the druid shifting into a hippogriff and doing the same.

Our current campaign is set 70 years after this battle, where the forces of Tiamat now rule the country, and we're playing a mercenary group of "evil" characters, sent to recover a McGuffin that was stolen by pesky goody toe-shoes elf loving hippies (aka, the good party).

[Nibbens]

our bard ended up in melee combat.

This is when you know things have gone seriously wrong. lol.

Seriously though, sounds like it was a fun campaign!

[Toilet Cobra]

In general, most people in my campaign world don't know much about magic, so it's judged more by the intent and the ways it can be abused to harm the common folk. Generally, however, taboos don't exist among the educated & enlightened strata of society (a college of good & neutral wizards doesn't mind having animated undead around).

Necromancy - Animating dead bodies is seen as a desecration, but other necromancy spells are basically treated as just another weapon in a wizard's arsenal.

Spells that curse or cripple - Bestow Curse or Blindness/Deafness, things like that, are seen as the tools of the most evil spellcasters, and cruel by any standard.

Spells that charm or dominate - Even using charm person is seen as a heinous crime, to say nothing of dominating spells. This one can get you in serious trouble, and if people hear that you use charms to get your way, you'll start finding yourself barred from most shops, banks, and any place where you might cast spells on important people.

Invisiblity, Alter Self, Silence, and general illusion magic - tools of those with something to hide. Possessing the ability to turn invisible or change your appearance is enough to place you under suspicion of criminal activity, even if you have a good reputation. On the other hand, "cosmetic" uses of magic are a common pastime of the nobility.

Generally blasting magic - Although scarier than a sword, commoners see this sort of thing as "honest" magic. Nothing tricky or sneaky about it. Wizards who use this are welcomed more openly. The same goes for those who summon monsters to fight for them, although to a lesser extend.


To reduce the taboo-ness of the necromancy school, in one game I had my caster create helpful necromantic spells, like a ward on an inn that kills weak creatures like rats, skeletal limbs for amputees, a blessing that stops the physical effects of aging, etc.

I want all those spells.