Why the desire for low magic?

[Xervous]

Sure, they have limits but the sheer versatility of magic mean that most casters can handle almost any type of situation. A fighter isn't capable of doing every kind of violence imaginable, a skill-monkey can't master every skill, why should a caster be capable of (almost) every kind of magic?



Yes, thematic classes are nice. I personally find wizards fairly boring in part because "I do magic" is a pretty flavorless concept. But it can also help with class imbalance, if every caster isn't capable of so many different kinds of magic. I'd prefer if they had to specialize, for both flavor and balance.

I agree that theming is better for shoving classes into more manageable boxes. The bigger point of contrast that should be drawn on the concepts each class is built around is their scalability. “Sneaky skill dude” and “hits things with pointy stick” are definitions of what the character can do, while “trained in war magic” or “blessed by the gods” are merely explanations that can yield a wide range of degrees of capability.

I can have my zealot who defies killing killing blows by the power of his faith and can produce light from his ears, eyes, nose, mouth and... And he’d be fine in a setting with pointy stick users and sneaky standby conmen. Let the power of faith lift a carriage with one hand or run through the sky, mundane concepts get left behind past a point because they’re about What not How. The What of the game can shift in scope, and if your How doesn’t fit you don’t get a seat.

Low magic is about limiting the Hows in order to produced desired Whats. My innate, mundane skills are How I do What I do because there’s no Christmas tree on me, nor are we all as special as a gaggle of magical girls.