Ideas for using RoM for realistic or subtle magical gameplay?

illustratedhappiness

I'm so happy that there is a magic pack coming for all you simmers that have been wanting it since the start

I must admit I normally prefer "ordinary" gameplay. But this pack looks great and I am ready to expand my horizon!
With this in mind, I am sorta stumped as to where to start, and thought I could ask you guys -

Do any of you want to share your ideas for subtle magical gameplay?
And maybe how this pack could also be used for "ordinary" gameplay?

honeypooh1267

i had a story i wanted to do for a orinary sim...where a sim finds the portal and also finds out her grandmother was a witch but never told anyone or so that is what i was thinking.

EnkiSchmidt

I'm struggling with that myself, since my currently favorite save isn't likely to support magic.

You could go the good old "it's technology, really" route. Did you watch the lifestream where they showed the two-way portals? They could have been created by technology or left behind by aliens, no need for magic. And the whole magical realm might be a magic themed funpark that your sims visit with their kids. Clever illusions, fancy sfx effects...

Then, once you've seen how everything works, you can slowly introduce real magic into your gameplay.

illustratedhappiness

@honeypooh1267 I like that idea Would the grandmother you're thinking of be a good or evil witch?

@EnkiSchmidt That is really interesting, I've never thought or it like that! Thank you for sharing I watched the livestream and was impressed, hence this post haha. Initially I had not planned on buying the pack at all.

honeypooh1267

i hadn't thought of that far ahead..

WolfNate

You really can't go subtle unless you make a mage in CAS and never visit Realm.

SimmyFroggy

Honestly, with the fact that you won't see spellcasters perform magic outside the Realm (unless it's one of your played Sims), there's definitely a way to make the presence subtle or pretty much non-existent outside of decorations.

With the contents of the build/buy and even CAS, it could be something like honeypooh1267 said: maybe your family inherits a home in Glimmerbrook from a distant relative. When they check it out, there are things they didn't expect: a massive cauldron in the shed that they first assume was for cookouts, an old finely carved crib that they take a liking to, a herb garden with plants they haven't seen before. And maybe one of their teens starts poking at the bookshelves and finds the books there intriguing so they go wandering around the forest and stumble upon the portal.

Or maybe your Sims befriend the families living in Glimmerbrook and that's how they find themselves exploring that world and what lies beyond it.

Or (if you get one of the potions from the build/buy catalog) a Sim accidentally drinks a potion and they need to find a spellcaster to undo its effects.

I hope you find a way to make this pack work for you, whether it's with or without the magic gameplay!

MasonGamer

Well with how I play with magic My sim's powers are spurred by Instinct and Will, meaning they learn from experience and at certain moments unlocks new spells they never cast before. My sims don't always spend their time hovering over a cauldron or their nose always in a spell book. they have a life with magic, not a life of Magic.

So my simself for example, is a sorcerer, His mother and Sister and maternal grandparents are sorcerers and his father is human.
So he was raised to reserve his magic throughout middle school. And it's not till his father dies, (abducted by supernatural forces) and mid high school career, he starts getting more liberal with his magic. Using it openly and it's because many supernatural and mortal threats are coming to town. But becoming a powerful Sorcerer isn't his aspirations in life, his Aspirations are Love, Friends, Family, Adventure and Wealth.

But yeah it's kind of normal life, with magic thrown in, He's still going to a normal college, after He wants to be a historian He shares my interest in Archeology, and European, Middle East, North African, and early American History.

Chazzzy

I wonder if there are any magical objects in the game your sim can interact with even if they themselves are not magical, like from Buy/Build mode.

MasonGamer

Chazzzy wrote: »

I wonder if there are any magical objects in the game your sim can interact with even if they themselves are not magical, like from Buy/Build mode.

I think they said only spell casters can use wands. Otherwise it's just a fancy stick in the hand of a mortal.
Brooms... might, but it might just be a wall decor object if the sim doesn't possess magic.
Cauldrons, they said anyone can cook specific meals out of it, but only spell casters can do alchemy. They should make the Cauldron multipurpose across packs if you have Perfect Patio = Hot tub; Laundry Day = New way to wash clothes.

To7m

illustratedhappiness wrote: »

I'm so happy that there is a magic pack coming for all you simmers that have been wanting it since the start

I must admit I normally prefer "ordinary" gameplay. But this pack looks great and I am ready to expand my horizon!
With this in mind, I am sorta stumped as to where to start, and thought I could ask you guys -

Do any of you want to share your ideas for subtle magical gameplay?
And maybe how this pack could also be used for "ordinary" gameplay?

I play my sims as usual living their lives, working, having kids etc, and just use magic to make life easier. I would probably spend more time casting house cleaning spells than anything else haha

—T

SilentKitty

Hmm... you could make a spellcaster in CAS, then you don’t need to go to the realm. Maybe just do potions? Less wands and stuff.

I think that there are clever ways of having a touch of magic, I’ll come back after I tried the pack myself.

You could play a sim that sells magic potions. Just pull the potions from the bb-catalog and sell them in a store. The spellcaster prefer to stay in the realm and have delegated the task of selling the wares. Then you can have a regular sim just briefly interacting with occult when the store is open. Could be a fun story.

Wrenry

Game play idea.

The sim is just studying to be a regular stage magician. There's an outfit an CAS and a wand in Build/Buy that fit well with that look. And I think there's also a top hat from another expansion that would help cement the look.

And to explain "why" they entered the Magic Realm to become a Spellcaster, if not creating a Spellcaster in CAS, use that good ol' chestnut that they thought it was a dream but that dream is the reason they're inspired to become a stage magician. Also could mention that the sim really doesn't understand or hates why after taking up magic others who also practice like to call each other Spellcasters when their fine just being called a Magician.

And if they need any supplies by tomorrow there should be quite a few magic shops available for downloaded for your practicing magician to pick up what they need so they don't have to revisit the Magic Realm.

Modsey

Your Sim was born a spell caster in a human family and has no teacher, so if they want to learn magic they must study by themselves. They have their own dream to pursue, it might not be magic, but magic tends to pop up in their life.

With the bb.showhiddenobjects cheat, you can access all the different types of wands and brooms, so your sim could just find something and say, hey that could be my wand or broom from now on.

With vampires, my vampires were usually trying to get something besides being vampires. Make a close friend, fall in love, become a writer, raise a kid, or even just survive. It depended on the game and the story. They just happened to be a vampire while dealing with all this.

Glimmer50

My teen Sim is going to leave home to back pack around the country side when she stumbles upon an old house that is in bad need of repair. The story behind the house is that an old lady used to live there. They say she was a witch but no one really knows. Maybe she was just odd. One day she disappears and no one knows what happened to her. However the weird thing is her flowers and lawn is maintained but by who? Ellie, my Sim intends to find out the mystery behind this old house.

So, in my story my teen sim will be homeless and will save up to buy the house, then stumble upon the portal while looking into what happened to the old lady. There will also be a stray cat on the property that she has to take care of as well. I am not sure how magical she will be yet but you could just have your sim not go through the portal and just live out her ordinary life in Glimmerbrook. Or maybe she becomes an alchemist after finding the portal.

Or maybe you will discover that your Sim likes having just a touch of magic.

XxAirixX

I have no limits but the game needs less realism so I am going all out once I get it. We can copypaste anything, I am making an army of clones to do everything for me lol.

SimTrippy

illustratedhappiness wrote: »

I'm so happy that there is a magic pack coming for all you simmers that have been wanting it since the start

I must admit I normally prefer "ordinary" gameplay. But this pack looks great and I am ready to expand my horizon!
With this in mind, I am sorta stumped as to where to start, and thought I could ask you guys -

Do any of you want to share your ideas for subtle magical gameplay?
And maybe how this pack could also be used for "ordinary" gameplay?

You could just play a cute little family with a muggle dad and kids, but a spellcaster mom who keeps it a secret but just occasionally uses a little, uhum, "extra" help to get the house cleaned and food on the table? No one needs to know, right?

BOY

i was hoping for an option for a smaller cauldron, maybe a stovetop cauldron for the kitchen like in charmed lol. would've helped add some subtlety.

illustratedhappiness

Wow, so many great suggestions! You guys are really creative
Reading this gave me many ideas, thank you for taking the time to write your stories! I am now officially excited for the pack as well, and thats all because of you.

Hopefully, this will inspire others also

fullspiral

I built a haunted house for Glimmerbrook. I'm imagining a scenario where a Sim breaks down on their way to Granite Falls from Windenburg. (I see Glimmerbrook up in that area on the "whole world map".

So they break down outside and need to get out of the cold. They enter the house....bad vibes man. Something very strange happened here....and what's with that turret room off the main bedroom with all the scratches on the wall? Was something locked in there? What happened here?







Not sure how it's going to go yet. I'll add a few "finds" for the story of whichever sim breaks down to figure out.

Maybe "Pet Semetary-ish" with a familiar gone wrong being locked up. I'll figure it out. lol

However which way it goes, it will lead that sim down the path of spell-casting and the secret world.

Hermitgirl

I plan on playing a practical magic alchemist type of witch... probably more often than most. She might go to the magic realm to begin learning or just too learn but will use her gifts in secret in her home or for herself. She might even try to live normally ... think Sandra Bullocks character in Practical Magic... or Bewitched Samantha that want's to be "normal". I'm sure there are more modern equivalents but this is what sticks out to me.
I also see doing this with someone born a witch ... maybe they lose their parents and don't get powers until later. I gotta see how the pack works better to find out what the options are for learning.

loubyloulou

I'm totally stealing the plot from 'A Discovery of Witches'

"When Diana Bishop returns to Oxford university her life is flipped upside down. While researching in the library, Diana collects a book that was thought to be lost. Strange goings-on begin to happen around Diana bringing her witch heritage back into her life. Matthew Clairmont is a vampire who has spent all his undead years looking for that book. When word travels that the book is in Oxford, he races over expecting to see the book but instead he sees her. As the story progresses a romance starts to bloom between the two but danger is also heading their way because the love is forbidden. They begin to run but will they make it?"

Brinn

There is an old film "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark". A modern girl inherits an old house and a cookbook from her deceased great-aunt. First, she doesn't understand what's that all about and just trying to settle in this quiet little town. After several attempts to use the cookbook for... well... cooking, she realizes that her great-aunt was a powerful witch...

Something like that will do, I think. Maybe even creating a spellcaster who doesn't know about being a spellcaster. He never enters a portal and learns everything about magic from experimenting.

Glimmer50

fullspiral wrote: »

I built a haunted house for Glimmerbrook. I'm imagining a scenario where a Sim breaks down on their way to Granite Falls from Windenburg. (I see Glimmerbrook up in that area on the "whole world map".

So they break down outside and need to get out of the cold. They enter the house....bad vibes man. Something very strange happened here....and what's with that turret room off the main bedroom with all the scratches on the wall? Was something locked in there? What happened here?







Not sure how it's going to go yet. I'll add a few "finds" for the story of whichever sim breaks down to figure out.

Maybe "Pet Semetary-ish" with a familiar gone wrong being locked up. I'll figure it out. lol

However which way it goes, it will lead that sim down the path of spell-casting and the secret world.

We have the same kind of game play.

SimsILikeSims

Izzy Fabulous in my latest save didn't have a home yet...so I moved him into Glimmerbrook. Of course, he explored the vacant lot, and was astonished to find that what he thought was a mirror....wasn't in fact a mirror, but a portal. So he stepped into this magic mirror thingy...and ended up in the Realm of Magic. He now is a celebrity spellcaster. So far however, he doesn't know enough people well enough to both maintain his celebrity status and learn new spells...so he really only knows the mac and cheese potion so far.