Ideas for using RoM for realistic or subtle magical gameplay?

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.

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.

@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.

i hadn't thought of that far ahead..

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

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.

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

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;c-17238673" 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.

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.

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.