Magic Realm pack if not into magic?

The world itself is one of my favourites, but then again I like magic. It is pretty realistic except for the magical portal near the waterfall. If you don't mind Sims (mainly spellcasters) occasionally walking by and disappearing into the portal, then you can use the world for realistic games. The portal is at the edge of the map, not really near a lot.

Gameplay is almost exclusively magic. The only thing I can think of for realism is using the cauldron to cook 12 portion of food at once. You don't need to be a spellcaster to cook food in the cauldron and it's perfect for off the grid or historical situations. In the game there are only 3 dishes available with maxed cooking skill but Bienchen has a mod that adds more recipes. The only other magical object that might be useful is a broom as decoration.

Good thing for you (and sad for me) is that spellcasters are nearly noticeable unless you play one actively or visit the magic realm. Spellcasters in other households don't do autonomous magic except occasionally arriving on a broom.

As for the build/buy it is art nouveau. Art nouveau existed in real life so up to you if it fits your visual style. Most of the furniture is normal furniture, to be used by any sim.
I don't know if the clothing suits your style, maybe you can take a look at them in a video or article.

I think the world is probably nice. I bought the pack when it first released, but I haven't used it at all. Maybe I've touched just two BB objects from the pack :# because it turns out that I'm not that into magic, but maybe one day...

Gameplay is just magic as far as I know, mixing realistic and RoM furniture doesn't look too off, especially if you have sims that are interested in gardening or writing.

You can probably make some realistic sims with CAS, clothes are a good mix of dark clothes, historical clothes and some fantasy themed clothes.

The world is an odd one, it's small, it has a lot of roads with large parking areas (when they released the world I thought that we were going to get a car update) and the bar in the world is programmed so only spellcasters will visit it.

The world is very nice and the magic portal is far enough that it doesn't interfere visually with regular gameplay. I've had the pack since release and only in the past year or so I've started seeing sims falling off their brooms in the neighbourhoods and realized they must be magical sim, otherwise I didn't see them. And one of my sims has only very recently met Morgyn and befriended him. The magic realm itself is good as a theme park and underworld sort of place and the build and buy stuff is good if you want to play scientist or herbalists sort of sims. The stuff that's strictly for magical use it's mostly hidden in debug, brooms, wands, potions, you need to do magic gameplay to find it or buy it from the magic vendors.

I play lots of occulty things so I'm afraid i do not know how it fits in realistic play :sweat_smile:

but one thing about that world I will say is that is drives me insane as builder (the weird lot placement etc) so builder to builder I might not recommend :lol:

you can change all lot types and lots sure but the magic portal and its sounds might also annoy you if you are trying to not be magical there

"Simmerville;c-18205644" wrote:

"logion;c-18205636" wrote:
the bar in the world is programmed so only spellcasters will visit it.

Oh, will it be stuck like that? Can the lot not be recategorized?

I booted up the game and did some testing since I got curious myself, it seems that if you replace the bar with another lot type (like a night club) then other sims will visit, but if it's a bar lot then it will be mostly spellcasters that will visit the bar.

The pack is pretty much geared for a magical vibe all around. The build style is Art Nouveau, which was a popular style in the early 1900’s that I’ve always found interesting. If you’re not into that niche style, individual pieces can be used for accents. Clothing has a very distinctive style as well that’s modern but with a fantasy twist.

Gameplay is pretty Magic oriented, but the Spellcasters aren’t intrusive. They don’t autonomously cast spells. You may see them come and go on a broom occasionally, but that’s it.

Glimmerbrook and the Magic Realm are some of the most beautiful scenery in the game, in my opinion.

Glimmerbrook is a very beautiful small forest world. The non-magical objects are so pretty, especially the doors, windows, pictures, beds, couches & chairs. Also, the clothing is very, very nice.
I recommend Realm of Magic with Cottage Living & Windenburg for Historical gameplay. :p

You mostly asked about gameplay stuff, but I do want to add that if you're mainly interested in more lots, Glimmerbrook only has five lots, so it's a pretty small world.

If you like a Victorian and Art Nouveau style then yes this pack has what you want. I use the BB/CAS items often. As far as lots there's only five of them. Then the lot in the magic realm.

I personally love the magic and my sims being spellcasters but I dont know of any realism gameplay with this pack. You can brew potions and i dont think you have to be a spellcaster to do that. However, since you're not interested in that part but you have all world packs except this one then I'd recommend getting it while it's on sale. Otherwise if that's not your style and you dont have all the world packs I'd go for a different pack.

Edited... I just went through comments and saw your reply on the worlds. I don't own HSY yet as I'm waiting for a better sale but it would have the most realism as far as worlds go. Otherwise I'd recommend Moonwood Hills. The only thing about it is there are a lot of werewolves walking around so might interfere with your realistic gameplay. But the world and items in it won't. I'm actually not a fan of the Glimmerbrook world. It is the least world I go to other than to get my sims to the portal to become spellcasters. But all the world's in this game are spectacular and beautiful.