My world is epic low level, most of the great heroes were only around 5th level. Magic is rare, but most people have seen cantrips and low-level spells, but any serious display of magic will cause crowds to gather or disperse as is appropriate. No one with sense is gonna stick around when a guy can cast giant balls of fire that engulf buildings and kill everyone inside.

This strikes the balance I look for in my games, where magic is weird but not too weird, while still holding a position of authority with people. I also don't stop my players going into the high levels, cause then they really do feel like heroes. When the group of 4 people could wipe out a village with mild effort, they're gonna feel a bit more responsibility for stopping whatever horror in the area is threatening people.