Need help reducing campaign's magic intensity

[Old One]

Three things...

I wouldn't change the spell-casting classes...I think it is better to use campaign world restrictions instead...IMO it adds more flavor. I recommend the following (some of which have already been mentioned):

(1) Power Components: Require power components to fabricate magic items and cast certain spells whose use you want to limit. This allows a built-in mechanism to limit the amount of items that are created and floating around because it makes them harder to create and makes certain spells (transporation and raise/resurrection in particular) more difficult to cast. The PCs may have to go on an epic quest just to get the materials to craft certain items.

I wouldn't recommend using power components for everyday spells, but make sure that there is no "ready market" for such components. Obtaining them should be an adventure in and of itself.

(2) Item Creation/Metamagic Feats: Require a tutor or other restrictions to learn these. For instance, the Royal Magician's Guild doesn't want just anyone learning how to create magical armor or wonderous items, so a prospective student must apply to the guild, be tested and be approved before the feat is taught.

Also, the guild may require that all magic items created are registered with the guild, have a special "maker's mark" on it and the authorities come down very hard on mages who create magic items that are used in crimes. Of course, there is an unregulated "black market" but items and/or training are much more expensive!

(3) Magic Item Availability: Because of (1) and (2) above, there is no ready market for magic items. The PCs either have to create them, find them, steal them or deal with the "black market" for them.

If you implement these ideas or variations thereof, it should go a long way to limiting magic overload if that is your goal.

Old One

 

[Rook]

This is a bit severe, but have you considered simply eliminating the wizard and sorceror classes? What you could do is simply make the cleric class into the primary spellcasting class. You might remove the references to the gods or faith, even and simply say that the way clerics cast spells is the way that magic works in this world. Nothing to do with the spells being granted by gods or faith.

I bring this up because, outside of the notorious Raise Dead spells, the cleric spell list is a bit more innocuous to campaign breaking than many. That way you still have a fairly balanced set of classes, the ability to create magic items for the other classes. And you can introduce new Domains to allow access to spells you think are needed for your gameworld, but you would like to control somehow.

 

[Darkness]

Have the common populace fear and distrust spellcasters - or even kill them on sight. If the rulers and religious authorities support this, spellcasters will be in great trouble.

 

[kamosa]

Give less XP and play at low levels.

Rather then trying to rebalance the game by taking away powers, play at low levels.

Give out 1/4 or 1/8 the recomended XP for an encounter. This will slow down the progression of characters and allow you to keep that low magic feel to the campaign. It will also exagerate the XP cost for creating items, reducing the number of items created and make them more special when they are created.

Make the "Arch Mage" of the world 10-12th level and the High priest might have 7th level spells at best.

In this world a +3 sword would be extremely rare, almost artifact level. Alchemists would only exist in the largest cities and the local temple probably can't do much more then cure light wounds.

 

[Artoomis]

If you use the "there aren't many spell casters" approach, you should probabaly also use optional training rules - no advancement without a mentor to train you - and, at least at first, make the menor be fairly low level so that they are not available to train you past 3rd or 5th level or something.

And then warn the players that if they pick a spell casting class tehy may have a LOT of trouble advancing - so much so, that eachlevel advancement may be an antire adventure all by itself. Make it plain that running a non-spell casting class, or mixing in only a few levels of spell casting classes will be MUCH easier FOR THEM.

And make it clear from the beginning that there will be no spell-casting prestige classes (these tend to up the power of spell casters).

I think you'll have a playable campaign that way, but spell casters may not be too happy - visions of glory and all that. They'll get over it - especially if you make it all clear at the start. In your world, a 3rd level wizard would be pretty powerful.

 

[Jaligard]

One of the things I'll be doing when I start my low-magic campaign in the distant future will be to require all arcane spellcasters to take a feat in order to cast arcane spells. This helps the "few-spellcasters" problem a little by discouraging people to take the class--at the same time, if they want to, they still can.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Why not increase the players' fun while you're at it?

If you want low magic, then eliminate all NPC spellcasters.

If a player wants to play a caster, let him. But as fas as he knows, he's the only caster in the world. He will be feared by the populace, and he won't enjoy the camaraderie of the Church, the Thieves Guild or the local Guards.

All magic items would be relics from an earlier age. PCs won't be able to buy magic items in normal shops; they'd have to steal them from well-guarded treasure vaults or buy them from expensive antiquities dealers or private collectors.

Note that this could apply to both Arcane and Divine casters. The Church of Pelor would exist, of course, but perhaps the PC cleric is the only true cleric--everyone else is an Expert in Religion.

This scheme would make magic extremely rare and make your players feel pretty damn special.

Now that I think about it, Star Wars does this with Luke. He's the last Jedi, and though Force users and Lightsabers were once pretty common sights, by the time he comes around everyone fears and misunderstands him. But his abilities make him a hero.

I bet your players would enjoy this approach to low magic a lot more than, say, simply crippling their powers or making spellcasting a bookkeeping chore.

 

[MythandLore]

Just to take the first example that comes to mind (I am sure there
are far more):

King Azoun IV of Cormyr (forgotten realms) died battling a red dragon. Why wasn't he ressurected? He was important to the
stability of the land, and the people would rally if he returned.

He basically told Vanderghast (spelling?) that he was to old and to tired to be brought back to life again and that he didn't want to be ressurected even though they could. (I'm serious)

Also remeber if you get past a certin age ressurection can't bring you back ether.

 

[bmcdaniel]

Culturally-based magic

I stumbled across a very effective means of keeping a low-magic tone to my campaign by making each type of magic specific to a particular culture.

In my campaign, there is only one known god, who is closely associated with an ascendant Empire, but these people (more or less) disdain other forms of spellcasting. Clerical magic is both proof of divine approval and a tool of state power. The arcane knowledge to practice wizardry is known only among the older corrupt, but more philosophically "enlightened" peoples. Sorcery, and spontaneous magic in general, is tied to the elves: only elves and half-elves can really be true sorcerers. The (vaguely Celtic) barbarians have picked up a limited form of sorcerery which they incorporate into heroic poetry (bards). There are rumors of other cultures (Dwarves, Horse-nomad barbarians, Orientals, Minotaurs) with other divergent magic systems, but the PCs don't have a clue about their mechanics.

Organizing the world this way adds a lot of flavor by making each culture unique (and giving PC spellcasters an automatic background), but also tend to de-emphasize magic, and especially magic items. For example, only among the Imperials do you have to confront the question about the effects of True Ressurection. Also, the Imperials tend to view their magic jealously, so that even healign potions can't be easily purchased.

BM

 

[Laslo Tremaine]

I wanted to try a lower magic campaign and came up with a solution that works for me.

Make everyone dual classed...

I'm forcing all of my players to have a minimum of two classes that must progress equally. This does a number of things.

•The maximum spell casting level you can get is 10. so you only have to deal with spells of 5th level or less (that gives you resurrection, but nothing better, and you don't get it until 17th level, although you can reincarnate at 15th level...).

•As shown above it will slow down everyone's spell progression/acquisition.

•Which will lead to lower powered magic items (and I'm thinking about that I will not allow any magic item construction except for charged items [potions, scrolls and wands...])

•It makes the characters a bit more diverse. Will a caster be better off as a sorceror/wizard, or a sorceror/rogue. How about a cleric/druid or a wizard/cleric. Will the fighter be better off as a fighter/barbarian or a fighter/rogue, will ranger or paladin be worth taking or would you be better off going for fighter/cleric or fighter/druid. And what about three classes? Sorceror/rogue/barbarian anyone? I'll be interested to see what choices people make.

I think in the long-run it will increase the amount of low-level magic in the party (more people will have mage or priest as one of their two classes), but it will keep the total power level down by quite a bit. We'll see how things work out...