Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Difficulties Of Running Low Magic Campaigns
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 7738365" data-attributes="member: 19675"><p>Looking at a different novel series- Harry Turtledove’s <em>Darkness</em> saga that reskinned the events of WWII as a fantasy world’s war- you see a different kind of world that I personally consider a kind of low-magic setting- the rare but powerful kind. There is seemingly lots of magic, but little of it is flashy. You won’t se any flying wizards; Tim the Enchanter is right out.</p><p></p><p>For instance, there are strange beasts we would not deem out of place in a Monster Manual, but few, if any, are above an animal’s level of intelligence, and none speak or use magic. Even the dragons ridden in war are large and powerful, fire-breathing beasts...and nothing more.</p><p></p><p>Learning magic itself is not easy. Spellbooks are uncommon, and are often inaccurate, making the practice fraught with disappointment (from spells that don’t work) and danger (from magical backfires). Many people can do minor magics a la D&D’s Mending spell if they can learn them. There are magical means of mass production for some goods, but the items created thusly are cheap and low quality. There are minor necromantic rituals that let soldiers on the battlefield recharge their “Sticks” (essentially, firearm analogs that are minor magical force-projectile staves) with the life forces of the fallen. But that’s about the sum total of common magic. </p><p></p><p>Serious magic requires arduous study, and takes a lot of time. As a result, most magic seen in the series is in the form of objects: the aforementioned Sticks of various sizes; the “Eggs” (bombs) dropped from on high by dragons and their riders, flung from catapults, or used like landmines; “Crystals” (radio/videophones) and “Rest Crates” (stasis freezers) are the most common . There is a gigantic iceberg-like ship similar to the real-world Project Habakkuk. There are no fast and easy “combat” spells.</p><p></p><p>Flashier spells do exist, but they are time consuming, and often require the cooperation of several mages. IOW, they are not the purview of the adventuring mage (not that any really exist in the series). There is an analog for the atomic bomb, for instance, but the spell requires so much time and cooperation, it is done in secret, far behind the front lines. The Nazi final solution is likewise altered into a necromantic ritual that powers something akin to nerve gas, again as rituals performed by groups of hidden casters. This makes the use of either both rare and disruptable.</p><p></p><p>And in one case, the intervention of some seemingly <em>divine</em> but unseen protective force completely foils the attempted spell.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 7738365, member: 19675"] Looking at a different novel series- Harry Turtledove’s [I]Darkness[/I] saga that reskinned the events of WWII as a fantasy world’s war- you see a different kind of world that I personally consider a kind of low-magic setting- the rare but powerful kind. There is seemingly lots of magic, but little of it is flashy. You won’t se any flying wizards; Tim the Enchanter is right out. For instance, there are strange beasts we would not deem out of place in a Monster Manual, but few, if any, are above an animal’s level of intelligence, and none speak or use magic. Even the dragons ridden in war are large and powerful, fire-breathing beasts...and nothing more. Learning magic itself is not easy. Spellbooks are uncommon, and are often inaccurate, making the practice fraught with disappointment (from spells that don’t work) and danger (from magical backfires). Many people can do minor magics a la D&D’s Mending spell if they can learn them. There are magical means of mass production for some goods, but the items created thusly are cheap and low quality. There are minor necromantic rituals that let soldiers on the battlefield recharge their “Sticks” (essentially, firearm analogs that are minor magical force-projectile staves) with the life forces of the fallen. But that’s about the sum total of common magic. Serious magic requires arduous study, and takes a lot of time. As a result, most magic seen in the series is in the form of objects: the aforementioned Sticks of various sizes; the “Eggs” (bombs) dropped from on high by dragons and their riders, flung from catapults, or used like landmines; “Crystals” (radio/videophones) and “Rest Crates” (stasis freezers) are the most common . There is a gigantic iceberg-like ship similar to the real-world Project Habakkuk. There are no fast and easy “combat” spells. Flashier spells do exist, but they are time consuming, and often require the cooperation of several mages. IOW, they are not the purview of the adventuring mage (not that any really exist in the series). There is an analog for the atomic bomb, for instance, but the spell requires so much time and cooperation, it is done in secret, far behind the front lines. The Nazi final solution is likewise altered into a necromantic ritual that powers something akin to nerve gas, again as rituals performed by groups of hidden casters. This makes the use of either both rare and disruptable. And in one case, the intervention of some seemingly [I]divine[/I] but unseen protective force completely foils the attempted spell. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Difficulties Of Running Low Magic Campaigns
Top