D&D 3E/3.5 3.5e/PF/OGL Low-Magic Campaign Resources and Ideas

[Alzrius]

Also, to kick around an idea I've been playing with for some time, consider taking some of the "magic traits" normally applies to the planes, and having them apply to areas of the campaign world.

Like, if there's a polar area, have the fringes be subject to the "impeded magic" trait for fire spells, while the interior has "limited magic" against any spell which doesn't have the [cold] descriptor, and the entire place has the "enhanced magic" trait for [cold] spells. After all, if regions of the Material Plane can be "dead magic" zones, why can't they have other such traits?

(Also, notice how there are a few subtle differences between the 3.5 magic traits and the PF1 magic traits. For instance, compare their versions of the "enhanced magic" trait.)

 

[_Michael_]

Further on that same idea, if you really want to dial back the power of divine spellcasters while also highlighting how important acts of faith are supposed to be to them, consider using the Piety rules from Mystic Eye Games' 3.5 sourcebook The Pantheon and Pagan Faiths. Those might require some slight tweaking for non-standard divine spellcasters (e.g. beyond the standard cleric, paladin, etc.) but should work in most d20 System games just fine.

I'm looking at it now, and that's a great system to implement as well. I can't find an online copy and I don't want to post sketchy links, but it can be searched and found as a sample PDF. Great stuff.

Insofar as sorcerers go, I've long been enamored of Octavirate Games' short supplement Octavirate Expansions - Feared and Hated.

For instance, consider making it mandatory that all sorcerers take one of the (3.5-style) drawbacks in that book at 1st level, getting a feat in exchange. Something like registering to detect magic and similar spells as if they were magic items, or simply having a freakish physical appearance, can make sorcerers feel different beyond just having spontaneous spells and (for PF1) "bloodline" powers.

Speaking of which, the book's other idea is also worth using, which is the "bloodbound sorcerer" class variant. What that does is essentially shrinks their spell list so that it fits a theme (e.g. plants, fire, sound, etc.) and they have to pick their spells known from that, forcing the sorcerer to only use a particular "type" of magic (they do get a small special power to help compensate for the narrowed selection, as well as one more spell known per spell level). The major drawback here is that the book only has just over a half-dozen such themes listed, so if you want a wider variation you'll need to draw up spell lists for more yourself.

Don't suppose you have a link to a copy? That's one of the few I don't actually have (and now have to add to my collection. lol Just added it to my cart in DriveThruRPG. Keep 'em coming! Loving your suggestions!

Also, to kick around an idea I've been playing with for some time, consider taking some of the "magic traits" normally applies to the planes, and having them apply to areas of the campaign world.

Like, if there's a polar area, have the fringes be subject to the "impeded magic" trait for fire spells, while the interior has "limited magic" against any spell which doesn't have the [cold] descriptor, and the entire place has the "enhanced magic" trait for [cold] spells. After all, if regions of the Material Plane can be "dead magic" zones, why can't they have other such traits?

(Also, notice how there are a few subtle differences between the 3.5 magic traits and the PF1 magic traits. For instance, compare their versions of the "enhanced magic" trait.)

This is also a great idea since in my campaign world, there was a cataclysm thousands of years ago that caused a lot of magical knowledge and lore to be lost.

 

[Alzrius]

It's venturing somewhat outside of the issue of magic per se, but if you want a more "gritty" game, something like the Outcast Rating system from Sword & Sorcery Studios Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide might help; I mention that here because it notes that having "unnatural powers" adds to your OR score (and says that in some places, characters like sorcerers might qualify for the "unnatural powers" modifier).

 

[_Michael_]

It's venturing somewhat outside of the issue of magic per se, but if you want a more "gritty" game, something like the Outcast Rating system from Sword & Sorcery Studios Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide might help; I mention that here because it notes that having "unnatural powers" adds to your OR score (and says that in some places, characters like sorcerers might qualify for the "unnatural powers" modifier).

I would love to incorporate a reputation system with things like that into the game, so that just might be the ticket. Could probably add "Magic User" to that list with a large modifier (+2 or +3) as they would stand out in a low-magic campaign, though not necessarily for bad reasons

 

[Alzrius]

Also, if you want to keep NPC spellcasters to a lower level of power but still have resident spellcasters that the PCs can deal with, there are several NPC spellcasting classes out there. For instance, the 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting has the magewright NPC class. Similar, Zenith Games' 101 Spells for the Common Man has its arcane worker NPC class (which has more breadth than the adept, but less power).

There are several products with variations on this theme, including The Knotty Works' It's an NPC World After All, Librarians & Leviathans' Adept: So You Want to Be, and Flying Pincushion Games' Into the Breach: The Forgotten Classes.

If psionics are your thing, Spoonbender Games also has an NPC psionic class in their Psionics+ sourcebook.

 

[Alzrius]

An extremely oblique way to control spellcasters' power, consider this one ONLY if you lean heavily on material items for spellcasting and don't mind doing a LOT of calculations:

d20PFSRD (being a publisher as well as a website), in Open Gaming #3, had a very expansive article on economic fluctuations for prices in settlements. This operates in categories more than specific items, so bear that in mind. Likewise, it's based around settlement stat blocks, so you'll need those for (at the very least) the region the PCs operate in.

The system is thorough, and not complicated, but it involves a large number of moving parts, and (like any economic market) fluctuates a lot. Writing a simple computer program, or even using a few Excel spreadsheets, would be the best way to use it. Otherwise, if you want the same overall effect but simpler (and applied to individuals items instead of broad categories), consider looking at the economic modifiers in Expeditious Retreat Press's A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe.

 

[Alzrius]

A much simpler and less punishing way to keep arcane spellcasters in line might be to use the rules about arcane spellcasting generating heat. That was originally presented in Sword & Sorcery Studios' Relics & Rituals for 3.0, but got a PF1 update in the Scarred Lands Player's Guide (where it had two other options presented for arcane spellcasting generating a byproduct of energy).

 

[Alzrius]

I suppose that I'd be remiss for not mentioning, in any discussion about limiting the power of spellcasters, Drop Dead Studios' Spheres of Power system.

That said, while the go-to sourcebook for this has long since become their Ultimate Spheres of Power book (as it incorporates a lot of the supplements which were written for the original system), I'm very cognizant of Endzeitgeist's excellent review where he notes that the Ultimate version has a marked increase in overall power compared to the original.

 

[Alzrius]

An alternate way to present spellcasters in the game world might be via Far Distant Future Publishing's Variant Multiclassing Revisited.

As the title suggests, this is an alteration to Pathfinder Unchained's variant multiclassing system. Here, the variant multiclassing features are broken down into feats (and you can only ever take the feats from one such class). So if you want to cast wizard spells, you need to spend feat slots on Wizard Cantrip, Wizard Spells I, Wizard Spells II, and Wizard Spells III. And that just gets you to 5th-level spells with only one or two slots (before bonus slots for high ability scores).

While that can make it easier for non-casters to gain some magical talent, if you disallow spellcasting classes in favor of these feats, that can really dial back on the magic.

 

[_Michael_]

All great stuff. Didn't Dark Sun have a system for fatigue for spellcasters as well? I seem to recall something to that effect. In the game world I'm designing, I'm leaning towards there being hedgewizards, and those who are officially sanctioned by the High Council (a powerful wizardry guild), who seek to recover lost magical lore, historical texts and of course, magical items. I think it will develop where there may be people who show a spark of magic, but never really develop it due to economic, religious and geographic constraints. The High Council operates embassies in most kingdoms and nations, utilizing the Red Legion as their martial arm to ensure the safety of the Magi and Archons (who mostly stay in the mountain citadel of Uthengard conducting research and teaching). There's a technological element to the world and it's clear that in the past, the level of technology was much, much higher than currently exists, so there are some areas of anachronistic technological levels (such as the steam tunnels in the Evergloom) or the Trow gnomes (who use carbide lights deep, deep underground), but it's patchwork and most of the world is in the Middle Ages in terms of technology.

All your suggestions are being written down, and if I don't have the books, they're being added to the cart on drivethrurpg. Love everything you've suggested so far and will likely incorporate it in some form or fashion. All great stuff for low-magic campaigning.