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

[_Michael_]

So, at the suggestion of @rabindranath72, I figured I'd make a sort of repository thread specifically for posting ideas and resources to use from the 3.5e/PF/OGL material to run low-magic campaigns. Basically, trying to catch lightning in a bottle where magic is special and rare to give campaigns that Lord of the Rings vibe. You know the one, where magical items were treasures unto themselves, even the simple ones like magical swords, and all of them had a history and reason for being, even if it was simple, such as a gift for a lordling or a devout follower or assistant of a powerful wizard. Any ideas you have or suggestions to tweak the rules that you've found in your experience are welcome. There seems to be a surprising dearth of

Rabindranath gave some great ideas in another thread, so I'll repost them here:

• The 3.0 DMG (not the 3.5 revision, though, for some reason!) suggests to reduce the frequency of magic items, and that there are no shops where to buy them. PF1e adopts the solution of reducing the amount of treasures by half (which, in terms of impact on the average, is the same as reducing the frequency by half.) PF1e reduces by half the sale prices in communities (instead of removing sale outright).
• PF1e doesn't have the "Power Components" variant (at least in the core book; might be in some splat?) In my experience, this has a quite big impact on the low-magic feel, because PCs can in theory still craft magic items even at reduced frequency of treasures (although at a reduced rate, because they get less money overall.) Not sure how I'd port this to PF1e since it lacks XP expenditure for magic items. I routinely use this variant in my 3.0 games (at the maximum suggested cost of 20gp per XP.)
• There's another tweak, which is to change the accrual rate of XPs. 3.x suggests some percentage by which to reduce XP, which also translates into a corresponding reduction in treasure (and thus magic items.) PF1e adopts two explicit scales, which are (as far as I can tell) at a 1.5 factor (the baseline XP progression is "fast"; the medium one is scaled by 1.5, the slow one scales the medium one by 1.5 again, i.e. 1.5*1.5=2.25 the fast one.) For simplicity, I adopt a scale of 2 in my 3.0 games. Note that you can combine this with a reduced frequency, to get an even bigger reduction.
• If you are interested in Dark Sun, Paizo/WotC published some conversion notes in Dragon and Dungeon Magazine back then. Can't recall the issues, though.
• To further hit the PCs in the pockets (so that they can't blow it all in crafting magic items), you can use the training variant (again, PF1e removed this.)
• That said, magic will still be D&D-style magic, only at a massively reduced rate (and curb-stomping on the PCs ability to craft magic items witht the Power Components variant is fundamental). If you want dangerous magic, a good option is to use Call of Cthulhu d20 (written by Monte Cook and John Tyne.) I have used it to excellent effect to play Hyborian Age and pulp Sword & Sorcery campaigns using the 3.0 rules. Just remove Clerics, Paladins, and Rangers, and keep only Sorcerers or Wizards as spellcasters, BUT use the spell lists and magic and tome rules in d20 CoC.

Plus, if needed, I have pretty much every single OGL, 3.5e and PF ebook/pdf in existence, as well as all the Dungeon and Dragon magazines issues (plus Polyhedron and a few others), so I can post information and excerpts from them if needed to make this thread as useful as possible for those who wish to run a low-magic campaign where magic is rare and something special to behold. As someone attempting to build a low-magic world where wizards are trying to reclaim the past, this type of information is desperately needed.

 

[Alzrius]

PF1e doesn't have the "Power Components" variant (at least in the core book; might be in some splat?)

Well, there was something very similar with alchemical reagents.

 

[_Michael_]

Well, there was something very similar with alchemical reagents.

Would I be wrong in saying that alchemical reagents should be the rule, not the exception? Like, not using them would be more rare and usually only done in desperation? Seems that would make for a more interesting story if characters have to carry dangerous substances to cast spells. Like Alchemical Grease, for instance. Sure, a bit of olive oil or butter might work in a pinch, but alchemical grease would be the preferred component. My thought is doing it this way would make alchemists a much more valuable commodity in big cities, and they would likely work hand-in-hand with spell casters, or have a list of clientele they do business with on a regular basis.

 

[Celebrim]

I can only tell you what I do which is play 3e D&D like it was 1e AD&D.

a) Magic shops basically don't exist. Weak magic items that could be produced by 6th level or lower spellcaster are available once you achieve a friendly relationship with a spellcaster and commission the work. Potions and scrolls are available "off the shelf" in small amounts usually randomly generated.
b) The assumption is that all magic item creation uses rare reagents and a recipe and that the gold price is an abstraction of the cost of obtaining this recipe and reagents. For low level PCs in large cosmopolitan metropolis, it's generally fairly easy to go to a reagent store and buy the necessary ingredients to make your own sword +1 (for example). But to manufacture impressive magic items (requiring 5th level or higher spells) often requires sourcing your own "power components" and doing your own research to obtain a recipe. XP expenditure to create magic items is assumed as a balancing factor on the global trade in such items.
c) I use my own cost tables for the value of magic items, which among other things typically transforms most 'always on' items into items that allow for a spell-like action to be taken to produce the spell 3 times per day. 'Always on' items in my game other than weapons and armor are very rare and expensive.
d) I also somewhat slow down the rate of XP gain typically at a rate that increases with level in order to stay in the sweet spot.
e) Wizards have to find and copy spells. There are no automatic learned spells by level. They also require spell components.
f) Clerics have limited numbers of spells known.
g) Magic items and other gear can be destroyed. If someone disintegrates you, a lot of your stuff probably turned to dust too. If you are caught in a fireball, your cloak of protection +1 might go up in flames as well. And so forth.

WARNING: There is an assumption in my game that the largest amount of money spent on magical item creation is on items to protect people from magic. So for example the single most common magic item in the universe is a set of scales that chime or otherwise give a warning when something magical is placed on them. Beware a low magic setting with high magic PCs. The setting has to be aware that PC wizards exist and reacts to them accordingly.

 

[Alzrius]

Would I be wrong in saying that alchemical reagents should be the rule, not the exception? Like, not using them would be more rare and usually only done in desperation? Seems that would make for a more interesting story if characters have to carry dangerous substances to cast spells. Like Alchemical Grease, for instance. Sure, a bit of olive oil or butter might work in a pinch, but alchemical grease would be the preferred component. My thought is doing it this way would make alchemists a much more valuable commodity in big cities, and they would likely work hand-in-hand with spell casters, or have a list of clientele they do business with on a regular basis.

My concern would be that you'd essentially add price tags to quite a few spells that don't otherwise have them, which might discourage PC spellcasters (though if that's your goal, then it might work). Likewise, be aware that you'd need to potentially adjust treasure values accordingly.

That said, I suspect that this would work very nicely with some sort of modified encumbrance system, since this would result in PC spellcasters carrying around even more stuff than normal.

 

[Alzrius]

Also, for the necromantic end of the magical spectrum, make sure to take into account the "Necromancy in Settlements" rule from inside the back cover of PF1's Undead Slayer's Handbook (which, to my surprise, doesn't seem to have been reproduced anywhere online).

It's basically a table to denote attitudes toward the undead and necromantic magic, using the settlement stat block to figure out how severely necromantic practices are punished in a given settlement.

 

[_Michael_]

Well, if magic is rare, it probably should be costly, too. Plus, this would replace the generic "mage shop" idea with something much more specific where magical items aren't sold, but various components would be available, from the common (mastercrafted inks and parchment) to the rare (dragon scales and diamond dust). Would make going to the larger cities much more of a requirement for spellcasters and yes, even discourage them as a player class except for those absolutely dedicated to it.

Also...

Hope I'm allowed to post that without running afoul of any rules. If not, I can type it out, but seems like it's a great idea and perfect for low-magic campaigns. Great idea, @Alzrius

 

[Alzrius]

On the clerical side of things, consider adding the spell annul the divine (Clr 2), from the 3.5 sourcebook Relics & Rituals: Olympus to the campaign.

The spell itself does little besides suppress a consecrate or desecrate spell where it's cast, which by itself isn't that notable. But what got me is the note at the end of the listing:

"Although this spell is not as useful as the spells that it counters (which, of course, also counter each other), it requires less in the way of expensive components, and is also considered less of an offensive act than either. A priest of Dionysus who chooses to desecrate an alter to Athena will start a blood feud, while the same priest who chooses to annul the divine upon the altar is simply furthering a rivalry."

It's great flavor, and for that reason alone I recommend it.

 

[Alzrius]

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.

 

[Alzrius]

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.