A Low Magic 4e Idea?

[Scribble]

Just thinking about an idea for a "low magic" 4e campaign... Seems like it would be realtively easy to do.

First I'd ban all but the martial classes.

Then I'd ban most magic items. I think some of the plusses only type items could just be rebranded into "power" items... items that aren't magic, just well crafted, or something. (Like a hatori hanzo blade...)

Potions of healing I would keep, and maybe some fo the others. I feel like potions fit into a low magic campaign. Artifacts would be the main "magic items" of the campaign world though

I'd also keep rituals because I'm not trying for a no magic campaign. Rituals seem to fit well with a low magic idea, but I would add some sort of issue with using them though other then cost. Maybe a chance it becomes dangerous?

I'd need to build a martial controller probably.

Not sure about races.

All in all doesn't seem like a lot of work to do? Anyone see anything I'm missing?

 

[OchreJelly]

It's pretty easy to divorce magic from the setting in 4E. To keep things balanced, you should still give the PC's their pluses when they would normally be from magic items. Call them skill pluses or whatever you want. You can even award those expected magic items pluses from "special training" or war manuals. It might be nice to do it that way to give the characters something to spend wealth on.

The controller issue is a tougher nut to crack. I don't have a good answer for it.

 

[Ktulu]

I'm currently running one right now. Martial classes only in a human-only world (I still used the various races, just dwarves are now Yssge barbarians, Eladrin are Domani nobles)

At 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, 23rd, 28th levels characters receive a +1 to attack, damage, AC, Defenses and +1d6 to critical hits.

Magic items grant no +, just their daily/property, whatever. Thus, a Flaming sword is just a flaming sword, no +X.

We haven't had any issues with not having a controller, as there are enough burst/blast powers that exist between the different classes that no one's even noticed not having a wizard in the group.

For monsters, I mainly reskin "hobgoblins, orcs, etc.." to humans of X type. It's worked well, so far.

 

[malraux]

At 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, 23rd, 28th levels characters receive a +1 to attack, damage, AC, Defenses and +1d6 to critical hits.

An alternate rule would be allow characters, at every level, to pick one thing to give a +1 grit bonus to (but only repeating every half tier). So at level 1 the striker might want the bonus to hitting, but the tank wants the bonus to AC.

To add in the occasional magic item, grit bonus do not stack with magic item enhancement bonuses. So if they find a +1 frost sword, they benefit from the item's special property, but not its magics, unless they are very low level.

 

[OchreJelly]

Scribble, it sounds like your setting is light on the fantastic elements too? Honestly I don't think you'll miss controller too much. If you do have some supernatural in your world maybe the new druid could be reworked to play down the "magicky" bits and drum-up the animal shifting bits. Then that character is basically a lycanthroped human. I can't say if that would really fit with your world theme though...

 

[Scribble]

Hrmm I'd probably cut out the magic items flashy powers as well.

I liked the take on magic in iron heros- That it was looked upon with suspision and only used very rarely.

I think Artifacts fit this idea nicely, especially if you play around with the concordanance stuff. IE the less you please the item the more danger you have of it harming you in some way... Yet still powerful enough that sometiems wars will be fought to posess them.

 

[Ktulu]

The thing is, I don't hand out magic items very often. Since the players get their magic bonuses regularly, they get surprised when they come across a magic item.


@ Ochrejelly: Yeah, I've modeled the game after Martin & Howard's fantasy worlds. There is magic and monsters, but they're at the fringe and most dangers come from humans. However, the real threat has reared its head in the final levels of heroic. The Yuan-Ti have returned to the world, upping the ante'.

 

[Odysseus]

Just thinking about an idea for a "low magic" 4e campaign... Seems like it would be realtively easy to do.

First I'd ban all but the martial classes.

Then I'd ban most magic items. I think some of the plusses only type items could just be rebranded into "power" items... items that aren't magic, just well crafted, or something. (Like a hatori hanzo blade...)

Potions of healing I would keep, and maybe some fo the others. I feel like potions fit into a low magic campaign. Artifacts would be the main "magic items" of the campaign world though

I'd also keep rituals because I'm not trying for a no magic campaign. Rituals seem to fit well with a low magic idea, but I would add some sort of issue with using them though other then cost. Maybe a chance it becomes dangerous?

I'd need to build a martial controller probably.

Not sure about races.

All in all doesn't seem like a lot of work to do? Anyone see anything I'm missing?

I don't think you are missing anything.
I'm at present converting 4E for a Conan , and it seems to convert pretty easily.

 

[OchreJelly]

@ Ochrejelly: Yeah, I've modeled the game after Martin & Howard's fantasy worlds. There is magic and monsters, but they're at the fringe and most dangers come from humans. However, the real threat has reared its head in the final levels of heroic. The Yuan-Ti have returned to the world, upping the ante'.

My bad - the question was meant for the OP, but yeah I've run campaigns similar. One was a Midnight hybrid that used Iron Heroes characters.

 

[Scribble]

Scribble, it sounds like your setting is light on the fantastic elements too? Honestly I don't think you'll miss controller too much. If you do have some supernatural in your world maybe the new druid could be reworked to play down the "magicky" bits and drum-up the animal shifting bits. Then that character is basically a lycanthroped human. I can't say if that would really fit with your world theme though...

Shrug... Hadn't really fleshed it out. It was just musing on how it seemed relatively easy to do.

I don't think I'd want to cut the fantastuc elements. But yeah I'd probably make them slightly more rare.

I think I'd leave things like orcs and goblins though. Low magic doesn't (in my head at least) mean humans only.