Any advice on running a low-magic-item campaign?

[Elf Witch]

After playing in a lot of low magic campaigns some good some bad I have come to realize what seems to work and what does not.

In the best low magic game I played in we did not fight a lot of monsters but mainly humanoid foes we also did not meet a lot of powerful wizards. Magic was rare. The party it self did have a wizard/fighter but he mainly took spells to make him a better fight like shield, mirror image and things like that. I played a sorcerer but I was not a combat blaster my character did not like to kill so I took mainly spells that helped the party like phantom steed, invisability, slow my only combat spell was magic missle.

Problems were set up to be solved without the use of magic. The DM also slowed the rate of leveling we played three years and only made it to ninth level. This was the best game I have ever played in. I had not read LOTR and the movies came out the second year of the game but looking back I would have to say that the game had a LOTR feel to it.

I have played in other low magic games and they often don't work as well one big problem is if you have standard magic classes in your game in time the non magic classes won't be able to keep up they will be overshadowed by the magic users unless you limit magic some how one way I have seen this done is by making magic classes multi class with a non magical class.

You also need to make sure there is a non magical way to solve encounters nothing is more frustrating than to fight a creature that you do not have the ability to hurt.

Low magic games can be very rewarding but do require more work on the DMs part to balaence it and requires players to think outside the box and not be so dependent on magic as a way to solve everything.

 

[Lorgrom]

Also make sure they get enough to upgrade their equipment every few levels.

Up grade how, after the heavy warrior types have full plate and tower shield?

The arcane spell casters will end up with no type of armor, so all they (non spontanious casters at least) have to spend money on is ether components (most campaigns dont require the spending of resources except for high cost items, which you will notice they will have a lot more resources to buy those high cost ones, just to let you know) or spending huge amounts of money getting what scrolls (or teachers) are avalible so they can scribe every known spell?

Rogue types will more then likely have the best armor and weapon avalible by 2nd level if not starting with?

The clergy will be even more potent and vital in a goups servival. Besides a Paladian which all of a sudden becomes a very attractive class, for no other reason then they can hit as good as a Fighter, and cast healing spells.

As several before have noted, items are the balancing factor for non-spell casters. DnD as written (even with heavy modification) does not work in a non-existant to low item level campaign.

 

[Delta]

Here's what I do for a House Rule. Everyone is limited to 3 magic items. (Any more and they cease working or becoming cursed.) Total values and CRs otherwise stay the same.

This makes every magic item a special, signature item. Compare to fantasy literature or myth. PC's aren't draped in magic items, and they don't have a solution to every problem Inspector Gadget-style. All the players and DM can remember what those key signature items are.

 

[Ciaran]

Note that you can maintain some of the benefits of magical items in a low-magic-item campaign by allowing for a broader range of effectiveness for masterwork equipment. I know there's a system for this in the Black Company campaign setting book, and there are probably other books that do the same.

 

[Bladesong]

Up grade how, after the heavy warrior types have full plate and tower shield?

Blah, blah, blah....QUOTE]

Sorry, I did not realize I would have to write out a 500 page document detailing every single aspect of the game. So...to list a few more details: progression of light to medium to heavy armor, obviously. Upgrade to masterwork items, of course. In addition certain 'magic' upgrades could be made mundane such as fortification, and you could also be creative allowing armor to be reinforced perhaps adding another 1 - 3 points of AC.

Yes, you should probably use the defensive bonus from Unearthed Arcana. (AS a side note, I allowed the DB to be added to the AC of their armor. However, there were no magical bonuses to armor in the game and the DB was reduced by one half of the AC rating of the armor they were using (so if their armor was AC 8, their DB was reduced by 4)). Use what works for you.

Someone also mentioned something about poison being a problem. One of the things that was, shall we say "odd", about version 3.x DnD was that poison was no longer very potent. It CAN be (so no one get on your high horse about it), but overall it is fairly mild in its effect. What I am saying is that characters should be afraid of poison so don't worry about it all that much. Besides, in a low level campaign, someone better be building up their Heal skill to assist in such saves when they come up.

Frankly, you are going to alter things as they come up. Just find a logical way to do it that does not confuse you or any of your players. It CAN be done regardless of what others may say.

 

[Glyfair]

That's not particularly useful advice. For starters, the class bonus to Defense does not stack with armor, leaving armored fighter-types out in the cold.

Thus, adaption. Throw out the 'doesn't stack." Tweak as needed.

Yes, running a game with such a severe change in assumptions is going to need a lot of work. It did in all variations of the game (tell me that high level characters weren't easier to hit at higher levels in AD&D if they didn't have access to magic items).

 

[Kunimatyu]

Here's a possibility.

Cut treasure by 75%. Remove all stat and AC boosting items from the game (magic weapon still exist, they're just rarer). Character gain feats every odd level. Every even level they can boost a stat by 1, or saves/AC by 1. I believe Stephan Schubert(aka Shoe) of WotC uses a similar method for his games.

 

[shilsen]

One method I don't think anyone's suggested is simply to translate a lot of magic items into special abilities that the characters have.

For example, all PCs gain a +1 resistance bonus to saves every 3rd lvl, capping at +5 at 15th. And you no longer need Cloaks of Resistance in the game and characters have a chance to keep saves as high as they need in a game with the DMG's suggested wealth levels. Characters using weapons can bond with them (use whatever flavor you want) and that weapon gets a +1 enhancement bonus in their hands for every four character levels. Characters using armor can similarly bond for the same amount. Characters get a +2 enhancement bonus to one stat at 4th level and 8th level, with one increasing to +4 at 12th, and so on.

If done carefully enough, you have all the mechanical benefits of normal magic level game, with all the flavor of a low magic one.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Sorry, I did not realize I would have to write out a 500 page document detailing every single aspect of the game.

With the number of changes needed, 500 pages doesn't sound too far off

So...to list a few more details: progression of light to medium to heavy armor

No. Fighters, clerics and some other classes get access to heavy armor at 1st-level. That also screws over characters who don't wear heavy armor (as they can't benefit from the upgrade).

You could change the classes so they don't do so (they have to spend feats now, for instance) but that's not really level dependent.

Upgrade to masterwork items, of course.

Isn't that just magic items under another guise?

In addition certain 'magic' upgrades could be made mundane such as fortification, and you could also be creative allowing armor to be reinforced perhaps adding another 1 - 3 points of AC.

How are you going to control the "rate of acquisition" of reinforcement? And again, that's magic items under another guise.

Note that you can maintain some of the benefits of magical items in a low-magic-item campaign by allowing for a broader range of effectiveness for masterwork equipment. I know there's a system for this in the Black Company campaign setting book, and there are probably other books that do the same.

Isn't that just bringing back magic items under another guise? (I have to keep saying that.)

Someone also mentioned something about poison being a problem. One of the things that was, shall we say "odd", about version 3.x DnD was that poison was no longer very potent. It CAN be (so no one get on your high horse about it), but overall it is fairly mild in its effect. What I am saying is that characters should be afraid of poison so don't worry about it all that much.

I think this is an issue if the creature in question is poisonous. Are you going to boost the CR of poisonous creatures? Sean K Reynolds had a good article on monster design, including the example of an animal with strong offense but weak defense not being a good way of designing a monster.

Thus, adaption. Throw out the 'doesn't stack." Tweak as needed.

Well, that was one thing I mentioned.

 

[Treebore]

The single biggest thing you will have to do in a low magic setting is use only low magic monsters. Meaning no dragons, etc... If you do have them get rid of their DR and make darn sure their AC is adjusted low enough that the party can hit it at least 25% of the time, 50% would be better. No SR either. Get rid of spellcasters, period. Make the heal skill more "magical", IE a lot more effective/potent. Make Alchemy an important skill and have it be very effective, but not as powerful as the spells that you are no longer using.

The main thing is having them be able to heal the damage done to them fast enough.

You can still, occassionally, use more "magical" creatures such as Medusa and Ghosts, but you need to look at how they can quickly kill the characters and because of being low magic, you can't restore them or cast stone to flesh. So you need to be very careful in what powers they have, and how hard it is to avoid or save against those powers, so that when someone dies it adds to the fearsomeness of the creature, but not make the players feel like lambs led to the slaughter.

I know if you used Castles and Crusades this would be easier to pull off because the only classes who can cast spells are the cleric, druid, mage, and illusionist. The Ranger, Paladin, Bard, and every other class can't cast any spells. Plus, because they can't cast spells the non-spellcasting classes gain powerful class advantages as part of blancing them against spellcasters. This would help in balancing a campaign that is low to no magic.

I personally cannot run a low magic game that allows full fledged spellcasters. Even the ones you mention can eventually make magic items, and if the game goes to high enough level, they can make pretty powerful ones. So how can you continue to say the world is low magic? So if you want low magic, then actually be low magic. No true spellcasters. Just Alchemist and Healers that for whatever reason can make potions, poultices, and other concoctions that are able to pull off miraculous, but minor, effects.

Good luck.