Characters who eschew magic

[Ibram]

unfortunatly in standard D&D a character who did not use magic would be extremely disadvantages (and probably not last past level 5-7). The D&D system is based around the idea that even characters without actual spell casting ability (such as fighters or rogues) have every item slot filled by level 6.

If you wanted to play such a character then your best bet is to get Conan d20

 

[Agamemnon]

I disagree. It is certainly not unfeasible at all that the DM could craft feats, prestige classes and other similar benefits for characters who refuse to use magic in any form. To flat-out deny the plausibility of such a character is not warranted. It just takes some extra work.

 

[Wombat]

Having a character refuse magical items and then simply replacing them with a GM created PrC and series of feats is, to my eye, merely changing the wording of the same mechanics. The character is essentially still getting the same powers, merely in a non-losable form.

D&D, as written, has built-in requirements of magical weapons/items of given relative power
at higher levels in order to keep up with the creatures. As such, to have a single character who goes without these items/powers is to skew the as-written mechanics of the system; then again, it is easy enough to retool the encounters so it is not much of a disadvantage. OTOH, if only one player wants to eschew such weapons/items, the others either have to play down to his level or he will get creamed playing up to theirs.

 

[Agamemnon]

The names and in-character justifications of powers are very important. This is a role-playing game, after all. How things are defined matters more than what things are. Characters can be based on these subtle distinctions on nomenclature easily enough.

 

[molonel]

Having a character refuse magical items and then simply replacing them with a GM created PrC and series of feats is, to my eye, merely changing the wording of the same mechanics. The character is essentially still getting the same powers, merely in a non-losable form.

I agree, completely. It's like the Prestige Classes that pop up, now and again, which are called The Blind Master or The Blind Swordsman or The Unseeing Hand, or somesuch. Yes, they are SUPPOSEDLY blind and this is supposed to be a huge disadvantage. But then, the PrC moves from blindness to Blindfight to Blind Sense to Blindsight, or sometimes just skips all the way to Blindsight. The character is immune to illusions which are purely visual, immune to gaze attacks, immune to creatures concealing themselves through invisibility or Mirror Image.

If you're going to take the disadvantage, then make it an ACTUAL disadvantage, and not an advantage masquerading as a hinderance. I had a person ask me one time what bonuses I would give him for playing a blind character. I answered, "My admiration for your ballsiness, and the pleasure of the roleplaying experience?" Oddly, that didn't seem to be the answer he wanted.

 

[kolikeos]

That's not DnD.

and it wasn't me who wrote that

 

[DrNilesCrane]

I'm currently DMing a group of six 15th level characters (having worked their way up from level 1 starting in 2001). One of the somewhat newer characters (started last summer as a replacement character, has around 35 sessions under his belt) is a Monk / Forsaker and refuses ALL magic (i.e. attempts saving throws against Haste spells, even a Heal spell used against his will to save his life). He does not use the Vow of Poverty and we're a very "by the book" standard group (no house rules, although I allowed the character to switch between Monk / Forsaker without penalty). I don't do anything from a DM standpoint to take his lack of magic use into account.

The character is very effective. He's not a heavy damage hitter (leave that to the fighter), but his grappling ability as well as his ability to disarm opponents is *very* effective. Any caster on the ground and without Freedom of Movement is in danger. Anyone with an uber weapon can find it in the monk's hands if they roll poorly (I routinely stat out the bad guy's secondary weapons these days and make sure I put their grapple score on my DM initiative cards). With the character's damage reduction & spell resistance, great hit points (just shy of 200), mobility/movement, he holds his own pretty well against those decked out with items and is one of the more creative fighter types I've seen played.

Downsides are that he heals slower than other characters, although this liability is not too bad through a feat from The Complete Warrior. Against creatures with natural weapons and that there is no reason to grapple (i.e. undead), he is more like a secondary fighter. Otherwise, he's as useful as the primary fighter in combat and the player really enjoys the character.

Just my 2 cents...