I am contemplating a completely non-magic campaign, and would like some feedback and suggestions.
One of the most obvious issues I can see with a non-magical campaign is the deadliness of combat without magical healing being available. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
Life Points: each character starts with a number of Life Points equal to the number of Hit Points plus Con bonus received at first level. Extra LPs will be added every level, depending on the hit die size of the class the level taken is. These LPs represent actual, physical damage. They take a long time to heal, and extensive loss of LPs may result in Bad Things. Unconsciousness and possibly scarring/crippling effects are possible.
The per level LPs will be granted as such:
d6 & d8 hit die: 1 LP/lvl
d10 & d12: 2 LP/lvl
Healing life points will be a gradual process that takes time. The better the quality of care, the fewer days or weeks it will take to heal these points. I am considering making the healing process a matter of percentage instead of absolute numbers so that it won't take a Barbarian twice as long to heal a equivalent number of LPs as a Rogue. Constitution will probably play a role in how fast this real damage will take to heal as well, but I haven't worked out any specifics yet.
Hit points will be considered purely as fatigue and bruises/scratches. These will heal extremely quickly, usually with a good nights rest. I am thinking of making the "healing" process of hit points a percentage one too so that, again, Barbarians won't have to sit around or sleep twice as long as Rogues to "heal" up.
Combat "Healing": There will be no way of healing LP damage in combat. However, as stated above, hit point damage will be mostly fatigue and wear. With this in mind, potions that are powerful stimulants can be used to "heal" hit point damage. These will also probably be percentage based for reasons noted above. Maybe something along the lines of this:
Light Healing potion: 10% HP healing
Moderate: 25% HP healing
Serious: 50% HP healing
Critical: 75% HP healing
To add some realism, weaker potions will not work for an hour after a stronger level of potion is used. This is to simulate the effect of trying to us a weaker dose of a drug while a very strong dose is already running rampant in your system. I'd also like some suggestions for possible side effects of using these stimulant potions too often. Nothing too severe, as that would detract from the enjoyment of the game, but maybe some mild, but annoying, side effects.
Classes: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, maybe Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard will not be playable classes for obvious reasons. I might allow Ranger, as no one in any 3E game I've ever played in has taken more than a level or two of Ranger. This may very well change with 3.5E, so I'll examine that issue then.
No magical ability of any other class will be usable, so things like the Use Magic Device Skill for Rogues or Abundant Step for Monks will be unusable. Other abilities that may be slightly magical in nature, but not overtly, like the Monk's Wholeness of Body ability will probably be allowed on a case-by-case basis.
Non-magical PrCs will be allowed, but any supernatural abilities will be examined before being allowed.
Skills: Because so many classes will be disallowed, I am going to make a pool of skills that will be considered class skills for any class. If anyone has any suggestions for additions to this list, please let me know.
Everyman skills:
Alchemy (so PCs will be able to make stim potions)
Climb
Craft
Heal
Intimidate
Jump
Listen
Perform
Ride
Search
Speak Language
Spot
Swim
Feats: No metamagic or item creation feats will be allowed. No feats that are magical in nature will be allowed.
Equipment: The most important modification that equipment will need is in the area of armor. Since no magical enhancement of armor will be allowed, I'll need to base enhanced armor on the use of special (and expensive) materials. The more cash the PCs have, the lighter and stronger the armor they can afford to buy will become. Also, I may increase the AC bonuses of armor across to board to make up for the lack of natural armor and deflection items. Or maybe I can come up with a way that different non-magical items or feats can add these bonuses. Any suggestions will be welcome.
Well, that wraps it up for what I've got so far. Hopefully we can get some good discussion going here. I'll probably post this on a few board to see what I can get generated. Thanks for taking to the time to read this!
One of the most obvious issues I can see with a non-magical campaign is the deadliness of combat without magical healing being available. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
Life Points: each character starts with a number of Life Points equal to the number of Hit Points plus Con bonus received at first level. Extra LPs will be added every level, depending on the hit die size of the class the level taken is. These LPs represent actual, physical damage. They take a long time to heal, and extensive loss of LPs may result in Bad Things. Unconsciousness and possibly scarring/crippling effects are possible.
The per level LPs will be granted as such:
d6 & d8 hit die: 1 LP/lvl
d10 & d12: 2 LP/lvl
Healing life points will be a gradual process that takes time. The better the quality of care, the fewer days or weeks it will take to heal these points. I am considering making the healing process a matter of percentage instead of absolute numbers so that it won't take a Barbarian twice as long to heal a equivalent number of LPs as a Rogue. Constitution will probably play a role in how fast this real damage will take to heal as well, but I haven't worked out any specifics yet.
Hit points will be considered purely as fatigue and bruises/scratches. These will heal extremely quickly, usually with a good nights rest. I am thinking of making the "healing" process of hit points a percentage one too so that, again, Barbarians won't have to sit around or sleep twice as long as Rogues to "heal" up.
Combat "Healing": There will be no way of healing LP damage in combat. However, as stated above, hit point damage will be mostly fatigue and wear. With this in mind, potions that are powerful stimulants can be used to "heal" hit point damage. These will also probably be percentage based for reasons noted above. Maybe something along the lines of this:
Light Healing potion: 10% HP healing
Moderate: 25% HP healing
Serious: 50% HP healing
Critical: 75% HP healing
To add some realism, weaker potions will not work for an hour after a stronger level of potion is used. This is to simulate the effect of trying to us a weaker dose of a drug while a very strong dose is already running rampant in your system. I'd also like some suggestions for possible side effects of using these stimulant potions too often. Nothing too severe, as that would detract from the enjoyment of the game, but maybe some mild, but annoying, side effects.
Classes: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, maybe Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard will not be playable classes for obvious reasons. I might allow Ranger, as no one in any 3E game I've ever played in has taken more than a level or two of Ranger. This may very well change with 3.5E, so I'll examine that issue then.
No magical ability of any other class will be usable, so things like the Use Magic Device Skill for Rogues or Abundant Step for Monks will be unusable. Other abilities that may be slightly magical in nature, but not overtly, like the Monk's Wholeness of Body ability will probably be allowed on a case-by-case basis.
Non-magical PrCs will be allowed, but any supernatural abilities will be examined before being allowed.
Skills: Because so many classes will be disallowed, I am going to make a pool of skills that will be considered class skills for any class. If anyone has any suggestions for additions to this list, please let me know.
Everyman skills:
Alchemy (so PCs will be able to make stim potions)
Climb
Craft
Heal
Intimidate
Jump
Listen
Perform
Ride
Search
Speak Language
Spot
Swim
Feats: No metamagic or item creation feats will be allowed. No feats that are magical in nature will be allowed.
Equipment: The most important modification that equipment will need is in the area of armor. Since no magical enhancement of armor will be allowed, I'll need to base enhanced armor on the use of special (and expensive) materials. The more cash the PCs have, the lighter and stronger the armor they can afford to buy will become. Also, I may increase the AC bonuses of armor across to board to make up for the lack of natural armor and deflection items. Or maybe I can come up with a way that different non-magical items or feats can add these bonuses. Any suggestions will be welcome.
Well, that wraps it up for what I've got so far. Hopefully we can get some good discussion going here. I'll probably post this on a few board to see what I can get generated. Thanks for taking to the time to read this!
