Define "low-magic"

[ThoughtfulOwl]

http://www.dragondogpress.com/unclefiggy/fantasy/4chap1.htm

This covers most definitions for me; it also makes a good point about frequency vs. power.

 

[shilsen]

"Low magic" == whatever level of wahoo the DM can get his head around.

I was going to say that for many people low magic = "whatever standard of magic I like" and conversely high magic = "what those nuts like", but yours is more succinct.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

IMO the actual amount of magic is simply to taste.

It's the amount of magic items that are important. 3e is a high-item system, and circumventing that weakens PCs, especially those that don't cast spells. It also makes NPCs a lot weaker than PCs.

If I could ever get FX to be balanced in D20 Modern, I could use that system for low-magic. No magic items, mages would be decently powerful but not stronger than the non-FX using classes, creatures would have the ability to defend themselves without using magic items, and NPCs would be balanced with PCs.

 

[Desdichado]

Lots of things. To me, primarily, it means a different ruleset than D&D, though.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Midnight is a good example of a "low-magic" setting (at least on the part of the good guys). Spells are so draining that even high-level spellcasters will rarely cast more than a few spells every day. Permanent magic items require more than XP and money - you need to travel to certain mystic locations first.

All in all, I'd define "Low Magic" as "powerful effects are rare" and "the price to cast magic is too high to use it casually".

 

[Li Shenron]

I know there is a lot of love for low-magic campaigns going around. What I don't know is exactly what "low-magic" means. What exactly makes a campaign low-magic in your opinion?

There are many views on this. Could mean rare spellcasters, rare magic items, weak spellcasters or weak magic items.

As what concerns my own favourite way to play D&D, which includes not to go too much high-level, the power of spells is not a problem, simply because it's unlikely to reach 9th level spells very often. If we decide to go that high in level, it's assumed that we DO want powerful spellcasting.

What bothers me most are collateral problems with magic items: they are too many "pro capite", too easy to buy, too easy to sell, too similar to each other. And even too weak.

The solution I have found to my own problems, is to (very briefly):
- take away the price from any magic item (no market for magic)
- merge different magic items into 1 (later 2 or 3) per character
- tie their powers to what the character do and what level they are

As you can easily imagine, the power level of the PCs is not changed a bit. What changes is only the flavor around magic items, which are now much less in number, feels more "special", and are much more personal.

{e.g. instead of a mid-level Sorcerer with a Cloak of Charisma +4, a Ring of Protection +1, a ring of Counterspell, an Amulet of Health +2, Bracers of Archery and Boots of Haste, I like having the same Sorcerer with a single cloak/staff/tattoo/else which holds all those powers, improves with Sorcerer's levels, works much less on anyone else, and you wouldn't find on sale ever}

 

[Turanil]

For me, D&D 3e tends to be a game of 20th century consumerist society with a medieval perfume.

What I mean is that everything technological in our own contemporary world, gets a magical counterpart in D&D. Not only PCs get dozens of magical items (that they sell to the "magic shop", even if it is disguised as the "wizards' guild"), but also magic is the easy response for the lazy or uncreative DM who prefers to handwaves anything with a "it's magic". i.e.: the door doesn't open cuz it's magic; the water of the fountain is magical; this fruit on the tree is magical; you walk on top of this cloud like on ground floor cuz it's magic; etc.

So Low Magic is what don't abide by this style. As such, LotR and Conan is low magic. Then, Grim Tales (again!) is low-magic because casting a spell is difficult and taxing, you don't use it as a convenient expedient for anything.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Every campaign I've ever run has been set in the same homebrew campaign world, which is definitely high-magic. However, my current campaign is nearing its end and I'm thinking it might be refreshing to try something different for my next campaign.

I know there is a lot of love for low-magic campaigns going around. What I don't know is exactly what "low-magic" means. What exactly makes a campaign low-magic in your opinion?

My loosely defined qualities of a low magic campaign:
1) No magic shops at all. You can't go to any corner store & purchase anything magical.
2) Spellcasters are rare and often treated with a mix of suspicion & awe outside all but the biggest of cities, with divine casters maybe a bit more awe and arcane ones a bit more suspicion.
3) Small town churches are often headed by NPC Experts with skills ranks in Knowledge-Religion and Heal rather than actual spell casting clerics - that limits the amount of magical healing. Churches husband their spellcasting clerics and use them where they can best spread the word - often in cities or as wandering clerics.
4) In certain parts of the world, arcane casting is outlawed and casters are hunted down and either exiled or executed... think Salem Witch Trials or the Inquisition.
5) Limit of 1 spellcaster for the party, possibly 1 divine and 1 arcane if you have a large group of PCs. No multi-classing into a spellcasting class without a very good in-game reason for it (major plot point in the campaign type of thing - save goodly caster from being burned at the stake, he/she agrees to travel with party of X months to teach 1 PC the arcane ways)
6) strict enforcement of spell component rules.
7) Before 4th/5th level, most magic items are disposable one shot items, like potion of cure light wounds. Also, before that level, if the party does get a magic weapon, it should be treated with some sort of awe - "This magical short sword was once used by the mighty hero Prentiss the ranger as he defended a small village from rampaging ogres, giving his life so that the children may escape. Until now, I have found none worthy of carrying the short sword that Prentiss used to save my life so many decades ago..."

 

[Red Spire Press]

Low magic = thrilling adventure. Take away all of the magical crutches that a party would normally rely upon when wading into a superior force, and every battle suddenly becomes an adrenalin rush. Stealth and strategy are suddenly vastly more important. Rollplaying turns to roleplaying. Magic becomes mysterious and enticing once more. The air smells cleaner. Food tastes better. Everyone is more beautiful. Gold pieces fall from the sky --

Okay okay, got carried away there for a bit.

 

[GlassJaw]

Ahh, it's been a while since we had a "low-magic" discussion.

I was in a similar situation as you Jolly Giant and I've also embraced the low-magic campaign as well (I'm working on a Grim Tales campaign right now).

Basically, there are 2 ways to define low-magic IMO. The first is that magic or spellcasters are low in power. This could mean putting a cap on spell level, removing certain spells (like teleport), eliminating magic item creation, or spellcasting that causes some kind of ability damage. I would describe Conan and Grim Tales as low-magic. In GT, there are no caster classes at all. Every single spell must be learned separately and casting can have potentially grave results.

The other is rare magic. This is more of what Midnight and LotR are. Rare magic implies that while there are very few spellcasters or magic items, those that do exist can be quite powerful. In Midnight, you don't find many magic items but you can find covenant items that actually grow in power as you level up. In a rare magic setting, there are usually caster-specific classes. And while spellcasting is different and the spell progression is delayed, you still can have a powerful caster at high levels.