Fresh Campaign Setting Sought

[Denizen]

Check out Athas.org. The Dark Sun campaign setting is very low magic and it is availble for free.

 

[Turanil]

I am in need of a fresh fantasy campaign setting. <...> in terms of depth, detail and unique-ness. I would like my next setting to steer away from high magic.

Get a look at the homebrew in my sig. Some of them are extremely detailed. Khoras for example, in which you could be as low-magic as you want.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Mongoose's Conan setting gets good reviews. (I've never read it / played it.)

Mongoose also has a version of the Lone Wolf setting (Magnamund) which is crap, but the original world is excellent. www.projectaon.org is your source for the original gamebooks, etc. Note that this would require significant up-front work to make D&D-ready.

Freeport isn't a full-fledged setting, but it's highly regarded, and (if my hazy memory serves me correctly) not terribly high magic.

 

[Psion]

I hope you don't think I was attacking you;

No, though seeing two tearing down of ideas in a row sort of made it seem like you were trying to tear down folks.

All in all though, so long as more detail is added, the purpose of the discussion is served.

And that's a very valid point and a point in favor of SL, which has a very different vibe to it.

One disadvantage of SL is that there are a lot of books to it, many for 3.0. Which gives it the depth that the OP was looking for, but might make it a bit hard to chase down.

IK does seem to have an advantage here. Another one to consider is Warlords of the Accordlands, which is 4 books, easy to get ahold of. In it, the PCs start out as low level heroes in a world where evil has "won".

 

[hopeless]

Reg: Campaign and low magic

Interesting, been wondering how to develop Kalamar with a low magic "feel" since I'm too used to Forgotten Realms for my own good.
And by that I mean dealing with item creation feats, giving reasons why potions of healing are available and make it so it makes sense rather than how it seems at the present where players who go for those feats are effectively punished with a loss of xp when they should be encouraged to make use of those feats and a reason to keep them using them whereas in most games I've been the only one to continue using them and a wizard player only picks them up so at some later point makes the stuff he wants when he has the spare xp without any chance of failure which I consider it as a way to introduce "cursed" items and the real way of making it work after all how many asian movies have you seen where they have some special weapon thats been created by a mastersmith rather than a magi and its proven surprisingly powerful something I've always felt should have been inherent in d&d yet isn't...
Sorry still working that part out anyway... If I had to suggest a setting I'd recommend Kalamar as I have run a couple of games there but made a point of picking an area and developing it so its a little different from what the Atlas shows.
Still waiting to get copy of the Player's Guide to Castlemourne thats the newest creation of Ed Greenwood, but I agree we might need more of an idea of what you're looking for before we can highlight those we've experienced that match what you're looking for.
Best of luck anyway!

 

[Voadam]

Valus is a good grittier lower magic D&D setting IMO. It only is one campaign book and one module so might not provide the depth you want though.

 

[Dark Seraph]

Thank you one and all. I certainly appreciate everyones input. I do apologise if I had not been adequately clear in my original post. The suggestions given thus far have given me a number fantastic leads to explore. I am careful where i invest my RPG $ but when i find a setting that is to my liking i have no issues diving right into it. I stuck with FR despite my growing discomfort with how widely prevalent and easily accessible magic is due to continued interest from my players who i have had for some good number of years. But due to career choices I no longer have contact with my original players, so thought it an opportune time to have a look around at settings that are closer to my liking.

I'd invested in Midnight due to the wide spread support i found in these threads and the grittier feel it was supposed to have. It is gritty without a doubt, and while the level of magic is not as widely prevalent and as easily accessible as FR it does play a significant role in the campaign setting and how the main antagonist relies on stooges who have free license to wield magic without limit. This is not a criticism directed at the Midnight CS or anyone whatsoever, merely my humble 2 cents take on it. I will still run it at some stage but with some strong infusion of MC's Iron Heroes to craft it into something that is still fantasy but not with magic running away with things, when I have the time to mould it to my liking.

However, in the mean time, I am on the look out for a ready campaign setting that I do not have to tweak too much, one that is rich in detail and depth but has low magic presence at best. I am still very keen to hear from anyone who would like to give me a lead or two to explore and perhaps a short description of what distinguishes it.

Thanks, again, in advance.

DS

 

[Treebore]

Iron Heroes by Mike Mearls via Malhavoc. Very much a "fighters" world rather than a wizards. Same can be said of Conan, but a very different flavor.

All the other settings mentioned are very good in their own way, just depends on what "flavor" suits your tastes.

Others you may want to check out:

Wilderlands by Necromancer Games via White Wolf and licensed from Judges Guild.

DCC 35 Known Worlds by Goodman Games.

Greyhawk by WOTC. (Original TSR days is much lower magic)

Even though it is "high powered" I think Dawnforge may surprise you like it did me.

Codex of Erde by Troll Lord Games. Bad format, horrible layout, but once you make your "decipher" check you decode a very good setting.

Another different setting that can be low magic depending on which "area" you use is Oathbound. Then if your campaign gets to high level you can move to a high magic area for better challenges.

Those are the settings i can think of right now.

 

[Turanil]

I am careful where I invest my RPG $ <...> I am on the look out for a ready campaign setting that I do not have to tweak too much, one that is rich in detail and depth but has low magic presence at best. I am still very keen to hear from anyone who would like to give me a lead or two to explore and perhaps a short description of what distinguishes it.

To reiterate my suggestion: WORLD OF KHORAS is a free homebrew on the web, so you can peruse it without fear of wasting money. It is also hugely detailed. Then, it was done without specific RPG in mind, so the rules and level of magic is really up to you.

There is also other richly detailed free homebrew settings (see this page for the links) that could be to your liking, including Heptovania, Thyrenacia, Meln, Sulerin, or Santharia (this one being really impressive).

 

[Nyaricus]

Dark Seraph, may I suggest to you Iron Heroes (link)? Iron Heroes is a d20 game which is very close to the ruleset of D&D except that it's a low or - if you want to get rid of the sole spellcasting class - no magic D&D game.

To explain it in it's most basic terms, in D&D you approach the red dragon in your Fire Resistant +5 Fortifyed Fullplate and with your trusty +5 Frost Greatsword and swing and swing and swing and swing till the Great Wyrm is dead. In IH, you run up to the dragon, deek out of it's way, run up it's tail in a matter of seconds, slash it's wings so it can't fly on your way to it's head, and then start to Hack at it's brain with your Masterwork Greatsword handed down to you from your grandfathers' grandfather. Once the sword shatters, you start to stab it in the eye with your trusty Masterwork dagger you've had since second level. Once that snaps, you start punching. Once your bones break, you start to headbutt the frickin dragon. Describing it as High Octane Adventuring is barely scratching the surface.

Here's the text from that link from above:

Iron Heroes is a variant player's handbook in the tradition of Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed. This exciting new game of heroic combat action is for skilled heroes who have no need for magic swords or arcane trinkets. Armed with their cunning, talent and unmatched bravery, they wade sword-first into a savage world of high adventure.

This hardcover provides 10 all-new core classes, an expanded feat system, new combat options, character traits, a new magic paradigm, and much more.

Iron Heroes does for d20 combat what Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved does for the d20 magic system. Modifications to the core system allow for high-adventure gaming where a character's talents, not his possessions, determine his abilities. Expansions to the core skill and feat subsystems allow for intriguing new tactics and exciting, cinematic battles. This exciting new game draws in both players looking for a new roleplaying game and those who want useful new rules for their d20 games. This complete handbook for players includes guidelines for incorporating its new rules and options and into d20 games and Arcana Evolved games.

While you have to learn a slightly different ruleset than D&D, IH is a great (and fairly popular among gamers, to boot) alternate d20 ruleset which is great for low or no-magic gaming.

While it has an quasi-implied setting in the book (The Swordlands, if I recal correctly) there is no "official" IH setting. However, running a Conan-esque game is a good idea with this ruleset, or as Denizen said, the ex-TSR setting Dark Sun (availiable for download here) is also a great place to run a game. Dark Sun, which I know a lot more about, is a world which once thrived with life, but arcanists in the distant past ruined the lands with their defiling magic. Sorcerer-kings (in truth, mighty dragons) run the city-states of the Tablelands with an iron fist, using their templars to keep the order. Wild elves in the deserts raid caravans, while half-dwarf, half-human Muls become famous gladiators in the arenas. Halflings life in a great forest ridge to the north, one of the last fertile areas left, and half-giants wade through the Sea of Silt, where others would sink. Psionics are now common, and divine magic is rare, with only the templars (worshippers of the Sorcerer King) and Elemental Clerics (worshippers of the four elements) being the source of it. Arcane magic is outlawed, and most arcanists are killed on site if seen working magic. I can't recommend this setting more, in fact

Dark Sun also works with D&D as-is (and indeed is written with that ruleset in mind) but you can easily-enough convert one over to the other, and let'r rip

cheers,
--N