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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 2905550" data-attributes="member: 18280">I know exactly what you mean.In pre-3e D&D, one advanced levels 1-5 fairly rapidly, and then advancement slowed down.  In 3.X D&D, advancement should continue at the same pace forever.  As a result, in pre-3e D&D, characters lvl 6+ became exponentially more rare as level increased, but in 3.X one could reasonably assume to encounter 20th lvl + NPCs on a fairly regular basis.  In pre-3e D&D, problems and monster-infested lairs existed because there were few characters out there who could take care of them...PCs were exceptional.  In 3.X, one wonders why these things were not sorted out long ago.Talk about magic items and spells....In every edition of D&D, there has been a lot of magic lying around, but in pre-3e D&D, the assumption was that the PCs would only recover a fraction of what was available to be found.  Because character levels didn't rise like rockets, there was no inherent balance issues caused by playing a low-magic game.  Now, mind you, in 3.X, you can play a low-magic game by using lower CR monsters, which will have the added benefit of slowing down level progression, so this isn't as hardwired as it seems at first blush.  Yet, the XP value of any creature is based upon the assumption of a fairly rigorous arsenal.Pre-3e D&D characters carry torches...they can blow out, get dropped, cause pockets of flammable gas to explode, and are generally messy.  3.X characters carry sunrods.  There is no downside to them.  And yet, again, it is easy to remove sunrods from the equipment lists.The d20 system is a fairly robust engine.  There are some who claim that it is "well balanced" -- but by "well balanced" they mean anything that tips it will make it fall over.  It is this assumption, more than anything in the core rules, that ought to be challenged, IMHO.  The RAW are easily modified into a low-magic game:(1)  Give less XP.  I recommend 1/2 of what is suggested per RAW.(2)  Give less wealth and magic in treasure hoards.(3)  Use lower CR monsters to reflect the change in PC abilities.  This has the added benefit of further slowing level progression.(4)  Don't include magic shops in your campaign.That's it.  No other changes are needed.  The game doesn't tip over, and everything works.  Even if the PCs begin with sunrods and scrolls in their starting equipment, game play will winnow these out, and they will begin to seem more like precious commodities, to be saved for when needed rather than wasted.RC</blockquote>

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