How do I make it really "low-magic"?

[mistergone]

OKay, I know that by lowering the frequency of magic items, that is one way, but what about spellcasters? How do I limit their magic ability without making the classes that rely on spellcasting useless? Certainly, in a low magic game, playing a wizard or sorcerer is less encouraged. But what about the mechanics of spellcasting?

Basically, in my upcoming game using 3E, it's more about fighting and problem solving and questing than solving everything with a couple well-timed spells. I've always hate hate hated the way that magic has the ability to totally ruin a good game by making it so much easier for the characters. Unless some blatant blocks were put in place. "Hey, why climb that mountain that the Overlord's fortress sits atop when we can fly or teleport up there?" "Oh wait, there's an anti-magic field around the fortress? Well shoot, let's summon some winged mounts!"

My world is a place where magic exists and is indeed potentially very powerful, but blackpowder also exists and most importanly, I like the playing style "cinematic" and character driven.

So, what do you think?

 

[LostSoul]

You could force spellcasters to multi-class. So that a Wizard has to match those Wizard levels with Cleric or Rogue or whatever levels. That will keep the high-level spells out of the game.

 

[Caliban]

Make all spellcasting classes prestige classes.

 

[Terraism]

One method that low-magic campaigns often use is devastatingly powerful magic - when it's rarely encountered. I've not tried running a low magic campaign, but... one method, other than what you've brought up, could be to require magic to take much more study - and be a larger drain on the caster - than in standard D&D. So that casters take levels in expert - which could help the "problem solving" bit you're looking for - before eventually multiclassing into a caster. And limit the spells available.

 

[Krug]

Create a class that has better fighting ability and HD but weaker spell progression, and allow only up to 5th level spells in the campaign.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Just get rid of 'em. Make the spellcasting classes NPCs. As a player, I hate playing modified, customized or other 'special' classes so that the GM can have his 'balance.'

Low-magic is okay but dont' kid yourself or the players about it.

If you want to keep magic in the campaign, customize all your spell list, prestige class the core classes, etc...

This makes it very un-D20 standard mind you, but can work.

One thing you didn't mention is clerical magic. If there is no quick healing, expect game sessions to bogt down into "I want in the town until healed" type things unless you have some very competent healers and use herbs from some of the various OGL sources.

 

[Broken Fang]

Allow spell casters to only be Adepts.
Use CoC magic.

 

[EricNoah]

One kind of magic that keeps it from being as "gritty" or "down-to-earth" as it could be is healing magic. Find a way to limit, restrict, or tone down the effects of healing. You could use a Wheel of Time rule where magic turns hp damage into subdual damage, which then can only be healed by resting.

I like the Prestige class idea -- maybe wizards should be required to be skilled at obscure languages, alchemy, and other knowledge, craft and profession skills before they can even crack open ye olde spellbook. Perhaps clerics should be well-seasoned ministers with lots of knowledge of history and religion as well as skills in diplomacy before receiving the gift of spellcasting. Stuff like that.

 

[aurin777]

Toning down magic is a lot harder than these "simple fixes" I've read about. AD&D was carefully, carefully, balanced. If you begin to tweak it, it will easily crumble. With no healing magic and no access to vast amounts of magic items, the PCs will be severely under powered. They need the +4 vorpal megabattleaxe of death at 15th level, or they won't be able to finish off that big baddie at the end of the road. If you truly want low magic, make it much harder for the players to gain a hold of it. Cut item creation feats, that, or triple the xp cost. Kill the bard class. Clerics will now be experts, because you're getting rid of the healing magic. If you do want clerics to still be able to cast some spells, limit the spell list significantly and narrow it to one focus, then juice the spells a bit to keep it balanced. If magic is rare, you'll also need to eleminate the sorceror class. Now, Wizards become the easy part. In order for a wizard to gain new spells, he needs to read them off a scroll and copy them into his spell book, or find and learn a new spellbook. Simple avoid the spells you don't want in your game. Haste, improved invisibility, fly all go byebye when the PCs never find any scrolls. In a low magic game, there won't be a local hedgewizard you can swap spells with. Try that. Its less time consuming then creating a million new PrCs to get the magic system tweaked.
~~Brandon

 

[Breakdaddy]

I ran a LM world once, I made a house rule that stated that any PC spellcaster could have only 1 Evocation/Invocation spell per SPELL LEVEL. So a total of 9 when he maxes out all his spell levels. This creates a lower occurence of pyrotechnic displays of magical destruction, and also prevents all but the most serious comers from wanting to take a magic using class.