"low" magic campaign using D&D rules

[Imp]

Yeah, restricted power areas – that's a good idea too. I haven't done it yet, but in my world all the high level action gets kicked offplane. You could also have a dreamscape-plane where the truly scary monsters are, where PCs can get powerful items that only work in the dreamscape, and they fight the monsters there before they can get to the mundane world – that's not a bad conceit.

Or, you can play complicate-the-usual-challenges for a few levels, making low-CR challenges as interesting as possible, focusing interest on political or other factors, until the Hellmouth opens up.

 

[Celebrim]

Remathilis's suggestions sound good.

I'd add that there is no such thing as a mundane magic item. In other words, there is no such thing as a mere 'sword +1'. With the exception of potions, scrolls, and items based solely on cantrips and orisons, any time a magic item is created, it carries with it random quirks. Most of these quirks are quite minor, and a few are beneficial, but most of them involve minor annoyances. The more powerful the item, the more quirks it has. You should take care to have a basic description and history to any durable magic items.

 

[LostSoul]

You could do it like I did, where +1 or (very rarely +2, never saw actual play) swords were not automatically magic weapons. They were just really good swords.

In my old campaign that had the kind of flavour you're looking for, the Fighter/Paladin had a +1 sword, +4 vs. aquatic creatures or something like that. It wasn't magical because of the +1, but it was magical from the +4.

I think you want to make the NPCs fear magic.

Restrict a Wizard's known spells. Make him study his own.

Create some NPC classes that use magic in a strange and different way.

Treat the Fighter buffing equipment (+x armour, +x sword) as non-magical, just really effective and well-crafted.

Dole out "magical equipment" as a result of the trials of the PCs. Maybe the Fighter PC went through a really STR-heavy adventure; give him a +2 enhancement bonus to STR that isn't tied to a magical item.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Make no NPC (other than villains are rare NPCs) PC classed.

fix it so most everyone in the world is low-level

Do both of these things. It's all in the demographic assumptions - that's the only thing you have to fix. I'd use a 1e model:

• only 1% of characters are PC-classed
• for every character of level (n) there are half as many characters of level (n+1)

I'd use the 1e Greyhawk class distributions as well for PC-classed characters

• 50% fighter
• 25% rogue
• 15% divine
• 10% arcane

Treat each of these as broad categories - there are lots of classes, these days. Everything else just falls into place.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

* Keep the same D&D magic level (magic items, spells) for players and monsters
* do not alter the class progression or rules
* do not make my content weaker or incompatible with official D&D content of the same level
* make magic items more special and worth hanging onto
* make magic items and spells special and mysterious again.
* do not have magic items or spells something that players can walk into a town and buy.
* do not have commoners with magic items or spells being used as technology or for comfort

1) Enforce a "spell rarity" concept. Players who want to learn a particular spell have to jump through hoops- they have to find a teacher, tome or scroll to learn from. You see this in older editions of the game, and in D20 offshoots like Arcana Unearthed/Evolved. You can't just learn any spell in the game...

2) Make spellcasters rare but powerful, perhaps by making the ability to channel arcane magic a question of genetics (Wizards are born, not made)- so there is a gateway Feat anyone to play an arcane spellcaster must take at 1st level. Like Magical Aptitude.

Divine Casters would be forced to take the (houserule) Feat Touched by the Divine to cast spells, but they could take it at any time, since they are being given a gift from beyond.

If you think a feat is too high a cost, make it a bonus feat for any spellcasting class- but make sure it remains a 1st level requirement!

3) Make Item Creation more difficult, either by upping costs, changing component rarity, or limiting the IC Feats. That way, you have ultimate control over whether the party has a particular magic item or not- they can't merely have their party spellcaster be the party's arcane armorer.

4) The "weapon of legacy" idea is sound. Even if you don't actually use those rules as is, make the items either "improvable" or "unlockable." That way, the PCs will have an incentive to keep items rather than trade or sell them.

Furthermore, the WoL system requires PCs (of any class) learn feats to get full use out of the items. There will be less overall power per PC because of it.

5) Zones of high, low, wild or no magic. When magic becomes intrinsically less reliable, the PCs will be forced to rely on other aspects of the world for victory. Their own blood, sweat & tears. Tactics. Bait.

There are lots of fantasy novels set in worlds like this- the first that springs to mind is Larry Niven's Magic Goes Away series.

6) Change spell casting and duration times. If spells take longer to cast but also last longer, things get more tactical. Harry Turtledove's Darkness books have very powerful mages indeed- remeniscent of Gandalf, Merlin, Elminster and other iconic mages of fiction and RPG fame.

But magic takes time- there are few if any true combat spells, nor are many of the spells they sling the kind of thing they can unleash in mere seconds. Yet at one point, one group creates the equivalent of a Necromantic Atomic Bomb.

If casting a Fireball takes 3 rounds, for instance, the rest of the party is going to have to work hard to keep the mage alive and unscratched (pesky Concentration rolls!) for one to go off.

 

[pawsplay]

You can accomplish 90% of what you want by simply keeping settlements to a population of 25,000 or less and enforcing the GP limit. This has a cascading effect of keeping NPC casters at reasonable caster levels, too.

 

[Najo]

These are great suggestions. Please keep them coming. I am getting some good ideas from all this and once I deciede on the direction I want to go I will let you all know.

 

[Baron Opal]

A few of questions for you:

Are there hedge witches that the commoners can go to for cures, hexes and blessings?

Are there guilds of wizards, or solitary practitioners that hunt for and train apprentices?

How prevalent are clerics and / or temples? Are most “priests” clerics, adepts or experts?

Assuming for the moment that your preference is the latter in all of the above, I would recommend the following:

You make a short list of what potions and charms you want the characters to be able to buy. These are the same preparations that the commoners buy from the adepts. These will often be 0th level spells, possibly priced at 5-10 gp each. Some of these may simply give a +4 or so to the next skill check.

• Bandages that give +4 to a heal check.
• Potions that heal 1 hp.
• Potions that give +4 to the next Charisma check.
• A charm that gives +1 to hit and damage for 3 rounds.
• Anything else that gives a modest bonus right before you need it.

Consider that the adventuring group has a patron of some sort. A noble, bishop, elemental spirit, what have you. Once the party reaches 4-5th level, which is where I consider characters come into their own, have them granted signature items. These are what I call items that grow with the character. There’s a WotC book that goes into this, I’m sure your aware.

Build sufficient down time into the campaign so that the magicians can craft their own items. Have at least one NPC magician that will craft items. Minor items can be available for gold, wizards and priests have to eat too, major items require magic in trade. Consider allowing other characters sacrifice the xp for item creation. This will make the PC wizard or priest much more willing to make the magic widget for the other members of the party.

For items that are simply bonus items, like weapons and armor, make them masterwork items. In my campaign all +1 and +2 items are simply masterwork. Magic items are at least +3, in bonus and abilities. Coming up with a list of names for the great smiths can add some realism to it. “Ahh, a fine example of glaetyri manufacture. I didn’t know any weapons by the smith Vayde were still extant.”

For all significant items, be they magical or mundane, make an index card that you hand to the players. One side lists the powers, the other a short description and history. Nothing major, just three or four sentences. Keep tract of this info, and reference it later. “Hmf, you are a mere stripling. I could only take seriously a warrior noble enough who could bear a blade from noble Vayde himself. What do you mean ‘like this?’” It’s funny, when I did that, it made the items that much more interesting to the players. Giving them a card to hold on to and read was like they had the item. Not everyone responds to that, but it was something neat. This is only for permanent items or masterwork swords, &c. Not potions

 

[Baron Opal]

I'd use the 1e Greyhawk class distributions as well for PC-classed characters

• 50% fighter
• 25% rogue
• 15% divine
• 10% arcane

As a tangent, does everyone assume that mental excellence is rarer than physical? I know I do, but maybe that's a false assumption.

Also, keep in mind what and where you want your PCs to be at higher levels. Are they going to come into conflict with frost giants at 12th level? Demons at 16th? Who is the most powerful magician, what is their highest level spell, why is it less than 9th (if it is), and what are they doing right now?

In other words, keep in mind who the powerful might be and what they are generally doing.

 

[LostSoul]

Oh yeah.

In the old campaign, I used a different method for hit points/healing. Pretty similar to VP/WP: your hit points, up to CON, were pure body. The rest of them were luck, or skill, or whatever. Those other ones healed at a rate of 1 per level per hour. The body ones healed normally, but with the special rule that if you had taken "body HP" damage, you couldn't heal the other ones until that damage was gone (that always healed first). What I wanted to do, but never implemented, was to have 1 point of each critical hit go straight to those body HP.

That was so I didn't have to have clerics running around.

I also let the Wizard cast Goodberry, which became a pretty potent spell. With some nice flavour, too.

It ws pretty cool, how it worked out: when the Wizard cast Magic Missile, and I described the damage as "He sees them coming and barely dodges them", they knew they were dealing with a tough guy.