"low" magic campaign using D&D rules

[Najo]

Ok, I need some advice on crafting a "Low" magic campaign with D&D rules as is.

Here is my goal:
* 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

I am looking to get the feeling of magic being wondrous and special back into standard D&D, where the common folk are uneasy about it and do not understand it, but the movers and shakers (players included) can still do what they normally do in a 3.5 D&D campaign.

What should I do to make this happen with the least impact on the D&D rules as they are written?

Note, that by low magic I really mean rare (but still powerful).

 

[Graf]

NPC reactions are the most important part of this. If a PC casts a spell having everyone around them freakout or react is key. If they have a glowing sword then everyone has to be shocked and/or impressed.
Give everyone -one- magic item that has all the magical effects on them. Like a soulstone that's keyed only to them. It follows all the normal rules (i.e. you cant get boots of striding and springing at the same time as slippers of spiderclimb) but it's just one item.

You'll also need:
Some justifiable reason why the PCs are special (i.e. possess access to magic).
Some justifiable reason why they encounter weird/powerful creatures.

"Low" magic and "High" magic are important parts of the game for people, but you really need to have and idea about what the story you want to tell is going to be (i.e. what kind of campaign you're looking for).
And you need to tell us or you won't get very good advice.

Thematically speaking you can either do a "magic is returning" type setting or a "you are the greatest in the land/choosen ones" type thing.

 

[Imp]

The easiest thing you can do is regard well the suggested demographics in the DMG, hock a great big loogie, and spit upon it. Then fix it so most everyone in the world is low-level, with level 8 about tops for what you're likely to encounter. Same with monsters, cap the CR something relatively low except in extraordinary circumstances. Base 3e is not that high magic at low levels.

I'm not sure you need to do that much more than this. It sounds like you want to run a usual-magic game in a low-magic atmosphere. In this case, just keep in mind that the PCs are really special. The absence of magic shops, a cornucopia of spells, routine supernatural monsters, ho-hum +1 swords follows from this.

(though you might want to rule that +1 weapons are not "magical" but made from special material or something - this can help with flavor.)

Here is something else I do in my homebrew to make magic less routine. Arcane magic is harmful to the caster if used routinely for spans of over a week or two or so – not enough to account for over an adventure, but enough so you don't have people casting spells for a living. A health hazard, basically. Divine magic, being given by the mercy of the gods, is liable to desert clerics completely for years. It's not generally reliable. Again, I assume that during an adventure, the cleric-god connection is on, and I do not use it to screw with PCs outside of downtime. But for NPCs, it comes and goes.

 

[questing gm]

Make every magic item a treasure and use Weapons of Legacy.

Oh...and make the PCs earn their magic items, not by just looting it from some corpse but by completing quests

 

[Remathilis]

Tall order.

Get ready...

1.) Require specific components to make a magic item, not just "generic" gold component. Celestial down feathers for celestial chainmail, hellhound blood for a flaming weapon, and an ogres heart for gauntlets of ogre power.

2.) Make no NPC (other than villains are rare NPCs) PC classed. Everyone in a typical town is either an adept, expert, aristocrat, commoner, or warrior. No one makes magical gear other than potions or scrolls. It also stops being able to go to town to buy spellcasting services. PC classes PCs (ancient wizards, high priests) are rare and special (and there services not for "sale" per se).

3.) Customize treasure rather than random roll it. Only give items that PCs will use. (Avoid unholy weapons or other items that aren't to useful to good/neutral PCs). Watch for bucketloads of gold.

4.) Consider allowing PCs to spend their own XP to upgrade magical items (akin to the PHB 2 web enhancement or the OA samurai). rather than using the item creation feats. That, or make items that scale so as not to be traded in for "new swords"

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

The easiest thing you can do is regard well the suggested demographics in the DMG, hock a great big loogie, and spit upon it.

That would be my suggestion, too. Almost everyone in the world is low-level. No Level 10 Commoners. Run-of-the-mill monsters (e.g. orcs, goblins, lizard men, etc) don't have high class levels. The PCs are truly exceptional, and are doing truly exceptional things and garnering truly exceptional wealth/items. They go by the "wealth by level" rules, but hardly anyone else in the world does.

Incidentally, this is going to make your spellcasting PCs *huge* celebrities, because they'll be able to see things no one else can see, and do things no one else can do. (Almost like they took something...)

 

[Aus_Snow]

Yep. Demographics, economics, description, emphasis.

The good news is, D&D 3e can provide the foundations just fine. From there, a bit of interpretation will go a long way.

 

[Hairfoot]

Here is my goal:
* 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

I fear that these three goals may be incompatible with 3.5.

No matter how you play it, you're going to have a party of characters which is insanely powerful compared to the general populace, advances to super-hero status in a very short period of time, and requires equally powerful opponents to maintain a challenge.

Having said that, Remathilis' suggestions sound excellent, and I've had some success with Imp's idea of treating +1 to +3 (numerical bonus, not special ability) weapons as mastercraft or material bonuses rather than magic.

The high-magic and PC power overload of 3.5 is why I've recently switched to Castles & Crusades, but I'd very much like to hear of any 3.5 campaigns which have managed to stay low-magic.

 

[questing gm]

Oh, i know.

A spell component pouch is just an empty spell component pouch.
You're going to have to find the components for yourself !

 

[LostSoul]

Create areas in the campaign world where the PCs will go to when they start getting powerful.

There's a point around 7th level when normal PCs can't be challenged by warriors any longer. I guess that's when the portal to hell opens up and the PCs have to fight demons, who have magic of their own.