Low-Magic Campaign

[AlestonAlesgone]

Hey everyone. I'm thinking of running a very low-magic campaign (initially). I'd like to start the campaign as low-magic as possible, this would include limiting players on class (Barbarian, Bard, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue) and backgrounds (non-magic related). The classes with magic listed would have to choose cantrips and spells that could be role played as being non-magic. All others would be off the table (to start). Even potions of healing would be tough to get a hold of.


I guess I was thinking something similar to an “Arthur Pendragon removing all magic from Albion” type campaign. Still working out the details.

The players could gain access to magical classes, spells, tools, etc. as they made progress in the campaign and with their personal goals. For example, if they are overly noble in combat and attended to the wounds of a friend (or foe), then perhaps a deity would bless them with access to a cleric spell (or be granted access to leveling as a cleric). Or if they came into contact with an ancient relic infused with the soul of an archmage, then they would have access to a sorcerer's spell (or be granted access to leveling as one). Or maybe something not so plain.

I'm looking for advice and suggestions. I’m sure I’m not the first to try this. Has anyone Dm’ed something similar? And would anyone be interested in a game like this? If no one is interested, then I suppose shouldn’t bother. Thank you everyone in advance.

 

[delphonso]

If you can, dig up a copy of Iron Heroes. It was an alternate rulebook that was made around the 3.5 era. It provides classes in a non-magic setting. It'd be difficult to adapt to 5e, I reckon, but I'm certain if you look on a homebrew SRD, you could find some non-magical classes. That would give your players some options and open up the game a bit more.

In general, I play lower-magic campaigns. The way I handle it is just making enemy magic-users rarer, but much stronger. Instead, I use a lot of animal abilities or spell-like effects. The hardest part for me (both when I ran Iron Heroes and when I DM now) is having variety in enemies.
If it's a low-magic campaign, are there "magical" monsters like goblins? Are these players only going to be killing human bandits for the whole campaign? A lot of the animals in DnD have magical abilities - would you still use these?

Another struggle is rewarding players. Most gear in DnD is magical in nature, and pretty crucial for increasing stats and damage. This can be hand-waved away by saying things are just superior craftsmenship until the party starts encountering magical things, though.

I've played it a few ways and found it both enjoyable and lack-luster at times. It's definitely possible, though. If you players are into it, it can be a really fun way to play.

 

[Zardnaar]

A basic rule would be ban those classes unless you can find a teacher and MC into them a'la Jedi in Star Wars.

Then you can have a big reveal as to why those classes are so rare.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I have run only low-magic campaigns since 5e came out. The only spellcaster class I allow is warlock, and I use a variant ranger from the forthcoming Talislanta book, which loses spellcasting in favor of better saves, extra attacks, and expertise.

I also limit PC races to human only.

The trick, in my experience, is reskinning and refluffing. So kobolds form the MM become pygmies, statistically identical to kobold's but looking like debased, short humans. Gnomes and halflings are different sorts of pygmies. When I need a big bruiser type an orc's - or even an ogre's - statistics work beautifully.

Magic items exist but are extremely rare an jealously guarded by their owners. In general I assume that if a magic item from the DMG exists, there is exactly one of it in the world. So you don't have A decanter of endless water, you have THE decanter of endless water. No faceless items here - everything magical is prescious.

Healing becomes an issue, and I found I need to cheat. Players can find (and later, create) a healing salve statistically identical to Keoghtom's Ointment. It's not as versatile as a healing potions but serves a similar purpose. I also don't have players roll for it's effectiveness; it heals its maximum, every time.

Monsters that need special or magical weapons to defeat? I either remove that restriction, reduce it, or make gaining the necessary item a quest in itself.

I also expand definitions to make some categories of creature easier to handle. For example, in my campaign "demon" refers to a dimensional traveler (not that the PCs would recognize the finer points of this terminology). So an enemy "wizard" "summons demons" (which could be lemures or goblins or flumphs or balors or whatever I need at the moment) to fight the PCs, but since the PCs have found the Silver Axe of Kal-Tor (which is statistically a halberd), the fight is not as tough as it might have been otherwise.

This approach also solves the "players have memorized the Monster Manuals from six generations of D&D" problem.

I could go on, but everything is along the same general ideas.

 

[transtemporal]

I'm looking for advice and suggestions. I’m sure I’m not the first to try this. Has anyone Dm’ed something similar?

Yeah I DMed a low magic version of Dark Sun years and years ago. Dark Sun was the perfect setting for it and it was super fun for that particular group but after that group broke up, I tried to replicate the game with another group and it didn't work at all. Different groups like different game styles and I realised the reason it worked so well with the previous group is that they loved story, roleplaying & mystery, whereas the new group were a bit more "gamery". They liked loots and crazy high magic. Both groups were fun to play with though.

So I guess my suggestion would be ask them if thats something they'd have fun playing, and be prepared for them to say no!

 

[Yaarel]

For a low-magic campaign setting.

Adventures in Middle Earth!

This is the Tolkien setting.

http://cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/adventures-in-middle-earth/

 

[Yaarel]

as low-magic as possible, this would include limiting players on class (Barbarian, Bard, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue) and backgrounds (non-magic related).

The 5e Bard is a full caster on par with Wizard, Druid, Cleric. So, you will probably want to remove Bard as an option.

Make Paladin, Eldritch Knight, Arcane Trickster, and Ranger the main spellcasters for the low-magic campaign.

A high-Dex unarmored Paladin has a strong ‘Gandalf’ vibe.

 

[Caliburn101]

For lower level magic and an S&S grittiness to the game a fast fix that works well is to do the following;

1. Reduce HP dice for PC classes to one-step lower (e.g. 1d8 becomes 1d6, 1d12 becomes 1d10 etc.)

2. Make all healing spells use up the healing HD of the target (or in emergencies the caster) on a 1 HD for each slot level of the spell basis (life force is burned to fuel magical healing...)

3. Make Paladins the Clerics (but they can access Cleric Spell List); Make Rangers the Druids (but they can access Druid Spell List) and the only 'full' caster the Warlock renamed as Sorceror or Mage with the following changes;

(a) Replace all but the 6th level Mystic Arcanum with an Eldritch Invocation
(b) Add Arcane Tradition of choice from the Wizard Class (now called 'Path of Mastery')
(c) Rename 'Otherworldly Patron' to 'Eldritch Bloodline' (the casters source of power)
(d) Rename 'Pact' to 'Arcanum' and the character gets Chain and Book variants
(e) Make Intelligence the spellcasting stat
(f) Use the Your Spellbook rules for the Wizard Class, this otherwise being the Book from the Warlock Pact
(g) Use Wizard Class Cantrip and Spells Known progression
(h) Use Wizard and Warlock Spell Lists
(i) Has Font of Magic like Sorcerer Class
(j) Remove Eldritch Blast from the game but allow all relevant Eldritch Invocations to apply to all damaging Cantrips

4. No Bards or Bear Totem Barbarians.

5. All magic items move up one step on the rarity table, so Legendary Items are considered artefacts.

6. Introduce 'Mastercrafted' items which either give +1 DR per class (lt/med/hvy) for armour, +1 AC for shields, +1 damage for weapons or +2 skill for tools.

A nice balanced 'low-mid' magic game will ensue .

 

[Warmaster Horus]

I talked with someone at a Con who allowed magic use in his game via MCing only, and then only with a wizard/sorc/cleric/druid level at every 4th overall level (so max at 5th caster level at overall level 20).

 

[Lichemaster]

What was already mentioned,

http://cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/adventures-in-middle-earth/

I bought the players guide just to see how healing was done and was pleasantly with the classes. I would not run a middle earth campaign but bought the book for the information, it is very useful in a low magic setting.