D&D 5E Low magic player characters in D&D 5e

[Kikuras]

I'm currently in a group trying to get a Hyborian Age (Conan) game started using 5e. Very low magic item, and magic use is pretty stylized. I personally wouldn't have picked 5e. The DM has nixed paladins, clerics, and druids (I think druids should have stayed), as well as well as warlocks, wizards, and sorcerers. Additionally Eldritch Knight, Arcane Trickster, and I believe Way of the Shadow (though I think it would fit) have been removed as player options. Bard is okay.

 

[bedir than]

Limit cantrips to X times per day.

No casting classes until 3rd level, full casting classes can't be more than 1/2 of your levels.

My current custom world gives everyone a single cantrip and limits that casting to 1+character level+controlling ability score modifier per rest. Players that want to be a spellcaster know that there will be a dramatic event that unleashes magic, but they do not know when. Rituals still work and characters (PC or NPC) that took the Feat Magic Initiate do get to use the 1 1st level spell per that Feat. Spellcasters and Initiates also get that number of cantrips.

It's a low magic world for sure. It means that when the characters bump into the spectacular they are truly amazed.

Limitations on healing was addressed by eliminating Spare the Dying and adding a cantrip called First Aid which makes the wounded stable, grants a single HP and 1d4 temp HP that expire in a single minute.

Wizards don't exist at all, because the study of magic doesn't happen. Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight are gone as well.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

First idea to pop into my head: casting a spell of any level does the caster 5 hp in damage. First level PCs generally won't want to pay that price. For higher level PCs it won't be a problem. I would probably make rituals an exception too.

 

[Sunseeker]

Consider the possibility of allowing characters to completely retrain, but only after a certain level or perhaps only be allying themselves with people who can give them magic. IE: everyone starts out as a simple martial class, or perhaps one of the half-casters with no magical options (perhaps basic magical abilities reflavored to be non-magical). Then at some point in the game people encounter the secretive Mage Guild, or perhaps some guys forming fey pacts or demonic cultists. A player could arguably perform tasks for these groups until they reach a certain 'rank' within the group and are able to be taught magic, replacing their class, or more simply, just multiclassing.

 

[ninjayeti]

Maybe instead of restricting casters with rules changes you set your game in a world where spellcasting is illegal and casters will be hunted down by the church or state as witches if they openly use magic? This would make players think twice about playing a caster and also force casters to limit their abilities to avoid drawing attention. If you didn't want to do a full Spanish Inquisition/Salem Witch Trial vibe you could try something like the Retribution of Scyrah in the Iron Kingdoms setting.

Or maybe magic is dangerous and casting spells runs the risk of something bad happening? Insanity, drawing the attention of demons, poking holes in the fabric of space/time? And casting multiple spells in a short period of time drives the risks exponentially so casters are only going to cut loose when they are truly in a life and death situation. Several RPGs, from White Wolf's Mage to Warhammer Fantasy have used these kinds of rules.

Personally I would think about a game system like Iron Heroes for a low magic campaign, but if I was going to do 5E low magic I would think about something along these lines.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Maybe instead of restricting casters with rules changes you set your game in a world where spellcasting is illegal and casters will be hunted down by the church or state as witches if they openly use magic?

Or maybe magic is dangerous and casting spells runs the risk of something bad happening?

Or PCs are the only people in the world apart from demons and other monsters who can cast spells and use magic?

 

[ShadoWWW]

Another option: refluff the casting spells to feel like extraordinary exploits, but still in natural capability. Wizard with his fire-damage spells can be just alchemist with medieval guns etc.

 

[Mallus]

My immediate reaction is: 5e is probably the least suitable of the modern D&D incarnations for low-magic campaigns. All of the classes except barbarian either get spells or have a spell-casting specialization, ie single-classed fighters & thieves can be spell-casters. And things like character level-scaling cantrips are easy to acquire.

If I were to do low magic 5e, I'd stick to reflavoring/reskinning magical abilities & spells as "sufficiently advanced (mundane) skills" rather than monkeying with the magic system itself. Much less work, far fewer --ie, none-- unintended balance-related consequences.

 

[LandOfConfusion]

I personally like dealing with this through role playing and how the NPCs treat the PC. If they walk down the street casting spells left and right, then an angry mob is burning them as an abomination not to far off in the future. I mean even if you limit cantrips will your NPCs be ok with someone casting spells? In the real world humans fear even the slightest differences. Women were burned at the stake with no actual proof of casting spells. If your world is low magic it should probably mirror how people would behave in real life. At least a little. In this case I would actually make spells MORE powerful because the PC will be severely limited as to when they can cast their spells.

 

[Reynard]

In older editions of D&D, rarity was achieved through ability score prerequisites: with "3d6 in order" the default character generation system, classes like the Paladin or Druid were rare because the probability of rolling those stats was low. Given that spell casting classes rely on specific scores being at least above average, you could go back to a random method for stat generation. However, it does not sound like you are so concerned about commonality as you are about power level. I think the easiest way to deal with power level is to simply ban certain spells outright -- in your case, though with flashy, damaging effects. Some spells you might convert to rituals, so they cannot be used in combat but are still potentially available.

Another option is -- as others have suggested -- to have a cost associated with spellcasting. I do not care for worlds in which churches hunt down "witches" but there are other ways. Earthdawn had an interesting system where magic was drawn from a place that had been corrupted by dark powers and every time you cast a spell that was not channeled through a prepared "matrix" (and a wizard only had access to a very few of these compared to the number of spells she might know) there was a chance some of that corruption could assail the wizard. This could do everything from cause a little psychic damage to mark the wizard by a powerful, nasty entity. With a system like this, there is an in world AND mechanical reason for limited powerful magic. You could even tie the system to how much damage a spell does, how obvious it is, its level, etc...