Low Maic, Low Monster, High Level How do I make it work?

[Ace]

I am thinking about a new campaign with a few "flavor" mods to suit my favorite gaming style

First -- Low Magic. I plan to nerf some spells, alter the spell using classes and reduce magic items. Its should feel like a cross between Howard and Tolkien and maybe Vance but not like D&D Magic

Second-- Low Monster. Core D&D assumes a lot of monster encounters ranging from dire rats to dragons and in between. I plan on reducing the number of monster encounters substantially through the game. THis means 90% of encounters will be with normal stuff (Humans and Animals )

Third: I want the game to reach high level eventually

I know how to balance classes (defense bonus, extra skills and feats and so on) I I just don't know how to make the XP system work.
Since it takes like 13.3 equal ECL encounters to level up I don't know what the players will encounter if I drop the monsters

My first inclination is to just wing it and use a mix of power components and "every 2 or 3 sessions you level up" . THis seems like it would work OK

Anyone have any better ideas and for that matter anyone have anyideas what 10th level characters would be doing in a low magic, low monster world

 

[Crothian]

Well, if the encounters and bad guys are going to be more humans and humaniods, it should work out just fine. You can still have them encounter leveled humans to get the CRs you need, award XP for role playing if you want, but it should be doible.

In low magic worlds skills points, feats, class skills, and attributes start to mean a lot more. You can boost the classes by a couple skill points and maybe a new class skill or two.

 

[LostSoul]

I'm running a low-magic, almost no monster game and the PCs just hit 14th level. Well, it was low-magic until the Wizard got Improved Invisiblity and Fly; then I had to up the opponents. Up until and through that point, I just used the CR of their human opponents. Everything went really well; the combats were very balanced. They hit the right balance.

One thing to remember, if you want to keep it low-magic, is to have the NPCs run away. Always run when you're in trouble.

 

[Gothmog]

I started a low magic, low monster world 11 years ago with 2E, and transferred it to 3E when it came out. I also started a new game about 2 years ago in 3E in the same world. My best advice to you is not to use CR/XP guidelines, simply award XP for story awards or accomplished objectives. It cuts back on the hack-n-slash behavior a lot. In order to compensate for lower magic levels, I gave each class 2 extra skill points per level, and an extra background feat at character creation. So far it has worked out really well, and the PCs are now about 11th level. I have found that the lower magic level means that they are challenged by encounters about 1-2 CRs lower than their level, depending on the creature type and tactics. One word of warning though- get rid of some spells that can potentially break a low magic world such as fly, improved invisibility, teleport, and raise dead- otherwise the PCs magical resources will far outstrip anything any other faction is likely to have.

 

[jmucchiello]

I know how to balance classes (defense bonus, extra skills and feats and so on)

This is not necessary if the game is low monster. Since the party won't run into an Iron Golem, you don't need to compensate for their lack of AC when fighting bruttish monsters.

Most of the combat will be against equally powerful NPCs. Combat is much deadlier when two 12th level fighters face off without +3 armor, +2 shield and +3 weapons. They always hit (even with their low BAB attack) so the guy with higher innate Strength is gonna win. Or the guy more willing to power attack wins. Could be interesting.

 

[aurin777]

Assign ELs to roleplaying situations. When fighting humans, give them levels. Your good to go in two easy steps.
~~Brandon

 

[hong]

Re: Re: Low Maic, Low Monster, High Level How do I make it work?

Most of the combat will be against equally powerful NPCs. Combat is much deadlier when two 12th level fighters face off without +3 armor, +2 shield and +3 weapons. They always hit (even with their low BAB attack)

How is this different to any other high-level campaign?