My new LOW MAGIC game idea!!!

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

Is there a Harn D20 world out? I never heard of it. How is it? I had heard of nasty, brutish, and short. How is that?

I wish there was. Columbia Games has released three d20 Harn products so far: Trobridge Inn, Evael: Kingdom of the Elves and Nasty, Brutish and Short: The Orcs of Harn. I haven't seen any of these. Note that the Harnic orc (or "Gargun" as they called on Harn) are totally different from standard D&D orcs. They come in a wide variety of species (from small goblin-like ones to the bigger kind), cannot crossbreed with other races and only one in a hundred gargun are female. Competition for mating priveleges is deadly, and gargun "kings" last no more than a few months at best. The queens become bloated and can't move around much. Gargun dwell in underground colonies known as "hives." They are hairy, bestial and savagely violent, hated by all other races and called "foulspawn."


Shadow of Bukrai has created a Harn d20 Conversion Guide as a free pdf at his site, http://www.dndharnguide.addr.com/ , and I got some really good information from that. It's 44 pages and full of crunchy bits for alternative character creation methods, classes, skills and feats you could adopt for any d20 fantasy game!

I just bought HarnWorld (the overall campaign setting, $30, comes with a world book, color map with hex grid like the 1e Greyhawk, and HarnDex glossary of terms, people, places, gods, monsters, etc.). I also bought HarnManor ($35 with binder), which has 4 detailed feudal manors (manors include the manor house, village and all NPCs) as well as rules on how to create and manage feudal fiefs, what life is like, etc. I bought Rethem, a "kingdom module" that gives a close-up look at the Kingdom of Rethem which resembles Zhentil Keep on a larger scale (with their god Agrik making a fine Bane). The kingdom is on the brink of civil war, a hotbed of treachery, intrigue and assassination. Fun stuff ($15). Then I bought 100 Bushels of Rye ($15), which is an adventure module that not only details out an entire viallage and area to use as a base to start your campaign, but includes a perfect example of what adventures are like on Harn. It's a murder mystery filled with terrified peasants, drunken lords lost in their cups, crazy hermits, savage tribesmen seeking vengeance on the town for slaughtering their children, and more! These were all great purchases, though it set me back over $100 after S&H. I recommend them all and plan on buying more Harn products as soon as I can afford it.

 

[mmadsen]

Re: More ideas

Thanks for the responses! I'm still trying to figure out if I should just use a straight CON = HP (no advancement), or HP = 6 at 1st level + 1d6 + Con mod per additional level (the CofC version), or something else like VP/WP...

You have many options, but I like hp = 10 + Fort/Con bonus. That way characters start with decent Hit Points, and tough characters progress a bit.

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

Good idea. Thanks!

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

bump

 

[Bandito]

I was just about to write up something along these lines as I too am Jonesing for a gritty low power/low level feel to a game of standard D&D.

My idea to handle the magic issue was this:

Wizards>stay as is, start with only several cantrips and 2 level 1 spells in their book. Do not automatically learn spells upon gaining levels, spells must be found.

Clerics/Druids>Basically, we'll call them mystics now instead of clerics+druids and they are identical to wizards in all aspects save for:
1) Cleric and Druid spells are now called spiritual spells and are on one list instead of seperate ones.
2) Can still turn undead (It's a staple)

Sorcerers>stay as is, start with only several cantrips and 2 level 1 spells. Now must find spells to learn as wizards and mystics do, instead of just knowing them, while still adhering to the maximums for their class.

Minor spell casters such as rangers, paladins and bards (I know they aren't minor, but for these purposes they 'qualify') are stripped of their spells and given extra feats/skill points to make up for the difference.

General spellcasting rules:

1) All spells take x2 the time to cast, ie standard action spells take a full round action to cast now.
2) All spells are DC 12+modifiers to resist. Magic is rare, making it more difficult to resist.
3) For each spell that is cast a character makes a fortitude save vs DC 10+spell level to avoid temporary constitution damage to simulate the 'draining' effects of wielding such powers. Con damage would be 1 point/spell level. Cantrips and Orisons do not cause con damage. Con damage is restored at the rate of 1 per hour.

These are the general overall rantings of a DM who is desperate to power down his games in order to change things up a little. I do like the free-wheeling of the new edition quite a bit, but it's also nice to try something with some contrast every once in a while to see how it works. I could try another system, but I'm comfortable with the current one and tweaking it might be easier.

Cheers!

 

[LostSoul]

Regarding hit points...

I run a game without magical healing (except the very cool Goodberry spell), so I've changed the hit point rules somewhat. I use something like the VP/WP, but not exactly.

Your WP = 10 or your Con or something like that. These are your actual physical body's hit points. These heal at 1hp + Con bonus per 8 hours of rest.

Your VP = the hit points you get after that. They heal just like subdual damage; 1hp/level/hour.

Critical hits always do at least 1 point of WP damage.

I've never had a problem with healing. Once the PCs get all their WP back, they heal quite quickly.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

*lurker-mode deactivated*

bumphry-dumphry

*lurker-mode activated*

 

[nopantsyet]

i think it's great. i'm starting a similar concept with my group in the fall. this is a dark world where humans are in a degenerate state. mostly tribal/clan societies, but a small number of agrarian communities. the players will come from a barbarian tribe. there are no exotic, masterwork, mechanical, or finely-crafted weapons. great sword, short sword, and anything bludgeoning. i'm going to use the WP/VP system rather than HP.

i'm going for a highly-polarized magic feel that i'm still working out the mechanics of, but magic will always deal vitality, often temp ability damage. low-power magic is easy, but the higher power it gets, the more vitality damage and the higher likelihood of dealing ability damage and possibly dying.

i've only got one player who isn't totally into the idea, and he's warming up to it as i give him teasers. and if it sucks, we'll drop it and start a new campaign. that's what i don't understand about anyone who trash-talks somebody else's ideas. if people are enjoying it, great. if not, we'll hope they're smart enough to stop and find something they do.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Sounds like a good idea you have going here. I want to give some advice, however. KK and several others have mentioned the player resistance, and that could easily be your greatest problem. Now, I am no psychologist, but I do believe part of the problem comes from player expectations. So, even if you are going to use the D20 system, do NOT tell them "we're going to play low-magic D&D." Of course, what you are suggesting is really not D&D anymore, so there should be no shame in this. Tell them, instead, it is a D20 game that you designed yourself to be a gritty, low-magic game.

I suspect your players will be more receptive to this, since they will get away from their expectations about D&D. Barring this, your only other choice is to try another game system.

Good luck!

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

This reminds me a little of my upcoming campaign (which is perpetually in the formative stages). Low magic, and organizations that are more than happy to put the hurt on you if they find out you can use magic. Religion was abolished long ago so all that is left are a few secret cults... Emphasis on charms that work like temporary magic items (you can find them in the "small changes" thread) instead of the party having access to lots of powerful items.
Good luck with your endeavor.