Sell me on your low magic grim and gritty (LM/GnG) homebrew

[Galethorn]

You guys have websites? barsoomcore, I already know about yours.

Website, eh? No. Writing HTML is like arcane magic to me...it taxes my mind and body, and draws the attention of dark powers. No, I don't think my homebrew is really 'complete' enough to warrant a website.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Hello Everyone,

I have three homebrews of which this one is the strangest - and most grim and gritty.

Campaign: Elarnia

Core Ethos Statement: A very dark world where the struggling population of Elarnia find themselves caught between the powers of the new God Absalom who has gifted a proportion of his followers with darkly divine power and the evils lurking in and across the Oceans of the World.

Who are the heroes?: (In this case, specifically the six former PCs).
Unfortunately, what is left of a rumored band of heretics has met a grizzly and ill-conceived fate. To struggle against (or in this case run away from) the power of Absalom is to invite doom.

What do they do? At present, they have formed a less than appetizing meal for a Bezenathon - a colossal aquatic creature defying conventional description - and shall eventually be expelled to form a meal for other smaller denizens of the great deep. However, one of the party sunk quickly to the ocean floor over 50 miles below the surface. His fate to eventually be compressed into a mote by water pressure may have occured if some other creature had not consumed the metal encased character first.

Races: Humans are the start and finish in terms of race. However, in some people, there is fey blood that sporadically shows itself in certain generations - this actually follows the presence of one of the moons waxing or waning in the sky. As such, taking the Half-Elf race is sometimes feasible. However, the physical differences from a normal human are almost negligible. Half-Elves consider themselves as human as everyone else. There have been myths of other races long since turned to dust but no factual basis of their once existence has ever truly been discovered - and my goodness how this group was SO CLOSE.

Classes: Clerics and Paladins highly restricted - these are normally garnered after high service to the deity or some great deed ending in their ascension to living sainthood.
Wizards and that style of magic are unheard of. Sorcerors are highly uncommon and are usually marked in some way - port wine birthmarks, some even with horrific deformities. They are normally seen as evil and to be avoided at all costs. Babes born with such defects are normally left to die.
Rangers and Druids are rare although powerful bands of such people exist. Druidic magic is revered by most of the sovereignites with Druids forming powerful political entities behind the gate.
Fighters are the most common out of the other classes - with most starting off as first level warriors. Barbarians and Monks are fairly uncommon but exist in tribes or well hidden monastries.

Threats, conflicts, villains? The primary threat in Elarnia is from the relatively new priesthood - the past twenty years - of Absalom. Gods have been worshipped before but only religious icons and saints of these deities have ever received the smallest smattering of divine power.
Absalom however is very different recklessly bestowing divine power upon his priesthood. The priesthood have subverted and destroyed the previous sovereign reign instituting the Emperor of the Church as the face and mortal presence of Absalom. In the mountains exist a small pocket of barbarian-like tribes that have been pushed further into the mountains by retreating Sovereignists. These Sovereignists have built the "Great Gate" - a massive bridge and archway spanning the valley of the dead which has separated them from the rest of Elarnia for the past five years. This boundary is in a constant state of war.

Nature of magic Magic is not understood very well and is generally disdained. Wizardry and magic that is studied is unheard of. Item creation feats are incredibly rare to the point of non-existence. As such, there are very few low level magic items. The counterpoint to this though is that there are some incredibly powerful artifacts around. If the people who can craft such things choose to create something magical, it is normally there life's work. As such, magical arms and armour are stupidly rare as such items are only crafted as gifts for Kings, Princes and other people of influence.
The finding of a Ludd Mark blade caused a big stir in the gameworld. It had numerous magical powers but no one could discern what they were and so no one knew how to use them. The sword however seemed to be good at hitting things .

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[The Prince of Cats]

I am still working out the particulars of this campaign, but this looks like a good way to organize my thoughts.

Campaign: no proper name yet, I tend to think of it as 'my barbaric campaign' for lack of better nomenclature.

Core Ethos Statement: The PCs won't know it initially but this world is an alternate history of our own. They will be playing in the Appalachian Mountains with the vague technology level and culture of Native Americans circa 1400s. Hence, bows, spears, and stone tomahawks will be the weapons of choice with an added emphasis on Hand-to-Hand combat.

Who are the heroes?: PCs will be limited to the "Wilderness Classes" out of the PHB and several variations out of Unearthed Arcana. Prominent NPCs include a wizened Druid who acts as the spiritual leader for the tribe, a young Wolf Totem Warrior pulled from Monte Cooke's Arcana Unearthed who doesn't understand the nature of her differences, and a rash Barbarian/Ranger multiclass who has sworn his life to the eradication of Orcs.

What do they do? In this primitive setting survival is a struggle in and of itself, especially with the herds of game animals dwindling due to Orcish over-hunting. The Humans have a long standing feud with the Orcs that is only inflamed when one group stumbles upon a mystic cave once inhabited by a dragon. The Human culture places a premium on honor, and many exploits are incited by a desire for revenge or to save face. There is a system of dueling that is recognized almost unanimously by Human tribes and Orcish clans in this part of the world.

Races: PCs are restricted to Humans, or a very rare Half-Orc, if there's a good back story. Orcs are the only other humanoids on North America to begin with but there will be a few run-ins with colonizing Elves before the campaign is out.

Classes: Really only Barbarian and Ranger are available to start with while other paths such as Druid, Stalker (Wilderness Rouge), and Totem Warrior will become available as a result of good roleplaying.

Threats, conflicts, villains? Two competing Orc clans will have it in for our PCs, but must also be wary of the terrifying and uncontrollable Dragon Magic, and the subverting powers of the foreigners (Elves). There has also been an influx of dire wolves locally and rumors of lycanthropy.


Nature of magic The bulk of the magic available to the PCs will be low-level Ranger/Druid stuff. I am planning on having the Head Druid cast Reincarnate on fallen heroes so there is a remote chance of returning in human form, but for the most part they will simply fly/scamper off into their version of the afterlife. Clerical Magic will be unheard of and Arcane portrayed as uncontrolable and malevolent. What few magical items will become available will be unique and generally two-edged.

 

[Woas]

Mine is also in the works, as I wait for a good time to start it up when I have the chance to find some players who are around more often and maybe a little more dedicated to playing than the group I have now... its not so much Low-Magic. More like, Distance Magic in that the magic levels are high and run deep, but they are for the most part separated from the main part of "civilization" and thus not as prominent. I would say that the game would fall under the Grim n' Gritty titles much better.

Core Ethos Statement: The players will be part of a world that is going through an alternate Scientific Revolution not much different from our own Earth’s Age of Reason/Enlightenment. The players will, for the most part, confront the people(s) whom use these new ideas and methods for evil.

Who are the Heroes?: Well, the players would be heroes. Other heroes would be "scientists". These scientists would be the equivalents of our own Sir Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, James Clerk Maxwell, Charles Darwin and Christian Johann Doppler just to name a few. This people of this world would be both famous and infamous for their work as some discoveries would conflict with the accepted views of the world, much like it did on our earth. But instead of studying the foundations to universal gravity, quantum physics and the like, these scientists are studying the laws of magic... and are wizards.

What do they do?: As mentioned above, the players will most like find that most story arcs involve a wizard/scientist whom is using his/her understandings of magic to fulfil evil deeds. Other adventures are abound in the forms of lost dungeons and oddities of the sort because magic has always been a part of this world, much like gravity and the sun have always been a part of ours. Thus burial sites which spawn undead, etc. are all within the spectrum of adventures.

Races: Normal D&D core races. As I have it set up now, each race represents a stereotype of a European culture that I find befitting as per the physical and cultural description of the race in the 3.5 players handbook. Examples: Dwarves from the Scandinavia’s, Elves from Gaul/Central Europe. Although I haven't decided to use an actual map of Europe or not. Even if I ever decide not to use a European map, the core races would all still be available.

Classes: Normal D&D core classes. Minus the monk.

Threats, Conflicts, Villains?: ... yes.

There are a few different conflicts that may rise up such as Prejudice towards magic users. Inquisition by the one of the Churches (this world has a Dualism pantheon). Political strife.

Nature of Magic: Magic is basically what holds the heavens together. It is the equivalent to our laws of gravity, laws of thermodynamics. It has always been fairly hidden, always out of reach by the masses and studied by old elven wizards in their towers. It has been just recently that the basic laws of magic are being written down and tested. Students of magic are now able to learn from their predecessors. Humans now can learn to become magi within their lifetime as they can now use what others have learned before them. The world is making progress, but at the same time, many magical spells have the 'evil' subcategory, and are used for just that manner.