Swords and Sorcery in 4e

[Gentlegamer]

I have not played 4e, yet. I have a campaign that goes back to 1991, with generally the same players/characters. The campaign has been low to mid level AD&D/D&D 3e (highest character level 7).

I did not plan it as the theme, but the result of the players' character choice and actions made it mostly "swords and sorcery" in feel. That is, they seldom played magic-using classes, preferring a mix of men of action, fighters, rogues, and so on. I found I could really give them a tough opponent by using magic-using NPCs, much tougher than would be expected in standard D&D. Therefore, I had to be very careful in how I used enemy spell-casters, and other spell-using creatures for fear of obliterating the group.

My campaign has been in hibernation for a couple years due to Real Life, but it may be waking up in a few months.

My question is: how well would 4e handle a "swords and sorcery" style campaign where the player characters may have magic items but almost never any spell-casting ability of consequence?

 

[drothgery]

My question is: how well would 4e handle a "swords and sorcery" style campaign where the player characters may have magic items but almost never any spell-casting ability of consequence?

I've got no in-game experience with 4e to back this up, but my guess is that you'd have to worry a lot less about tailoring opponents to your PCs in 4e, assuming they go with an all-martial party (or possibly use a few non-martial classes that don't have to lean much on big, flashy magic in the heroic tier, like paladin or barbarian). Warlords mean you don't lack what 4e officially calls a leader but usually was called a healer/buffer before that, so the only role you're missing is the 'controller' (area effect blaster/debuffer) that the wizard fills, and that's the easiest one to go without. Archery rangers can fire at ranges similar to most attack spells, and fighters are actually quite good at battlefield control.

 

[Ktulu]

exquisitely, actually. My current REH inspired campaign has been going for 4-5 months. All characters are martial (except the barbarian, he's primal), with few magic items. The group is currently 8th level and going strong.

I used Mearl's suggestion on how to handle low magic (provide a +1 bonus to defenses, AC, Attack, Damage at 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, etc..) and ignore those bonuses granted by magic items. (I.e. a +2 flaming sword is actually just a flaming sword).

heck, I even removed all "races" to make it more S&S-like. I kept the mechanics but made it a cultural change, i.e. dwarves are barbarians, elves are the s'danzo gypsies, and so on.

When magic or monsters do come in, it's often met with excitement and wonder. The evil "cleric" the party fought gained all his power through a talisman (provided the cleric multiclass feat for free). Now, the barbarian carries the talisman and is slowly being tempted by the whisperings of power.

It's very, very easy to run an S&S themed game with 4e, and with the relative simplicity of reskinning monsters, you can use hobgoblins, goblins, ogres, and whatever as soldiers, bandits, and barbarians respectively (heck, I reskinned a succubus to be a yuan-ti "snake charmer" Felt quite Stygian and creepy)

 

[TerraDave]

Its easier, as noted above, both for PCs and monsters (who also have more 'non-magical' options, and are easier to handle).

Note, it may feel a little more 'cinematic' and more things may be happening in a given encounter.

Also, rituals (see #1 below) give you a way to add magic back in with a nice S&S vibe...and largely under your control.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

I think that 4e handles S&S very well. Especially with the use of the Martial Powers book, each player can have a unique non-"caster" style class.

In addition to the tips given above, I would say that for S&S, add in some kind of wound system that requires the group to hole up in the seedy quarter of a town and heal up for a few days. Also, they'll mostly be fighting non-monsters, but many of the humanoid style monsters can just be re-skinned with a "National" flavor (goblins to Pygia Raiders or what have you).

Keep the big scary monsters down to one per adventure or session, use more traps and skill challenges than usual.

 

[Gentlegamer]

My campaign flavor has no problem with humanoids, "monsters," or even magic. It all started as a standard AD&D campaign.

None of the regular players would choose a magic-using class. A couple tried it at my prodding, but such experiments were short lived.

I found that since they were all warriors and rogues (to use the 2e class groupings), that I had to modify the type of opponents and obstacles they faced if I wished to keep the game going.

Over time I had an epiphany: I was essentially running a swords and sorcery style campaign. Since I'm somewhat of a stingy DM, the players had very few permanent magical items (the barbarian's magical two-handed sword, +1, +2 vs. magical creatures is nearly an artifact in their eyes). All the elements were there.

I figure it would probably be best to go forward with S&S as the underlying style of the campaign to best suit the situation.

Any further mechanical advice for using 4e for a swords and sorcery style campaign? I'm particularly interested in advice on how to handle magical items. It's my understanding they are listed in the Players Handbook, as if they are simply gear.

 

[rowport]

...I have a campaign that goes back to 1991, with generally the same players/characters. The campaign has been low to mid level AD&D/D&D 3e (highest character level 7). ...

How can you possibly have a game running since 1991 where the highest character level is 7?

 

[D'karr]

How can you possibly have a game running since 1991 where the highest character level is 7?

They play once a year.

 

[Zustiur]

How can you possibly have a game running since 1991 where the highest character level is 7?

I would also like to know the answer to this question. In my case, because I think I'd love to run exactly this sort of game.

 

[Gentlegamer]

How can you possibly have a game running since 1991 where the highest character level is 7?

We have played on and off since 1991. It's not a weekly or even monthly game. Among the group, I'm the only "gamer." The rest are purely casual.

I've also been somewhat of a stingy DM, so treasure, XP, and so on has been rather low, over all.