Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Difficulties Of Running Low Magic Campaigns
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 7737216" data-attributes="member: 19675"><p>I’ve done it in a few systems, and IMHO, system matters. The more you have to do to “gimp” a game’s system, the more trouble you’ll have. Since most incarnations of D&D default to medium/high magic...<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" /> In contrast, campaigns in RPGs like GURPS or HERO can be set at a wide variety of magic levels. </p><p></p><p>Going “low magic” in a D&D type system, I’ve done things like eliminate full casting classes in favor of half casters (sometimes with expanded spell lists) OR houseruled that no PC could take more than half of their levels earned after 3rd in full casting classes.</p><p></p><p>Also, you need to be careful about how you define “low-magic” and sell it to players. Some hear “low magic” and think that just means magic is generally rare, but can still be powerful. There might be only 6 true Artifacts in the world, but they may still harness world-shaking power.</p><p></p><p>Others, OTOH, might think that “low magic” means magic is relatively commonplace but not very powerful. A fireball might be the pinnacle of war magic. “Spellcasters” would need to round out their skill sets to be effective adventurers.</p><p></p><p>Still others may define “low magic” as being both rare and low in power. As above, no adventurer worth his salt will be able to rely on magic as his main shtick. They’ll use it to reinforce strengths, compensate for weaknesses, or have an unexpected trick up their sleeve.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 7737216, member: 19675"] I’ve done it in a few systems, and IMHO, system matters. The more you have to do to “gimp” a game’s system, the more trouble you’ll have. Since most incarnations of D&D default to medium/high magic...:erm: In contrast, campaigns in RPGs like GURPS or HERO can be set at a wide variety of magic levels. Going “low magic” in a D&D type system, I’ve done things like eliminate full casting classes in favor of half casters (sometimes with expanded spell lists) OR houseruled that no PC could take more than half of their levels earned after 3rd in full casting classes. Also, you need to be careful about how you define “low-magic” and sell it to players. Some hear “low magic” and think that just means magic is generally rare, but can still be powerful. There might be only 6 true Artifacts in the world, but they may still harness world-shaking power. Others, OTOH, might think that “low magic” means magic is relatively commonplace but not very powerful. A fireball might be the pinnacle of war magic. “Spellcasters” would need to round out their skill sets to be effective adventurers. Still others may define “low magic” as being both rare and low in power. As above, no adventurer worth his salt will be able to rely on magic as his main shtick. They’ll use it to reinforce strengths, compensate for weaknesses, or have an unexpected trick up their sleeve. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Difficulties Of Running Low Magic Campaigns
Top