Using 4e with a low magic campaign setting?

[Ulrick]

How does 4e work using a low magic world?

I've ran 4e once, I really enjoyed it. But I would like to tailor it to my low magic setting where magic items are rare (except for potions, scrolls, etc), and wizards are viewed with suspicion.

One annoying aspect about 3.5e was that high level characters needed plenty of magic items. If they didn't have them, they were screwed and as they didn't meet the ECL. 3.5e NPCs also had magic items.

This is not the case in my campaign setting. How does 4e address this?

Perhaps the most important question: "How would YOU adapt 4e for a low magic campaign setting?"

Thank you.

 

[drothgery]

According to mearls (of the 4e design team), the easy thing is to give all PCs +1 to hit, damage, AC, and defenses at level 3 and every 5 levels after that and run with it. That takes care of all the magic items used for game balance purposes. Go ahead and run a low magic item game from there (any magic weapons / armor / shields / amulets / cloaks would only have the special powers, not the base 'plus' value).

If wizards (and any future classes in the controller role) are rare, then you probably want to avoid using hordes of minions as enemies. And you may want to limit access to the ritual caster feat.

That's about it.

 

[Nymrohd]

At levels 1/6/11/16/21/26 give +1 to attacks
At levels 2/7/12/17/22/27 give +1 to AC
At levels 3/8/13/18/23/28 give +1 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will
At levels 4/9/14/19/24/29 give +1d6 to criticals

And you are done

 

[Ambush Bug]

Perhaps the most important question: "How would YOU adapt 4e for a low magic campaign setting?"

One other adjustment you could make - remove the XP value for monsters and traps and such. Instead of making the PCs' advancement depend on their ability to face encounters that might now be too powerful for them, just decide how many sessions it should take to advance a level, and give the PCs that level when enough sessions have passed. Some people like detaching character advancement from killing stuff, some don't - either way, it's an option.

 

[CountPopeula]

I would remove the breath weapon from dragons, take out beholders and mind flayers and the like, too. And the undead, no undead.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I would remove the breath weapon from dragons, take out beholders and mind flayers and the like, too. And the undead, no undead.

I disagree about the undead. Virtually all "low-magic" campaign worlds, novels and movies feature the undead. Often copious amounts of undead. Undead, apparent doesn't equal magic-magic, but some other wierder violation of the natural order. It'd be more common to cut down on or eliminate the large numbers of non-human humanoids.

Similarly with dragon breath. Dragons would be very exceedingly rare in most "low-magic" settings, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't have fiery breath (or the like). Dragonborn, on the otherhand, should probably either go, or lose the breath weapon, and Eladrin should just go.

Otherwise Nymrohd and drothgery have it locked down, pretty much.

 

[shadewest]

If you don't mind slowing down level progression a little, build encounters based off 80% of Party Level instead of full APL. That way, you don't need to pass outseemingly arbitrary bonuses every few levels.

 

[Derro]

Depending on how low you want your magic to be you could limit classes to martial power source only. Characters could acquire low-grade magic power by using multi-class feats. That leaves you with a total lack of a controller but I think the other roles are covered.

As far as balancing bonuses is concerned I'd say Nymrohd's scheme looks pretty good.

And don't discount rituals entirely. Since they are pretty much impossible to use in combat some of them might still be accessible. Maybe not as powerful or as easy but still available. With some heavy prices or side-effects...

 

[Ulrick]

Thanks for the ideas.

I've kicked around the idea of using only martial characters. Players can run spellcasting characters but must be careful of using magic around people outside the group. I love the healing surge in 4e, since it makes the party less dependent on a cleric.

I like Nymrohd's scheme too.

I just hope that official modules don't feature every NPC having magic weapons so I can have an easier time modifying the module.

Characters can find the rare magic item in my campaign world, but every magic item (aside from potions, scrolls, and perhaps minor charms) is unique and comes with a history a history that explains why said item has certain powers. I took this route during 3.5e because I find that +1 swords are boring. Items with history and a few minor powers are more likely to be treasured by a PC, rather than sold or traded in.

 

[mlund]

The bonuses to Hit, Damage, AC, and Defenses are really the only part that you miss without Magic Items.

For Arms and Armor you can easily create Superior Crafted weapons and armor that convey enhancement bonuses to attack rolls, damage, and AC. Seriously, try it out. It is fun!

"This rapier was forged from Damascus steel by the great smith Vienetti for the nephew of the Prince of Naples, an unmatched duelist. It is said to have no equal" - describes a non-magical +5 Rapier.

"Though many blades are crafted of this quality, you've felt few whose balance was so well-suited to your build and fighting style," - describes a non-magical +1 Rapier.

Meanwhile Fortitude, Reflex, and Will defense bonuses could come from Special Training or Techniques players discover outside of the normal class-based leveling process - stuff like walking over hot coals, dodging thrown weapons while blindfolded, or chopping down a tree using only you legs - all sorts of crazy tropes popular in montages could get you this effect by literary device without directly invoking magic.

Good luck with your plan. It sounds like it could be a really fun campaign!

- Marty Lund