A low magic campaign [Archive] - Wizards Community

A low magic campaign [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Kanezeran
10-06-06, 03:42 PM Hey everyone, this is my first post in the forums and I am in a bit of a problem...

So, I decded to start off with my first organised campaign, one set in a low (bordering to no) magic version of Greyhawk (yes, I suck at mapmaking). I have restricted all magic from the game, including spell-like abilities, using magic as a plot device.

Problm is, I discovered that the characters will invaribly have to face monsters. Even though I have refrained from using them, treating them as some kind of exotic nightmare, when they fianlly fought one (an ogre in fact), they got beaten to a pulp, even though they were of equal level. I refrain from too many battles, so the lvl progress is quite slow.

I have so far included a defence bonus (similar to that of Unearthed Arcana), but that doesn;t save the day. Their aving throw bonuses will be too damn low and their healing time is considerably slowed.

Any suggestions are welcome
lears_fool
10-06-06, 03:52 PM Problm is, I discovered that the characters will invaribly have to face monsters. Even though I have refrained from using them, treating them as some kind of exotic nightmare, when they fianlly fought one (an ogre in fact), they got beaten to a pulp, even though they were of equal level. I refrain from too many battles, so the lvl progress is quite slow.

Low magic campaigns can be VERY interesting and quite fun. .but yes, there are things to watch out for.

First and foremost, just an FYI. in an almost-no-magic campaign you're going to have to expect them to take lots of downtime without any access to magical healing. Without magic, if you get badly injured you're pretty much bedridden for a while. You may want to create some improvements to the healing skill to help keep that to a minimum.

As for the ogre. What level are the party members? How powerful (point buy-wise), and what kind of equipment do they have?

With ogres at low levels the problem is that they can do an absurd amount of damage in one shot (much like a heavily tanked-out fighter) which can pile on the hurt pretty quickly. Magic can help, but ogres can be unpleasant surprises even WITH magic :)
Kanezeran
10-06-06, 03:57 PM They're a team consisting of one barbarian, one paladin, a ranger (both using the no-magic variant in Complete Warrior) and a fighter. One more ranger might be added.

They are all 5d6 (keep 3d6) builds and were at level 2. Still, the ogre hit them pretty bad.

I had thought about using some kind of static magic schtick, such as healing herbs that heal 1d8+sth points at the rate of 1 point/hour.
Epicweaver
10-06-06, 03:57 PM Hey everyone, this is my first post in the forums and I am in a bit of a problem...

So, I decded to start off with my first organised campaign, one set in a low (bordering to no) magic version of Greyhawk (yes, I suck at mapmaking). I have restricted all magic from the game, including spell-like abilities, using magic as a plot device.

Problm is, I discovered that the characters will invaribly have to face monsters. Even though I have refrained from using them, treating them as some kind of exotic nightmare, when they fianlly fought one (an ogre in fact), they got beaten to a pulp, even though they were of equal level. I refrain from too many battles, so the lvl progress is quite slow.

I have so far included a defence bonus (similar to that of Unearthed Arcana), but that doesn;t save the day. Their aving throw bonuses will be too damn low and their healing time is considerably slowed.

Any suggestions are welcome

Take a look at Monty Cook's Iron Heroes.. It provides decent alternate options. The problem with removing magic from the game, is that inheritently the system is based around it, and all the monsters the party will face are based around having it as well.

Saddly, it will probably take you twice as long to detail good encounters with the standard array of monsters from the MM... With no spells or spell-like abilities... Many monsters are extremely weakened. Others, are extremely powerful.

Did you leave Supernatural abilities as they were? If so, that makes a lot of creatures extremely powerful.

So your list of fully playable PHB classes consists of Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues? Doesn't sound like a lot of options or fun to me.
Epicweaver
10-06-06, 03:59 PM They're a team consisting of one barbarian, one paladin, a ranger (both using the no-magic variant in Complete Warrior) and a fighter. One more ranger might be added.

They are all 5d6 (keep 3d6) builds and were at level 2. Still, the ogre hit them pretty bad.

I had thought about using some kind of static magic schtick, such as healing herbs that heal 1d8+sth points at the rate of 1 point/hour.
Consider checking out the Vitality/Wound Points system in Unearthed Arcana/Star Wars... It makes hit points recover much faster, but makes critical hits extremely deadly.
lears_fool
10-06-06, 04:03 PM They're a team consisting of one barbarian, one paladin, a ranger (both using the no-magic variant in Complete Warrior) and a fighter. One more ranger might be added.

They are all 5d6 (keep 3d6) builds and were at level 2. Still, the ogre hit them pretty bad.

I had thought about using some kind of static magic schtick, such as healing herbs that heal 1d8+sth points at the rate of 1 point/hour.

Yeah, at second level an ogre's going to do some major squishing. . especially if they have no 'tricks' (a wizzie with a will-save spell, grease, or the like).

There's no tried-and-true rule for CR in cases like this because the impact is kind of random. . what you might want to do is just kind of mini-play combats a couple of times before your game. That way you can identify cases where half the time the ogre wipes out the party before they can touch it and the like.

Still, you WILL run into this problem less over time, once they gain levels they get sturdier. :)
Kanezeran
10-06-06, 04:05 PM Did you leave Supernatural abilities as they were? If so, that makes a lot of creatures extremely powerful.

I actaully removed them from the game completely.

So your list of fully playable PHB classes consists of Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues? Doesn't sound like a lot of options or fun to me.

Rangers, Fighters, Barbarians, Rogues. I thought about making the campaign a tad darker, without the typical spell solution, making magic look as evil as it looked in the Middle Ages.
Sorti
10-06-06, 04:10 PM Rangers, Fighters, Barbarians, Rogues. I thought about making the campaign a tad darker, without the typical spell solution, making magic look as evil as it looked in the Middle Ages.

As someone already said, probably Iron Heroes is what you're looking for.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kanezeran 10-06-06, 03:42 PM	Hey everyone, this is my first post in the forums and I am in a bit of a problem... So, I decded to start off with my first organised campaign, one set in a low (bordering to no) magic version of Greyhawk (yes, I suck at mapmaking). I have restricted all magic from the game, including spell-like abilities, using magic as a plot device. Problm is, I discovered that the characters will invaribly have to face monsters. Even though I have refrained from using them, treating them as some kind of exotic nightmare, when they fianlly fought one (an ogre in fact), they got beaten to a pulp, even though they were of equal level. I refrain from too many battles, so the lvl progress is quite slow. I have so far included a defence bonus (similar to that of Unearthed Arcana), but that doesn;t save the day. Their aving throw bonuses will be too damn low and their healing time is considerably slowed. Any suggestions are welcome
lears_fool 10-06-06, 03:52 PM	Problm is, I discovered that the characters will invaribly have to face monsters. Even though I have refrained from using them, treating them as some kind of exotic nightmare, when they fianlly fought one (an ogre in fact), they got beaten to a pulp, even though they were of equal level. I refrain from too many battles, so the lvl progress is quite slow. Low magic campaigns can be VERY interesting and quite fun. .but yes, there are things to watch out for. First and foremost, just an FYI. in an almost-no-magic campaign you're going to have to expect them to take lots of downtime without any access to magical healing. Without magic, if you get badly injured you're pretty much bedridden for a while. You may want to create some improvements to the healing skill to help keep that to a minimum. As for the ogre. What level are the party members? How powerful (point buy-wise), and what kind of equipment do they have? With ogres at low levels the problem is that they can do an absurd amount of damage in one shot (much like a heavily tanked-out fighter) which can pile on the hurt pretty quickly. Magic can help, but ogres can be unpleasant surprises even WITH magic :)
Kanezeran 10-06-06, 03:57 PM	They're a team consisting of one barbarian, one paladin, a ranger (both using the no-magic variant in Complete Warrior) and a fighter. One more ranger might be added. They are all 5d6 (keep 3d6) builds and were at level 2. Still, the ogre hit them pretty bad. I had thought about using some kind of static magic schtick, such as healing herbs that heal 1d8+sth points at the rate of 1 point/hour.
Epicweaver 10-06-06, 03:57 PM	Hey everyone, this is my first post in the forums and I am in a bit of a problem... So, I decded to start off with my first organised campaign, one set in a low (bordering to no) magic version of Greyhawk (yes, I suck at mapmaking). I have restricted all magic from the game, including spell-like abilities, using magic as a plot device. Problm is, I discovered that the characters will invaribly have to face monsters. Even though I have refrained from using them, treating them as some kind of exotic nightmare, when they fianlly fought one (an ogre in fact), they got beaten to a pulp, even though they were of equal level. I refrain from too many battles, so the lvl progress is quite slow. I have so far included a defence bonus (similar to that of Unearthed Arcana), but that doesn;t save the day. Their aving throw bonuses will be too damn low and their healing time is considerably slowed. Any suggestions are welcome Take a look at Monty Cook's Iron Heroes.. It provides decent alternate options. The problem with removing magic from the game, is that inheritently the system is based around it, and all the monsters the party will face are based around having it as well. Saddly, it will probably take you twice as long to detail good encounters with the standard array of monsters from the MM... With no spells or spell-like abilities... Many monsters are extremely weakened. Others, are extremely powerful. Did you leave Supernatural abilities as they were? If so, that makes a lot of creatures extremely powerful. So your list of fully playable PHB classes consists of Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues? Doesn't sound like a lot of options or fun to me.
Epicweaver 10-06-06, 03:59 PM	They're a team consisting of one barbarian, one paladin, a ranger (both using the no-magic variant in Complete Warrior) and a fighter. One more ranger might be added. They are all 5d6 (keep 3d6) builds and were at level 2. Still, the ogre hit them pretty bad. I had thought about using some kind of static magic schtick, such as healing herbs that heal 1d8+sth points at the rate of 1 point/hour. Consider checking out the Vitality/Wound Points system in Unearthed Arcana/Star Wars... It makes hit points recover much faster, but makes critical hits extremely deadly.
lears_fool 10-06-06, 04:03 PM	They're a team consisting of one barbarian, one paladin, a ranger (both using the no-magic variant in Complete Warrior) and a fighter. One more ranger might be added. They are all 5d6 (keep 3d6) builds and were at level 2. Still, the ogre hit them pretty bad. I had thought about using some kind of static magic schtick, such as healing herbs that heal 1d8+sth points at the rate of 1 point/hour. Yeah, at second level an ogre's going to do some major squishing. . especially if they have no 'tricks' (a wizzie with a will-save spell, grease, or the like). There's no tried-and-true rule for CR in cases like this because the impact is kind of random. . what you might want to do is just kind of mini-play combats a couple of times before your game. That way you can identify cases where half the time the ogre wipes out the party before they can touch it and the like. Still, you WILL run into this problem less over time, once they gain levels they get sturdier. :)
Kanezeran 10-06-06, 04:05 PM	Did you leave Supernatural abilities as they were? If so, that makes a lot of creatures extremely powerful. I actaully removed them from the game completely. So your list of fully playable PHB classes consists of Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues? Doesn't sound like a lot of options or fun to me. Rangers, Fighters, Barbarians, Rogues. I thought about making the campaign a tad darker, without the typical spell solution, making magic look as evil as it looked in the Middle Ages.
Sorti 10-06-06, 04:10 PM	Rangers, Fighters, Barbarians, Rogues. I thought about making the campaign a tad darker, without the typical spell solution, making magic look as evil as it looked in the Middle Ages. As someone already said, probably Iron Heroes is what you're looking for.