Arcane SpellCasters in a low magic world [Archive] - Wizards Community

Arcane SpellCasters in a low magic world [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Quithion
03-09-04, 07:03 PM Currently, I am doing a huge amount of prep work for my first 3.5 caimpaign ( I continued my last ciampaign using 3.0 rules to gie the world a consitent feel to my players. )

I decided to give the players a chance to havea voice in the type of the world we were playing in.

After much discussion the group decided that theywould truly love to play in a Low Magic caimpaign setting.

Since Unearthed Arcana has come out I have turned Bards, Sorcerors and Wizards into Pretigious Prestige classes.

The world is low magic in a sense Arcane Spell casting as they are blammed for a lot of the worlds problems.

The Divine Spells caster healing magick has been reduce and reserve points instituted. Other Divine spells have ben reduced to make them less powerful.

Now to though it into the mix Iwant to create A sorcerer class that starts from level 1.

However, I want it to cost something for my pcs to create something a socerer at level 1.

I an considering making the pc give up the Familiar ability and perhaps even there first level feat. What are soem suggestions ?

I will post the Prestigious Wizard and Sorceror when i am happy with them on the unarthed arcana board.

Thank you Quithion
Votan
03-09-04, 10:45 PM Originally posted by Quithion
Currently, I am doing a huge amount of prep work for my first 3.5 caimpaign ( I continued my last ciampaign using 3.0 rules to gie the world a consitent feel to my players. )

I decided to give the players a chance to havea voice in the type of the world we were playing in.

After much discussion the group decided that theywould truly love to play in a Low Magic caimpaign setting.

Since Unearthed Arcana has come out I have turned Bards, Sorcerors and Wizards into Pretigious Prestige classes.

The world is low magic in a sense Arcane Spell casting as they are blammed for a lot of the worlds problems.

The Divine Spells caster healing magick has been reduce and reserve points instituted. Other Divine spells have ben reduced to make them less powerful.

Now to though it into the mix Iwant to create A sorcerer class that starts from level 1.

However, I want it to cost something for my pcs to create something a socerer at level 1.

I an considering making the pc give up the Familiar ability and perhaps even there first level feat. What are soem suggestions ?

I will post the Prestigious Wizard and Sorceror when i am happy with them on the unarthed arcana board.

Thank you Quithion

One option that might work very well is complusary multi-classing of arcane casters. You simply rule that no two levels in a row can be of divine or arcane caster. So people could start off at first level as a wizard or sorcerer but the power level of the arcane caster will grow much more slowly.

This has a couple of advantages:

1) Arcane casters get expertise other than spellcasting. This means that they can use these other abilities to compensate for reduced spellcasting.

2) Despite the low power of the world, arcane and divine casters will not dominate the party.

This will also save you from having to redefine the base classes while still leaving viable characters.
Gedrin
03-09-04, 11:05 PM Maybe they've got a Level Adjustment to work off?

Maybe at level 1-5 they don't get skill points, but rather fixed levels of skills, garaunteeing they qualify for the presitgous status in time?

While magic users are inherently stronger if magic is rarer, it seems they'll have some hostility in your world also, probably ballancing things.

You might simply want to narrow their options for advancement a bit by requiring certain Skill levels to cast/learn certain levels of spells (maybe Spell Level X 2 in Arcane Lore or Spellcraft).

Personally, I don't think it's really needed to redo the arcane casters for a low magic world. I've found that simply making them rare as NPC's, and limiting the party to only 1 arcane and 1 divine caster preserves the flavor and ballance of the world.
Quithion
03-10-04, 12:50 PM I appreciate both of you and your varied approaches to arcane and divine spell casters.

Currently in the world Divine spell casters are far more common then arcane ones, except in one region of the wrold that has remained isolated from the rest of the world due to an effect similar to a mythal. ( the mythal surrounds the relam in mysts an anyone entering them is lost for 2d6 hours and comes out at random location at the borders

And as Gedrin said they are heavily prosecuted. Those who still have sorcererous tendencies hide there talent, or are killed by those in there village. Rarely do they escape.

However, one of the arcs of the current plot i am designing would call for one of the pcs to have a hunted sorceror from aforementioned realm.

This particular pc wishes to multiclass into a cleric and later on become a mystic theurge.

For story purposes im inclined to allow the character to do this, because it ill cuase great oppurtunities for roleplaying etc.

Ill ponder your ideas and i appracite the input

A good deal of the plot revovles around this pc being hunted, but not to the exclusion of the other pcs.
OmiKapSi
03-10-04, 01:11 PM I also wanted to set up a campaign with relatively low magic.

I set up an alternate system of rules, the basis of which is that spellcasting is a lot more costly in terms of personal energy.
I outlined the system here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96492) , the alternate magic rules are a ways down.
Grimbones
03-10-04, 02:22 PM Just my 2 cents...

The thing is, if you presume that all the core classes are balanced, powering down arcane classes might be good for the campaign, but bad for party balance.

Instead why not actively enfore your world's anti-magic theme through roleplaying? Having NPCs and whatnot react with extreme prejudice when they find out a character is an arcane spellcaster could be 101 plot hooks... they are heroes after all.

Either way, it sounds like a fun game.
Quithion
03-10-04, 05:20 PM Grimbones ,

I agree this idea will generate alot of plot hooks. Since I know known of my players read these baords i will reveal it to you.

The Sorceror pc willl end up being a key to acessing soething later in the adventure and the other pcs must keep this pc safe with out knowing why.

They will be hunted and persecuted by many a religous zealot, th bbeg's minions, and even the common folk becuse of this pc ties to magic.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Quithion 03-09-04, 07:03 PM	Currently, I am doing a huge amount of prep work for my first 3.5 caimpaign ( I continued my last ciampaign using 3.0 rules to gie the world a consitent feel to my players. ) I decided to give the players a chance to havea voice in the type of the world we were playing in. After much discussion the group decided that theywould truly love to play in a Low Magic caimpaign setting. Since Unearthed Arcana has come out I have turned Bards, Sorcerors and Wizards into Pretigious Prestige classes. The world is low magic in a sense Arcane Spell casting as they are blammed for a lot of the worlds problems. The Divine Spells caster healing magick has been reduce and reserve points instituted. Other Divine spells have ben reduced to make them less powerful. Now to though it into the mix Iwant to create A sorcerer class that starts from level 1. However, I want it to cost something for my pcs to create something a socerer at level 1. I an considering making the pc give up the Familiar ability and perhaps even there first level feat. What are soem suggestions ? I will post the Prestigious Wizard and Sorceror when i am happy with them on the unarthed arcana board. Thank you Quithion
Votan 03-09-04, 10:45 PM	Originally posted by Quithion Currently, I am doing a huge amount of prep work for my first 3.5 caimpaign ( I continued my last ciampaign using 3.0 rules to gie the world a consitent feel to my players. ) I decided to give the players a chance to havea voice in the type of the world we were playing in. After much discussion the group decided that theywould truly love to play in a Low Magic caimpaign setting. Since Unearthed Arcana has come out I have turned Bards, Sorcerors and Wizards into Pretigious Prestige classes. The world is low magic in a sense Arcane Spell casting as they are blammed for a lot of the worlds problems. The Divine Spells caster healing magick has been reduce and reserve points instituted. Other Divine spells have ben reduced to make them less powerful. Now to though it into the mix Iwant to create A sorcerer class that starts from level 1. However, I want it to cost something for my pcs to create something a socerer at level 1. I an considering making the pc give up the Familiar ability and perhaps even there first level feat. What are soem suggestions ? I will post the Prestigious Wizard and Sorceror when i am happy with them on the unarthed arcana board. Thank you Quithion One option that might work very well is complusary multi-classing of arcane casters. You simply rule that no two levels in a row can be of divine or arcane caster. So people could start off at first level as a wizard or sorcerer but the power level of the arcane caster will grow much more slowly. This has a couple of advantages: 1) Arcane casters get expertise other than spellcasting. This means that they can use these other abilities to compensate for reduced spellcasting. 2) Despite the low power of the world, arcane and divine casters will not dominate the party. This will also save you from having to redefine the base classes while still leaving viable characters.
Gedrin 03-09-04, 11:05 PM	Maybe they've got a Level Adjustment to work off? Maybe at level 1-5 they don't get skill points, but rather fixed levels of skills, garaunteeing they qualify for the presitgous status in time? While magic users are inherently stronger if magic is rarer, it seems they'll have some hostility in your world also, probably ballancing things. You might simply want to narrow their options for advancement a bit by requiring certain Skill levels to cast/learn certain levels of spells (maybe Spell Level X 2 in Arcane Lore or Spellcraft). Personally, I don't think it's really needed to redo the arcane casters for a low magic world. I've found that simply making them rare as NPC's, and limiting the party to only 1 arcane and 1 divine caster preserves the flavor and ballance of the world.
Quithion 03-10-04, 12:50 PM	I appreciate both of you and your varied approaches to arcane and divine spell casters. Currently in the world Divine spell casters are far more common then arcane ones, except in one region of the wrold that has remained isolated from the rest of the world due to an effect similar to a mythal. ( the mythal surrounds the relam in mysts an anyone entering them is lost for 2d6 hours and comes out at random location at the borders And as Gedrin said they are heavily prosecuted. Those who still have sorcererous tendencies hide there talent, or are killed by those in there village. Rarely do they escape. However, one of the arcs of the current plot i am designing would call for one of the pcs to have a hunted sorceror from aforementioned realm. This particular pc wishes to multiclass into a cleric and later on become a mystic theurge. For story purposes im inclined to allow the character to do this, because it ill cuase great oppurtunities for roleplaying etc. Ill ponder your ideas and i appracite the input A good deal of the plot revovles around this pc being hunted, but not to the exclusion of the other pcs.
OmiKapSi 03-10-04, 01:11 PM	I also wanted to set up a campaign with relatively low magic. I set up an alternate system of rules, the basis of which is that spellcasting is a lot more costly in terms of personal energy. I outlined the system here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96492) , the alternate magic rules are a ways down.
Grimbones 03-10-04, 02:22 PM	Just my 2 cents... The thing is, if you presume that all the core classes are balanced, powering down arcane classes might be good for the campaign, but bad for party balance. Instead why not actively enfore your world's anti-magic theme through roleplaying? Having NPCs and whatnot react with extreme prejudice when they find out a character is an arcane spellcaster could be 101 plot hooks... they are heroes after all. Either way, it sounds like a fun game.
Quithion 03-10-04, 05:20 PM	Grimbones , I agree this idea will generate alot of plot hooks. Since I know known of my players read these baords i will reveal it to you. The Sorceror pc willl end up being a key to acessing soething later in the adventure and the other pcs must keep this pc safe with out knowing why. They will be hunted and persecuted by many a religous zealot, th bbeg's minions, and even the common folk becuse of this pc ties to magic.