The game will be heroic, fast-paced and high-action like Iron Heroes but more savage and bloody; I use lots of expendable minions.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has run campaigns in settings like this and had any suggestions or warnings they would like to share.
Also, I would suggest refluffing some of the more human-looking races as "breeds of man" and simply saying that other races are the rare offspring of magic/the gods.
For example, instead of giving a thief a pair of gloves that adds a bonus to thievery checks, give him a lock pick that disappears from his hand with a snap of his fingers and reappears again with another snap. This way he can always have a lock pick on him, no matter how hard the authorities search his person.
Also, back stories for items become very important. The fighter's magic sword doesn't have to be unique or the only magical sword in existence, but it does need to be tied to the setting, not just something the local blacksmith cooked up one night. Maybe the fighter's sword was one that was crafted for the Lost Emperor's Legion, recognizable by the horned skull on it's pommel. Men who carry swords like that are not to be trusted.
I figure one or two magic item's a person is ok in a low magic setting. Just make sure the players realize how lucky they are to have them.
Hope that helps.
But I am running a low magic settign and have just removed the statistical boni from items and just give them powers. The big key is make the pc's understand that they are special and will be hated/loved/mistrusted/gone to for help because they have magic.
A very well crafted weapon could give a +2 to hit based on being so well balanced, or do more damage by dint of its superior sharpness. These weapons would be just as hard to find as magic weapons in a magical setting.
There are also "low tech" equivalents to magic. A rare fomula for greek fire could work much like flame strike.
That idea should be easy to port into 4e. Say Weapons forged from "firesteel" will do an additional 2 points of fire damage, and so on.
However, 4th edition is balanced for players with certain levels of magic items. 3.5 was as well, but due to the addition of certain suppliments could be done in the setting. (In fact, I broke the game with a character that had no magical items but an AC of 55-64 depending on the actions he took. Further any material weapon that hit him had to make a fort save or be shattered and deal no damage...beside the point though)
Certain magical items can be attributed to better craftsmanship, higher quality materials, and such.
Others are harder to implement in a very low magic setting. For instance - thundering. Ok, maybe a mechanical system could produce a powerful sound when used correctly...
But, it comes to a point where the effects of magical items become very difficult to "explain away" Has anyone come up with a viable solution to some of these effects (particularly armors and accessories)?
Items with power, in my estimation seem *more magical* in flavor than those with simple a bonus to hit and damage.
that might do it for you too?
edit
Not sure if that idea is clear enough
like, maybe characters get 'item' feats, that lets their armor count as +1 dwarvern, for the bonus healing surge and armor bonus
same with weapons?
just a thought.
I am thinking for things like weapons and armor to go with masterwork and special materials to grant them bonuses and special properties in attempt to keep up with monster level progression. Some items are very rare and have been recovered from the fallen empire of Acheron which practiced dark magic, allied with demons and sacrificed humans to expand and control their empire so these items might have some unexpected and undesirable side-effects but are still quite powerful and there is always a risk in using them.
There are NPC spellcasters and enchanters in the setting but they are usually antagonists so any magic items the PC's earn would, most likely, be from "loot" and not purchased. Most of these magic items are consumable like faded scrolls, swirling potions and foul-smelling pastes and oils that can be applied to weapons for temporary magical effects like flaming, frost or poison. There are also consumable items like potions, unguents and herbs that can heal wounds and conditions that anyone can use, assuming they know what it does, but those trained in Heal will have bonuses to the effect.
Minions will be a problem without a Controller, as some have suggested, so I will try to use them carefully so as to not overwhelm the party. I want the players to feel overwhelmed occasionally when first confronted / surrounded by their enemies but once the axes start swinging and blood starts flowing I want the battle to turn and the PC's to feel like scythes slicing through a wheat field -- not every time, of course. Even the mighty Conan was taken down on by a seemingly unending horde of low-powered enemies from time to time.
New feats are good idea too but I will need to think more carefully on that though since I do not want to tinker too much with game mechanics until I am confident they will not be too unbalancing. These special feats could be taught by exotic fighting-masters (NPCs), like from Khitai (~China) or Vendhya(~India), as quest rewards but would still require the character to expend a feat slot to learn them.