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#1 danielinthewolvesden Jun 30, 2007 14:48:29

If you want real "Low Magic" play Iron Heroes. Many DM's here seem to want to run "Low Magic" Campaigns. However, they run into quite a few problems. First- D&D is not designed for "Low Magic" and you- as DM- are going to have to work harder to make sure the encounters are balanced. Then, you might leave Spellcasters in. Well, Ok, you are not running a "low magic campaign", you are running a "let me nerf the warrior classes against the full spellcaster classes even worse that it already is" campaign. The non-full spell casting classes will be getting the dirty end of the stick and their effectiveness and survivability are going to delcline greatly once you get to the mid-levels leading to less fun for those players, esp the poor Fighter.See, the warrior classes need magic items more than spellcaster classes do. So here is my suggestion: you can do "limited magic item availability" by having fewer, more powerful items. These items can be specially designed by you to fit each PC, and address their special needs and weaknesses. They should be custom, named items, with quirks or limitations ("Can only be used by a Warrior of Good"). Give the Fighter the most powerful items, of course. I find that the biggest desire to run a LM game comes from the "ye Olde Magik Shoppe" mentality that has sprung up since 3.0: the players sell most everything, then buy what they want, carefully min-maxing. You can get 4 lesser items for the cost of one greater, and get at least half the power, giving you a 50% bonus. So get rid of the Shoppe. Other than potions and other one use items, have items be rare, unusual, unique, custom crafted. Not only will there be almost nowhere to buy or sell items, those unique items will sell for a tiny amount (since only a Good aligned elven Warrior - e.g.- can wield it). For example: A fighter might get a powerful weapon, an item to boost Saving throws, and maybe exotic metal ("This chain short is crafted by the master dwarvensmith Andvari, and combines the weight of Mithral with the protectiveness of Adamantine) Grand-masterwork armour (Grand= +1 add'l max dex and -1 add'l ACP). The total value of these would meet or exceed the chart from the DMG pg 135, but you still have "rare magic". Let the Fighter buy himself a MW Strength bow, some exotic metal arrows, a good number of alchemical items, and a few potions, and he can still have fun spending his cash loot. The spellcasters get a few fun items, to help round out their weaknesses or just plain have fun. So- do not do "Low Magic", do "Rare Magic" and ditch the Shoppe.