Taking the Low Road - Tips for a low-magic campaign
Hullo, all. This week’s Question from a Denizen comes to us from yet another Anonymous source. They ask, “ So, I have this idea I have had on the back burner for a while that I now want to try and commit to putting it into practice. What are some tips you would provide to someone wanting to run a lower magic setting, specifically one with a horror-survival elements?”
Well, my Anonymous friend, I actually just did an article on survival horror fairly recently. Here’s a link to it so you don’t have to search backwards: https://dmsden.tumblr.com/post/697733766358171648/survive-the-night-using-survival-horror-tropes
So, having addressed those types of elements, I thought I’d look instead at the low-magic aspect, with an eye towards how that would work in concert with a survival horror campaign.
D&D is not a game that immediately lends itself to low magic. Many of the classes, sub-classes, races, and so on trend in the direction of a high magic setting. As a result, the DM of a prospective low-magic/survival horror campaign (let’s just say LMSHC from now on) has a bit of an uphill battle. The first thing I would do if I wanted to run such a campaign would be to (say it with me folks) Talk to My Players. I swear, if I ever have a shirt made for the blog, it’ll say that on it.
If I ran a LMSHC, I would explain to my players what I had in mind. I would make sure that they were all cool with the idea before I got far in development. After all, if I say “I want a campaign of all humans,” and my players have their hearts set on being an aarakocra, a rabbitfolk, and a firbolg, then this might not be the best campaign for them. In a situation like this, I might offer this campaign to other players, or I might plan a different sort of campaign.
You don’t have to play all humans to be a low-magic campaign, but it helps. Human, half-elf, half-orc, halfling, and dwarf all lend themselves easily to such a setting. Wood elves could work, but high elves tend to be a bit too magical, as are dragonborn, gnomes, and tieflings. Some other races, like orc, kobold, goblin, hobgoblin, could fit as well. Other races, especially ones with inherent spellcasting, flight, waterbreathing, and other, similar effects, are likely inappropriate for such a setting. If you really want it to be all humans, you might even work with your players to have them play a character who is cosmetically human but who has the racial traits of another race, such as a dwarf. In a situation like this, they might just be a very hardy human who’s very knowledgeable about stonecraft and smithing.
Many of the classes are likely going to be off-limits. If you’re trying to keep things to low-magic, then you pretty much need to eliminate bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard. You’ll probably need to think about classes like paladin and ranger, too, although the powers these classes have could work, depending on how the players role-plays them. Some of the sub-classes like eldritch knight, soulknife, arcane trickster, arcane archer, and the like are probably out, too. On the other hand, Artificers might shine in a campaign like this, especially the artillerist.
Now all of this is not to say there can’t be any magic or spells. Usually in a low-magic setting, however, magic is mostly in the hands of the enemies. Wizards aren’t trusted by many, and for good reason, as they’d tend to be more like warlocks, trucking with dark powers for the magic they possess. This will make the magic they wield feel special and scary, since the players won’t have access to the same abilities.
Monsters in the classic sense should be rare, with most combat encounters happening with other humans or humanoids, animals, giants, giant animals, strange beasts, and the like. Even something as “mundane” as an owlbear or an ankheg could be a sign of a sorcerer going rogue, or maybe they spring from ancient evils. A monster like a chimera is an absolute abomination, while summoned devils or demons are blasphemous entities that must be sent back to their home planes. And a full-on dragon should be an encounter that the players will never forget.
For magic-items, things like a wand of wonder or an apparatus of Kwalish isn’t something very low-magic feeling. Appropriate items would include basic magic weapons and armor, enhancing items like an elven cloak, amulet of health, or gauntlets of ogre power, some potions, and similar items. Ultimately, you’re the right judge of power levels and what feels right for your LMSHC. To get any magic-items, however, especially powerful ones, there should be a big adventure. Such items were obviously made by the gods, by magical beings, or by ancient empires using long-forgotten techniques...perhaps the vanished dwarves and elves.
The nice thing about a LMSHC is that it makes running the Survival Horror elements much easier. Undead are WAY scarier when there’s no hope of a cleric to turn them or to use radiant magics to combat them. If there’s no character with the ability to create food and water, then you don’t have to worry about supplies not being an issue (a staple of survival stories and often a powerful motivation).
I hope these suggestions are useful, Anonymous, and you have a good time with your LMSHC. Until next time, may the dice fall ever in your favor.
