Mighty_Chicken
2018-05-03, 10:26 PM
Low-magic has its appeal to a lot of DMs, me included. I know 5e wasn't quite designed with low-magic in mind, but I also feel it's the best D&D version for this kind of setting.
So what do you think are easy house-rules for "fixing" 5e in a way that helps low-magic to be more organic? I have a few ideas, but I specially want ideas from others. I propose a few easy fixes here, but I don't mean they all should be used together.
In my opinion, a low-magic setting is one where magic exists, but it isn't casual, it isn't everywhere. It doesn't mean the PCs can't cast 9th level spells - Vampire the Masquerade is a good example of a low-magic setting where the PCs are entirely supernatural. So the biggest offender isn't exactly magic-using by PCs. Any low-magic world can work while PCs are an exception to the rule - that's how most adventure and superhero entertainment works, if you think about it. But let's also think of solutions that directly affect the PCs, so low-magic is also part of gameplay.
Limited cantrips
At-will cantrips beg for the question: how doesn't limitless magic affect everything in the economy and in government matters?
The mechanical fix is to make them limited. Say, a caster can only use (Proficiency Bonus)x2 cantrips between long rests; this quantity could be replenished by burning a first level spell slot; and after that, by getting exhaustion levels. This isn't rules heavy and keeps cantrips as an adaptable power that uses few resources.
There is also a whole category of possible "fluff" fixes. Such fixes wouldn't be expressed in mechanics, but how usual people in the setting deal with such matters. For example, maybe even though cantrips do not cost a limited magical resource, they have an emotional cost. Adventurers during a journey or a battle will be willing to pay this cost, but people in their daily lives won't. Smiling doesn't cost anything, but what happens if you hug smile everytime, everyday? A 5th level fighter can swing his sword against kobolds for hours in a row without getting exhausted - at least, there isn't a rule saying player characters will, but it's reasonable to think the morale of NPCs would be down after endless fighting. Similarly, the 1st level cleric in the village might not want to use orisons all day.
This is actually a solution for most low-magic concerns. Even if there are a good number of spellcasters in your world, they might not be willing to cast spells all the time.
Limits to high-level magic
If the PCs are bound to the same rules as the others denizens of a setting, it's not complicated to decide there is an arbitrary limit to spell levels. Maybe spells above certain level are non existant or only known by the gods. Full spellcasters might be required to multiclass - this isn't a subtle solution, but it also has the bonus of making every spellcaster unique, which is a trait of low-magic fictional settings.
Morals
Real life medieval Europeans knew how banks worked, but the activity was limited by moral concerns. Magic can be limited by such concerns even when it is not so hard to obtain. Aside from the more obvious trope of witches being burned for being considered diabolical, magic might be limited (instead of prohibited) by morals. It already happens in fantasy settings that necromancers has a bad name. But evocation can be considered vulgar and disrespectful towards a nation's religion and cosmology; enchantments and illusion spells might be seem as very dangerous for the social fabric. There can be various reasons why a society would refrain from using magic even if it has the means to. In such case, mages can be respected as long as they stick to limits that society find acceptable. This leads to a world where people know that magic exists and are somewhat aware of what it does.
In this case, PCs might be more free to use magic in dungeons and away from big cities, but will have to be cautelous around other people.
Politics
This is the "solution" of the World of Darkness setting. Magic and supernatural powers exist and are at the PC's disposal. However, Vampires have the Masquerade because opening up their existence to the world would weaken their undead society, and Mages face the fierce opposition of Technocrats. Therefore, there is a balance that gives all characters, PCs and NPCs, a reason not to chance the world into a highly magical one.
In a fantastic setting, magic can be unknown and feared; or it can be known but controlled by churches and wizard academies that are very strict about the way it should be used by magic users.
Magical drain
This is very difficult to homebrew as a mechanic. But if the use of magic has negative colateral effects, it would very seldomly be used in everyday situations. The mechanic might be very direct, imposing exhaustion levels on spellacasters, for example; or the use of magic by any character could be noted along adventures for long-term collateral effects, like corruption, madness or physical degeneration.
Dark Sun has an intermediate solution where, fluff wise, arcane magic usually drains the land out of life, but any player can decide who play as a Preserver wizard who simply knows how to cast arcane spells more carefully. Still, there is a concrete reason why there aren't wizards everywhere, and the political context is hostile even to Preserver characters.
Maybe all magic in your setting opens up the doors to a shadowy world, making towns where more magic is used more haunted by supernatural creatures in the long run; or maybe it is well-known all magic brings forth bad luck and curse to the lands where it's used. It might enrage elemental spirits and attract floods and droughts, or make cattle die and spoil milk. None of those solutions need a mechanic for it.
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Such are my ideas so far! What have you tried so far?
So what do you think are easy house-rules for "fixing" 5e in a way that helps low-magic to be more organic? I have a few ideas, but I specially want ideas from others. I propose a few easy fixes here, but I don't mean they all should be used together.
In my opinion, a low-magic setting is one where magic exists, but it isn't casual, it isn't everywhere. It doesn't mean the PCs can't cast 9th level spells - Vampire the Masquerade is a good example of a low-magic setting where the PCs are entirely supernatural. So the biggest offender isn't exactly magic-using by PCs. Any low-magic world can work while PCs are an exception to the rule - that's how most adventure and superhero entertainment works, if you think about it. But let's also think of solutions that directly affect the PCs, so low-magic is also part of gameplay.
Limited cantrips
At-will cantrips beg for the question: how doesn't limitless magic affect everything in the economy and in government matters?
The mechanical fix is to make them limited. Say, a caster can only use (Proficiency Bonus)x2 cantrips between long rests; this quantity could be replenished by burning a first level spell slot; and after that, by getting exhaustion levels. This isn't rules heavy and keeps cantrips as an adaptable power that uses few resources.
There is also a whole category of possible "fluff" fixes. Such fixes wouldn't be expressed in mechanics, but how usual people in the setting deal with such matters. For example, maybe even though cantrips do not cost a limited magical resource, they have an emotional cost. Adventurers during a journey or a battle will be willing to pay this cost, but people in their daily lives won't. Smiling doesn't cost anything, but what happens if you hug smile everytime, everyday? A 5th level fighter can swing his sword against kobolds for hours in a row without getting exhausted - at least, there isn't a rule saying player characters will, but it's reasonable to think the morale of NPCs would be down after endless fighting. Similarly, the 1st level cleric in the village might not want to use orisons all day.
This is actually a solution for most low-magic concerns. Even if there are a good number of spellcasters in your world, they might not be willing to cast spells all the time.
Limits to high-level magic
If the PCs are bound to the same rules as the others denizens of a setting, it's not complicated to decide there is an arbitrary limit to spell levels. Maybe spells above certain level are non existant or only known by the gods. Full spellcasters might be required to multiclass - this isn't a subtle solution, but it also has the bonus of making every spellcaster unique, which is a trait of low-magic fictional settings.
Morals
Real life medieval Europeans knew how banks worked, but the activity was limited by moral concerns. Magic can be limited by such concerns even when it is not so hard to obtain. Aside from the more obvious trope of witches being burned for being considered diabolical, magic might be limited (instead of prohibited) by morals. It already happens in fantasy settings that necromancers has a bad name. But evocation can be considered vulgar and disrespectful towards a nation's religion and cosmology; enchantments and illusion spells might be seem as very dangerous for the social fabric. There can be various reasons why a society would refrain from using magic even if it has the means to. In such case, mages can be respected as long as they stick to limits that society find acceptable. This leads to a world where people know that magic exists and are somewhat aware of what it does.
In this case, PCs might be more free to use magic in dungeons and away from big cities, but will have to be cautelous around other people.
Politics
This is the "solution" of the World of Darkness setting. Magic and supernatural powers exist and are at the PC's disposal. However, Vampires have the Masquerade because opening up their existence to the world would weaken their undead society, and Mages face the fierce opposition of Technocrats. Therefore, there is a balance that gives all characters, PCs and NPCs, a reason not to chance the world into a highly magical one.
In a fantastic setting, magic can be unknown and feared; or it can be known but controlled by churches and wizard academies that are very strict about the way it should be used by magic users.
Magical drain
This is very difficult to homebrew as a mechanic. But if the use of magic has negative colateral effects, it would very seldomly be used in everyday situations. The mechanic might be very direct, imposing exhaustion levels on spellacasters, for example; or the use of magic by any character could be noted along adventures for long-term collateral effects, like corruption, madness or physical degeneration.
Dark Sun has an intermediate solution where, fluff wise, arcane magic usually drains the land out of life, but any player can decide who play as a Preserver wizard who simply knows how to cast arcane spells more carefully. Still, there is a concrete reason why there aren't wizards everywhere, and the political context is hostile even to Preserver characters.
Maybe all magic in your setting opens up the doors to a shadowy world, making towns where more magic is used more haunted by supernatural creatures in the long run; or maybe it is well-known all magic brings forth bad luck and curse to the lands where it's used. It might enrage elemental spirits and attract floods and droughts, or make cattle die and spoil milk. None of those solutions need a mechanic for it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Such are my ideas so far! What have you tried so far?