DMing a dangerous / gritty adventure.

[PridefulOne]

I have plans to DM a grittier version of Pathfinder and plan on restricting the players mainly to martial classes and low magic at the beginning (Bard, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue) to help create the sense of survival and danger in a dying world slowly falling under the control of dark sorcerers and wizards.

I feel like the whole reason any of the famous fantasy adventures are interesting is because when magic isn't common, it's a much bigger deal when you get to see it.

Does anyone have any suggestions/warnings before I get too far? And what're your thoughts on playing or running a game in this setting?

[Vincent Takeda]

I've got some good news and some bad news.

This particular theme is probably one of the most frequent and most hotly debated themes on these forums next to how to make a paladin's life miserable.

So the good news is a brief search of the forums will give you an exhaustive set of opinions on how people feel about it.

The bad news is those opinions pretty evenly range from 'best idea EVAR!' to 'go play warhammer and stop trolling'

The higher the level the more stark such comparisons get.

[Adamantine Dragon]

I'd read up on low magic campaigning before you attempt this.

The challenge system built into Pathfinder assumes you've got a relatively high magic campaign and your party will include spellcasters. So if you go this route, be prepared to lower the challenge rating to accommodate.

I've done this and frankly it ends up being a lot of extra work for the GM to keep things balanced and many players eventually get bored with all the hacking and slashing required.

[Odraude]

I take a look at E6 for some good ideas. Not that much work and it works out pretty well. I ran one with low magic (Words of Power from Ultimate Magic) and used the Unearthed Arcana rules for turning high-level spells into rituals, as well as the rules for wounds and vigor (and called shots) in Ultimate Combat. Was fun and the players liked it.

Of course, be sure that your players want to try a low magic game before hand. You don't want to force them to play a genre that they aren't interested in. And as far as magic items go, give a little history to some of the normally mundane item. Turn that +1 longsword into Sting, or that +1 flaming composite longbow into Sunstrike, etc. etc. I had a GM do this and it was by far the best way I've seen someone make "mundane magic items" seems greater.

[PridefulOne]

I'm thinking about allowing alchemists into the mix because they're essentially replacing the churches because the gods have stopped influencing the world and this is essentially the only way to have healing in the setting.

My friend says the setting I have in mind reminds him of the Dark Sun setting. I've read/heard very little about it, but apparently dead gods and a collapsing world are the theme. Mine would be more like a prequel when the world's just starting to fall apart.

Adamantine Dragon, I'd have to disagree with the CR system including spellcasters. Encounters are built to either work for or against the party's strengths and there are monsters fit for any party (especially customs). I agree things could get bland if I centered purely on combat, but I try to keep the story and exploration the important things with combats being fewer and more dangerous (I've only GM'd in this style and all the players have enjoyed the brutal open rolls and tactical combat).

Odraude, I do plan on naming my items because "+1 Longsword" is just boring. I plan on having some great gear that fits the storyline/way the party goes. I'm also looking into having using a system I'm working on that's similar to the vigor system in Ultimate Combat as well as called shots.

Thanks for the conversation/advice so far :). I'm definitely considering the draw-backs and looking into alternative systems to keep things interesting and fast paced.

[Kayerloth]

Be sure what you are envisioning.

There's a huge difference between low magic and magic rare.

Quote:

... sense of survival and danger in a dying world slowly falling under the control of dark sorcerers and wizards.

Doesn't sound low magic. Sounds much more like it would be magic rare at least for the PC's and with what magic there is primarily under the control of NPC's

And I would say yes both the World of Dark Sun (Athas) or the 3rd party World of Midnight sound like they would have strong elements of what you are looking for. There's magic of very high levels in both (particularly Dark Sun) but such magic (and much of the magic) is very much under control of the NPC's of those worlds (and those npc's are typically quite evil). Magic capable PC's in both worlds would be hunted by the spell users of those worlds (and often shunned and feared by the general populace)

Athas became a desert via its spellcasters, they draw their power from the life around them literally withering the plants, injuring and killing life around them as they cast spells. The arcane casters are known as Defilers, the divine casters are known as Templars who serve the Sorcerer-Kings (Defilers of great power i.e. 20th+ level casters, at least back when first released, no idea about the recent 4E version released in 2010).

Both worlds can be played very very gritty and deadly. Both, also interestingly, have strong restrictions on planar access and travel.

EDIT: Had a moment during play on Athas when my players, who had been seeking for months the secret location of a Trade House's sapphire mine, found the mine and suddenly lost all interest in the potential horde of precious gems when they set eyes upon the huge iron portcullis blocking their path. Most weapons on Athas are made of bone or rock (obsidian), iron and steel are very rare. They were suddenly drooling while trying to figure out how to steal the portcullis :p