Now, I'm a big fan of the low-magic world. I especially like to have groups in my campaigns that don't have spell-casters. Why? Well, I think it has a lot to do with the types of fantasy fiction I read as a youth. The wizards Conan faced were pretty much bad guys. Magic was something to fear and magic-users were viewed with suspicion. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, while having access to magic and magicians, weren't really wizards (though the Mouser certainly gave it a game try). Also, I'm a big fan of historical novels (well written ones at least) and magic rarely plays a role there, unless someone is suspected of practicing it, and then they tie to a stake and take care of that quickly enough.

I've been told that low-magic is intrinsically antithetical to D&D. I don't really understand this. Whenever anyone says this, and I ask them to explain it, they can't give me any other reason than it's included in the rulebooks. The thing is, it's always been understood that the rulebooks are guidelines. What it comes down to is tradition. You can't break this tradition! Cry me a river. When you play in my game you play by my rules. Heck, I wouldn't walk into someone else's game and demand that there be no magic-users in the party, so don't walk into my game and tell me there has to be. My campaigns have been a brilliant success (at least from what my player's tell me, and they keep coming back for more), so now I've decided to take it a step further. The campaign I'm running now has no magic.

I heard a collective gasp out there in internet-land. The villagers are getting the torches and pitch-forks ready.

This campaign is based on the War of the Roses, a kingdom torn apart by dynastic struggles. I gave my player's a wide latitude to develop what kind of characters they wanted, and they ended up being weighted toward the neutral (cynical bastards that they are), so the campaign has them caught in the middle, trying to survive and make a profit. There're rumours of magic, and even a fanatical religious group hunting them down, but no one has ever really encountered any magic.

Yeah, I'm going to be throwing in an evil wizard, though definitely not the fireball-cannon of standard D&D fare. This guy is uber-powerful, but his magic is based on ritual (harkening back to Conan). His real power is in the things he's summoned, controls or enchants.

So, why bother with a non-magic D&D setting? Well, at its most basic level, I can answer that with another question: why bother with a magical D&D setting? But since insanely-filled-with-magic is the norm, let me explain the pluses to having a non-magical setting.

Threat: There's a real threat to the life and limb of the PCs when there is no magical healing. I mean, couple this with the Grim-N-Gritty Hit Point and Combat rules, and you've got a situation in which the PCs really rely on their heads rather than their swords. I mean, think about being laid up for a week in a village in the middle of a country at war when you've got enemies on both sides. Not pretty. Also, you haven't got the wizard behind you putting the mob to sleep, or striking unerringly--though, granted, to limited effect--with her magic missiles or--shudder--fireballs. And this really leads to . . .

Tension: When you up the threat, when the players really think their PCs might die, tension is created, not unlike one would imagine these characters really would feel. When the local magistrate is beating on the room's door with a group of soldiers at his back, you don't whip open the door and have at them, you get worried. The tension then isn't based on your die roll to hit, it's based on you trying to figure out a way to escape. When you are ordered to surrender, you don't trust in your AC, your hit points and the good wishes of your DM, you bloody well surrender, because imprisonment--while frightening--offers the chance of escape, and the twenty crossbow quarrels levelled at you offer something a little more permanent.

These are the main reasons why I've chosen to go the non-magical route, and they are very interrelated. What is not related, but is as important a reason, is simple story-telling. I want to have a non-magical campaign. When I broached the subject with the players, I got very little dissension. I think it's to my credit that the players pretty much accepted it. The guys who usually like to have some magic, they guys who play wizards and sorcerers and the occasional healing battery, er, cleric, they made some noise. In the end, though, the benefits outweigh the problems. And, honestly, what is the problem with a non-magical campaign?

No spell-casters: Granted, it cuts down on character choice, and a couple of classes, like the bard, ranger and paladin, need to be reimbursed in some way for their losses. I don't see the big deal, though. We rarely have clerics in our campaign, mainly because the other players tend to expect the cleric character to be their healing battery. That's it. Who gives a flying . . . fig what your god or the tenants of your faith are, heal me! So really, we aren't cutting into the selection that much.

No magical treasure: This is the big one. What? No magical swords/armour/potions/rings/etc. That's right, deal with it. I mean, honestly, if your character can't have one, neither can your opponents. I'm a big believer in the level playing field, if the PCs can access it, so can the NPCs, including the bad guys. It all evens out. It lays much more emphasis on the PCs abilities and skills. Masterwork becomes a whole lot more important.

Half the PHB is useless: Well, for this particular game, yes, but not forever. And, besides, it just makes that other half twice as valuable. It all evens out.

In the end, this is something I want to try. If my players hate it, another DM has got another campaign--standard D&D, with orcs and goblins and plenty of magic--ready to go. My players, so far, have had a great time. There's real tension. People really worry about the decisions they are making. Skills, alliances and party cohesion have become much more important. It's been a lot of fun, and I predict a great success. There will always be those who love lots and lots of magic, and there are plenty of published settings for them to play in. For those of us who want low or even non-existent magic, we're left to our own devices. Works for me, my devices have proved at least moderately successful so far.