The best settings for low magic campaigns in D&D

Key points

• Low-magic settings are characterized by rare, misunderstood magic and the social fear of magic users.
• Examples include Trollskull Manor, Athas, Malatra, Manifest City, and Jakandor Isle.
• These settings present unique challenges and opportunities for non-magical users in Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.

The term “low magic” does not mean “no magic,” but it does refer to a place and time that is more like medieval Europe than a fantasy world like Faerûn. Imagine an environment where magic is rare and often misunderstood, and those accused of practicing it are imprisoned or burned at the stake.

THE Dungeons and dragons The universe is a big place, so while magic exists virtually everywhere, there are places where it is rare and feared, practiced only by a select few who live on the fringes of society. These are also ideal settings for a Dungeon Master looking for a place to run a low-magic campaign.

1 Troll Skull Manor

Acquired after Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Adventure

• Author: Alan Patrick, Ashley Warren, Cindy Moore, Greg Marks and others
• Campaign setup: Waterdeep: Dragon's Strike AND Durnan's Guide to Tavern Management
• Levels: 1-5
• Release date: October 12, 2018

After an adventure involving some restless ghosts and malevolent poltergeists in the Deep water adventure anthology, a group of successful adventurers become the proud owners of Trollskull Manor. This is why information on how to run a tavern and an inn is also included in the form. More information on using Trollskull Manor can be found at Durnan's Guide to Tavern Management.

The region itself is steeped in magic, but the specific feat of running a tavern often does not include the use of spells and spells. Most traders and business owners in D&D they are not magic users, and it can be an interesting challenge for a game activity that characters do without using any magical powers.

2 The desert world of Athas

Magic users are rare and feared

• Authors: Timothy B. Brown, Troy Denning
• Campaign setup: Dark sun
• Levels: 3 and above
• Release date: October 1991 (2nd edition), August 2010 (4th edition)

A gritty response to the usual high fantasy that defined the precedents D&D modules, the dying, post-apocalyptic world of Athas has more in common with Arrakis than Faerun. Magic exists in this world, but it is not seen very often, especially among common people, and magic is persecuted and almost never used, if at all. The planet's near history is that of various city-states and sorcerer-kings, but that time has passed and all that remains is the struggle to survive.

Most of the population blames the power of arcane magic for the destruction and continued deterioration of the planet, which is why this would be the ideal setting for a low-magic campaign. The specific location would also be significant because ordinary people, or those living in isolated areas, would be even less likely to tolerate magic or even know how to identify it.

3 Malatra

A wild and uncontaminated land

• Authors: Kevin Melka, Dave Gross and others
• Campaign setup: The living jungle
• Levels: Up to level 10
• Release date: February 1995

It is the isolation, wildlife and lack of modern settlements that make Malatra a dangerous place. Adventuring parties don't come here to discover wizard towers and libraries, but there are around 60 modules included in the entire The living jungle game program, so there's still plenty to do to keep ambitious players busy. It was originally designed to use the D&D 2nd and 3rd edition rules and as tournament-based games in the Role-Playing Group Association (RPGA).

There is much magic in the Living City, an urban oasis near the Malatra Plateau, but wizards, sorcerers, and other followers of the arcane consider the nearby jungle a faceless wilderness with nothing of value. However, the library of modules that use the jungles of Malatra as a setting prove otherwise, so venture into the wilderness hunting for tigers and flowers even if there are no scrolls or books to be found.

4 The sea of ​​Vilayet, Hyboria

A variation on the history of ancient Earth

• Author: Davide Cuoco
• Campaign setup: Conan without chains!
• Levels: 10-14
• Release date: 1984

As part of the popular trend that began with the live-action adaptation, there was also a D&D the module set in Hyboria, the fictional world created by Robert E. Howard, has been released. Some changes had to be made to adapt the world of Conan to the D&D universe, like replacing some monsters with people or animals, but character creation, leveling, and story progression are the same thing.

The story is set before the events of the film, recalling the time when Conan was a pirate of the Vilayet Sea rather than a wanderer in the urban and rural wilds of Hyboria. Since this mythology was loosely based on a fictional history of ancient human civilization, any kind of magic and witchcraft was very rare or seen by the general populace as evil and dangerous, making it the ideal setting for a low-magic adventure.

5 The city of the poster

No magic here, but very occult

• Author: Monte Cook and Sean K. Reynolds
• Campaign setup: Ghost Walk
• Levels: from 1 to 12
• Release date: June 2003

It is useful to have a cleric or two in the party for this adventure, but the Wizard or Sorcerer can remain at the camp. Manifest is not a conventional city, but a mausoleum city built on a crack in the earth known as the Well of Souls. Local legend says that this is where souls leave the earth to find the true afterlife, but only humanoid and demi-humanoid races have access to this spiritual rift, which has led to the city being attacked, destroyed, and rebuilt numerous times.

A peculiarity of this adventure is that players can die and transform into ghosts using certain trinkets, but if they hear the Call, they will be attracted to the luminous rift of the Well of Souls and will no longer be able to return.

6 The island of Jakandor

Two sides, one forbids magic

• Author: Dale Donovan
• Campaign setup: Jakandor, War Isle
• Levels: Up to 3rd level
• Release date: October 1998

This setting can be a great low-magic campaign depending on how the DM and party use their roleplaying options, and there are two other sourcebooks Jakandor can use beyond this one. The backstory includes two factions in a long and bitter conflict, a group of sorcerers who make extensive use of magic and the barbarian adversaries who ban it entirely.

The Knorr are the Barbarians who were sent into exile for angering their god, and the Charoni are the necromancers who once ruled the land as tyrants. This volume focuses on the Knorr, who shun magic and arcane knowledge in any form, so it's a better choice for a low-magic campaign setting.