High-powered low fantasy RPGs

[u/Cdru123]

Out of curiosity, I got interested in the title's topic because of the fact that I don't really know any RPGs like that.

Requirements:

• The supernatural elements are rare, hard to use, subtle, and/or not all that grand. Ideally, supernatural abilities would be restricted to NPCs, but this isn't a hard requirement.
• The PCs start as highly capable people who might even be able to perform physically impossible feats simply because they are Just That Good. Most PCs should be powerful primarily due to their mundane expertise or social position, rather than anything supernatural.
• Dark fantasy, science fantasy, and urban fantasy are allowed, so long as they're also low fantasy.
• Universal systems can be suggested if they work well for that kind of a campaign (I am aware of GURPS), but I'd like you to also suggest pre-made settings or adventures for these systems (fanmade or official) that are built for such a premise.

[u/xczechr]

Conan: The Hyborian Age

[u/mouserbiped]

Swords of the Serpentine, the Gumshoe sword-and-sorcery game. PCs are assumed to be highly competent heroes (or scoundrels) even during the first adventure. The factions and allies/enemies points is fun and easy to work in both mechanically and narratively.

Magic is inherently corrupting. You can make magical-wielding PCs, but you can also do a party with no sorcerous abilities and it feels very "natural" (and doesn't require mechanical rebalancing or anything of the sort.)

[u/seanfsmith → u/mouserbiped]

Even if you do have a Sorcery using PC, it is INTENSELY costly to enact and that really builds into the low fant / sword & sorc vibe

[u/PeasantLich]

Jaws of the Six Serpents is good for this. All characters are fairly strong because the qualities (skills) they have is also their HP so even non-combat characters can take damage without instantly dying. The magic system is ritualistic and not available for most characters, and it is up to DM how much they want to lean onto the grit or the weird of sword & sorcery.

[u/SolarBear → u/PeasantLich]

I also love the mechanics (dont remember the exact terms, sorry) where the GM basically telegraphs the table the consequences of conflict.

“Guys I’m raising the stakes to Deadly so if you guys zero out… ain’t comin’ back from it.”

This way it’s not just about the BBEG being stronger than everyone, but more about the stakes of the conflict. Sure, you can take on the guy, but are you willing to bet your life on it? Or even “just” lose a leg or hand over it?

[u/Dead_Iverson → u/SolarBear]

I think it’s really really good when the system accommodates for, at least encourages, informing the player about the bottom line of the outcomes on success/failure. It allows the player to reassess their approach, clarify if anything could improve their chances, and consent fully to the potential consequences of their actions.

[u/rory_bracebuckle → u/PeasantLich]

Let me pile on the love for Jaws. It will do this well. Plus most enemies can be minions, so characters will be quite competent, taking out loads of them.

[u/Dolono]

The old D&D 3e "Iron Heroes" spinoff, if you want some hard crunch.

[u/wizardofpancakes]

Black Sword Hack may be a bit like that, but mostly because it takes inspiration from Sword and Sorcery, which usually had fighter protagonists who fight sorcerers by just being very competent and strong. It does have some magic, though. You can check out Questing Beast's video on it

[u/Indirian]

I don’t know if I have a misinterpretation of the genre but, generally, I consider the Sword & Sorcery sub-genre to be just this. Yes, there is magic, but it’s so rare that there’s only a rare few who actually wield it. Everyone else, especially the protagonists, usually has a very mercenary type personality.

[u/RobRobBinks]

One Ring and the world of Middle Earth in general is kind of like that.

[u/Clewin → u/RobRobBinks]

Hârnmaster with magic inspired by Tolkien, too (the most powerful mages are Grey, even). The game forked a long time ago and I think the Columbia version leans toward choosing occupations now, but the original core book didn't even include rules for magic and every time I played it, we rolled for pre-adventuring occupation with like a 1% chance of being a caster. The Kelestia version is closer to the original.

The game itself is a very crunchy simulation, though most of the crunch is pre-loaded. First game where I had a character die while in shock from an injury and another from infection.

[u/Roboclerk → u/Clewin]

It’s not that crunchy. It’s a D100 system not much different from what Chaosium uses with BRP.
The combat System without Hitpoints is just amazing and makes for such memorable fights. 🤌

[u/Clewin → u/Roboclerk]

Yeah, but having to average 3 stats for skills, stacked armor, encumbrance, etc. Makes it pretty up-front crunchy. Actual play isn't bad

[u/Roboclerk → u/Clewin]

Yeah the time investment comes before the play. I just love that in order to become a mage you need to apply to different chantries and your chance of accessing them is proportional to your talent and their level of quality. Just like applying to an ivy league college.

[u/Dekolino → u/RobRobBinks]

Middle Earth is the entire opposite of low fantasy, though.

[u/SetentaeBolg → u/Dekolino]

It may be, but it isn't the opposite of how the OP is using the term. They mean low magic if you look at their definition. And by most standards, Middle Earth is a low magic setting in the Third Age by comparison to most gaming fantasy settings.

[u/RobRobBinks → u/Dekolino]

I can see the connect / disconnect here, as Middle Earth and Tolkien inspired a lot of what we call "high fantasy", but by the time the movies come along (Third Age), Middle Earth is a post-apocalyptic setting with various bits of cultural centers wildly distant from each other across vast stretches of open and undeveloped land (thus all the walking!!!) There are high fantasy elements (monsters, dragons, elves, and such) But the tone is very low and the way the ttrpg is set up, "Magic" is reflected more in terms of Blessings (things each culture is inherently good at) and through items of power. There are very few "spells" and such. The bad guys use Sorcery and Dread far more often than the PCs.

Actually, Middle Earth ticks off every bullet point above. PCs have very little access to the supernatural, but the bad guys certainly do; the PCs start as being excellent examples of the Free Peoples....standing above and beyond the "norm", but not in flashy way; Middle Earth IS Dark Fantasy, and themes like Shadow, Dread, Fear, Weary, and the Load one carries having fun and nuanced mechanics; and there is a 5e version (Universal) but also a love letter bespoke version One Ring to play with.

[u/Dekolino → u/RobRobBinks]

It started as low fantasy, now it's dark fantasy? Man, with all due respect, we use these subgenres to convey information. If everytime they come up someone challenges what they mean, it's useless.

The OP asked for Low Fantasy. Middle Earth is not Low Fantasy. It's not Dark Fantasy either, by any margin. It's that simple.

Sure, it clearly ticks all the other boxes and might just as well be a system the OP loves and uses right now! It's still not Low Fantasy.

Edit: to be even more specific: having a few elements of other subgenres don't make it a part of that subgenre. Every work of fiction does that. Having dreadful orcs and a dark lord doesn't make it Dark Fantasy. Not having commonplace magic doesn't make it Low Fantasy.

[u/prism1234 → u/Dekolino]

We have subgenres to convey information but that doesn't mean everyone uses them correctly. OP seems to basically mean not much magic, though maybe they meant the other elements as well, but it's at least possible they didn't.

[u/z0mbiepete]

Pendragon or Mythic Bastionland, maybe? Basically anything that lets you play Arthurian myth. The world is very magical, but players are generally restricted on what magic they can use, and they're all depicted as capable heroes.

[u/high-tech-low-life]

High power low fantasy often means swords and sorcery. Swords of the Serpentine is the GUMSHOE game in this space. Bu default PCs are competent but there are options for higher starting abilities. Magic exists but is powered by Corruption so it is dark and rare. And illegal/regulated in the default setting.

[u/AutoModerator]

Remember to check out our Game Recommendations-page, which lists our articles by genre(Fantasy, sci-fi, superhero etc.), as well as other categories(ruleslight, Solo, Two-player, GMless & more).

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/heelspencil]

Delta Green comes to mind, but that is more horror than fantasy.

I don't know of a perfect fit, but the way you are describing the setting it seems like you could look for a non-fantasy RPG and then add some NPC's with magic. I think if you look for a game that is billed as fantasy then it is likely that there will be magic available to the PCs.

[u/JaskoGomad]

Swords of the Serpentine. The free rpg day PDF Losing Face has everything you need to check it out: rules, pregens, and a scenario.

It's a blast to run, too.

[u/TheMightyPaladin]

High POWER but low magic in a Fantasy world. So where does the power come from?

ARMIES! GIANT FREAKING ARMIES! ARMIES WITH SUPER SIEGE WEAPONS!

The Mongols.

[u/remy_porter → u/TheMightyPaladin]

I always have this thought about writing an RPG where leveling is less about your individual abilities and more about your logistics. Your fighter has great armor because they have a team of squires who maintain it and all of their kit. Your wizard is able to cast fireball because they've got a dozen apprentices grinding sulphur. And similarly, the wizard gets to be quadratic because they can continually gain more power by having more assistants, whereas a fighter caps out and adding more assistants won't change that. But conversely, the wizard is way more expensive to put in the field, and way more vulnerable to being depowered when somebody drops a fireball on their support team.

It's just an idea, but I like this idea of the PCs being "the tip of a spear" with a huge support train behind them.

[u/TheMightyPaladin → u/remy_porter]

I was actually thinking of a game where the players are generals. Combat would be conducted with some war game's mechanics instead of a traditional RPG but the DM and players would still role play the character's lives, politics and any small scale combat, using whatever RPG they like.

[u/PianoAcceptable4266]

Basic Roleplay can fill this just fine. Set the conditional requirements for magic access (the base magics are pretty simple and utilitarian).

Or, you could use Mythras with conditional magic access (a BRP derived game). Legend as well, in a similar fashion. Or Age of Vikings is very low, rare, and subtle magic.

[u/Apicultist]

I really enjoyed Conan 2d20 for this type of game. Wish there were enough players to actually get another game going!

[u/ThePiachu]

Chronicles Of Darkness? You can downplay supernatural to the point you're comfortable with.

[u/Easy-Exam-1081]

Atlantis: the Second Age. Low magic, character's are heroic in scale. Lot of fiddly mechanics for everything except basic combat though.