Heroes of Iron

The term "Iron Heroes" is code in my gaming circle for low-magic, gritty gaming. It's taken from the actual rules of Iron Heroes, but the term is easily applied to any game. For example, shortly after 4e came out we discussed "Iron Heroes-ing" it. Frankly, I still feel that would be the best way to play 4e.

In effect, "Iron Heroes-ing" a game means the following things.

1. Caster classes are either eliminated or made distasteful through some mechanic.
2. Magic Items are either eliminated to made so dangerous and limited that they do not effect game balance in any meaningful way.
3. The non-caster classes are buffed to a point that they are comparable to a character who does have access to magic.
4. Traditionally, all these things are accomplished through enormously complicated and arcane rules changes.

nope, you missed the goblin. 

But really, low-magic gaming is nothing new to roleplaying and giving the game the same feel of grit need not include such complication.

Let's assume we are playing just normal-run-of-the-mill 3.x (I use this term to include 3.0, 3.5, and pathfinder because damn it they are not that different - PT being my preferred option). We eliminate the primary caster classes entirely. That means we lose the Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, and Wizard. Okay, that's fine. Now we may want to get more intense and lose the Bard, Ranger, and Paladin. That's up to whoever is doing this. I am absolutely certain there is a mundane version of each of those so, whatever.

That leaves us with the Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Rogue. That's really not too bad for a party. But, yes no healing. Fine. Use the Reserve Hit Points system (you get an amount of reserve hit points equal to your base hit points which you can convert to Hit Point whenever you are out of combat). This is, you will note, very close to the short/extended rest mechanic of 4e (gee, I wonder if the designer was the same guy).

OMG, totally was. 

After that, you just supplement basic expectations of magic item benefit. That's pretty easy, give the players a +1 to att, damage, AC, and saves every few (4) levels. They will not be as strong as a 20th level character with magic support, but the difference will be nominal. Be generous with a few extra feats and you'll be fine with a fraction of the complexity.

Which really brings me to another conceptual point. Nothing I just suggested required more than a few seconds of thought and can be done without anything beyond the core rulebooks.