I am limiting the amount of the above in my campaign world. The average level of a leader type or significant person is about 1-5. A 5th level fighter for instance is a rarity, is likely to be a mercenary captain or bandit leader or some such. Magic is rare but not unheard of; for instance several countries have a few magicians in them, but there are only a few of note, of fame or great ability in the world at all.
Because of this, reaching higher levels and accomplishing great deeds builds up fame and reputation (or infamy). To be for instance a 10th level Ranger is to be a HERO; you must by this time have done such feats of heroism that you are sung of in ballads. Along with this comes of course the price of fame...
Similarly, magical items are extremely rare. The ephemeral ones, such as potions, scrolls, and the like are much more likely to be encountered than say magic swords. Because of this there is a uniqueness to magical items.
I'm trying to base this partly on myth and also on the fantasy writers I have enjoyed the most. (David Gemmel, Robert E. Howard, etc)
The obverse to what you propose, of course, is a lack of great challenges in the world. Ogres would, by this logic, be rare. Trolls almost unheard of. An ogre mage would be like an apocalypse.
The trick with this sort of campaign is to maintain both player interest and setting consistency as the players get into those heroic levels beyond 7 or 8.
The other problem with this is that dnd is designed for heroic fantasty...reducing the amount of hero in it is a tough proposition. The easiest way to do this is to significantly up the experience needed to go up to a level.
I like the idea. The people above me are correct in that this may be hard to implement, but I wish you luck. I am trying something similar in some respects in my PbP game on RPOL. If you wanted to watch in on the, PM me. It may or may not help.
Thanks Black Jack for the invite, I appreciate it.
I appreciate the warnings, and you make good points. However I am not so much trying to curb player levels or power but rather trying to create a sense of wonder and excitement in my game. I want my game to be like say the adventures of Conan or Sindbad, where sure you have supernatural elements, magical devices and magicians and ghosts and monsters, but I want them all to be special. In a way I'm eager to make my players MORE special than they'd be in a regular D&D campaign.
But here's how it will actually work anyway.
1. Creatures such as lizard men, humanoids are uncommon in human lands but in wild areas are certainly known to exist. Magic Users and Clerics are also uncommon; clerics certainly are everywhere but ones that actually have clerical spells that are effective are a relative rarity, though not unheard of.
2. Having a magical item that is not temporary is rare; the posession of one suggests that there is something unusual about the person in question. Monsters that have spells or spell like abilities, are definitely nonhuman are also rare.
3. Powerful magical items, powerful spellcasters and truly impressive monsters like dragons, djinns, demons are extremely rare, and cause for consternation.