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Having used epic level characters (level 30) in 3.5E who ended up in an anti-magic field - MARTIAL characters got hit the hardest.  Their items stopped functioning, and then bam, they sucked.  Magic users ran out of the field, used magic that did something outside of the field such that the magic ended instantly, but the effect of the magic was then felt inside the field (classic example: create a mountain on top of their head oustide the field's range.  magic is purely used to create it, now it is a mundance item, which gravity drops on the bad guys head).

That being said, in 4E, powers are far less versatile than in 3.5E, so nowadays an anti-arcane (or anti-arcane/divine) field would have far greater influence on only a few characters.

But as a note, someone like a swordmage, or a bladesinger, would probably still have basic attacks to fall back on and would not be completely useless.

My actual suggestion for anti-magic fields is:  Use them as skill challenges!  Not as part of combat.   The group encounters a dreaded anti-magic field, and suddenly teleports + arcane abilities don't work - woe is them!  All right, now we have to make an Arcane check DC x in order to find the flaw in the field where your abilities do work that let you get out.  Make the field life-sapping too, so that you lose a healing surge for each failed check, and make it so that it requires 5 checks to actually shut down the field long enough to leave it.  Add in an entrapment effect; if you have any magic on you (including magic items, or arcane/etc abilities), you can't leave the field.

Taking that one step further:  Skill challenge IN combat.  Beholder has an old-school anti-magic field central eye, it affects: Divine/Arcane/Psionic/Shadow/Elemental/Primal abilities + Magic Items that are directly in the field.  Don't worry, all those awesome martial characters can't attack either because they're missing their +6 frost weapon that grants +8 (or more) to hit when all their feats are included.  The catch?  If you succeed on an appropriate skill check (minor action), you find a chink in the field that allows you to use such abilities until the end of next turn.  If you succeed on a more difficult check (standard action), you determine how to shut down one entire piece of the field until the end of the encounter (allowing one type of ability, or magic items, to be used).

Sep 23, 2011 -- 11:40AM, Salla wrote:

A PC shooting orcs with his crossbow might be cool ... if he weren't a 10 DEX Wizard without proficiency and with no enhancement bonuses because, hey, anti-magic.  "I miss.  I miss.  I miss."  Lots of fun, that.

There's a difference between 'hardship' and 'screwjob'.  You can make things more difficult without outright going 'you're hosed'.  What you are suggesting is definitely and unequivocably 'unfair at the expense of the game', and I certainly disagree that being a good DM EVER requires being unfair.

that's called the "commoner in a funny hat".

it's what happened to previous edition wizards at level 1-3 after a few encounters and at high levels once the GM's brain stopped functioning since he's been having it jump through hoops trying to stop the casters from breaking the game using the tools the books provide them and simply decrying "NULL MAGIC ZONE! (AKA: I'M TAKING MY BALL AND GOING HOME)"

because nothing builds more character then losing all your wizardly magic and having to resort to a mundane crossbow+dagger VS angry colossal dragon.

yup. "fun".