Making Magic Items Inherent

Okay, so I'm a lazy DM - I don't want to set up treasure parcels if I don't have to. I'd much prefer magic items to be set up similar to feats, in that the players get a set amount at each level. Hence, the following.

1) Make Magic Item bonuses Inherent, a la DMG2; at certain levels, gain attack, damage, critical, and defense enhancements appropriate to your level for free. If a character would gain an enchantment that increases one of these values above the standard (such as a Vicious Weapon enchantment), use the enchantment's value.

2) At each level, choose 3 magic items of your level or lower. These items replace those gained at earlier levels. Additionally, the characters can choose as much mundane equipment as they like (this does not include any item allowed by the following notes, so no rituals, formulae, alchemical items, etc). Each character also has as much money on their person as required by the story. Do they need an inn for the night? They've some silver to spare. Does the plot hinge on them being broke? They're broke.

Characters of level one instead get no magic items, and must buy mundane equipment. They have 100 gp.

This represents inherent abilities each character has, or items the characters find while adventuring. A character who wanted to maintain a gritty feel would choose MIs without flashy effects, such as Vicious Weapon instead of Flaming Weapon.

3) At each level, you gain 5 consumable magic items of your level, or their equivalent value. (Potions and alchemical items, for example).

These represent items found in the dungeon, internal reserves of vitality, minor spells the character taught themselves, etc.

4) Characters do not buy rituals. Instead, for each level above first, you gain 2 new rituals in your spellbook of a level equal to or lower than your current level. At each level, you may retrain one of these rituals for free. See the attached table (The table shown assumes that the player retrains his lowest-level ritual to the highest available ritual at each level. This cannot actually be done (there is only one official 30th level ritual, for example); It probably wouldn't be done anyways, but it serves to show theoretical maxes.

Note: Characters who take Ritual Caster as a feat instead of gaining it through their class have two rituals in their spellbook at first level. Characters who gain a specific ritual from a class feature (such as clerics, who gain Gentle Repose) may not retrain that particular ritual.

This holds true for alchemical formulae, too.

This represents the character's between-level studying.

5) A character with ritual caster gains one-half the value of a magic item of his level in ritual components each level. This replaces any ritual components the player might previously have had, and cannot be sold.

Ditto on Alchemical components.

CONCERNS

- I know that this will be a power up. Is it too much, though?

- The numbers are tentative; Should I allow more MIs or consumables per level? Is two rituals per level too much? Am I giving the players too much or too little gp for rituals?

- Should I have Formulae and Rituals draw on the same pools of slots and components? By which I mean, should a Level 1 human who spent both his feats to get Ritual Caster and Alchemist have;

2 Rituals and 2 Formulae, 180 gp in ritual components, and 180 gp in alchemical components (as it stands now)

OR

2 rituals or formulae, in any combination (2 Rituals, 2 Formulae, or 1 of each) and 180 gp in components?

Thoughts?

Why don't you just let THEM create the parcels?
Your only job would be to pick some of them after each encounter.

More balanced, less work for you (even less than typing the OP )

This is the approach I'm taking in my current campaign:
This tracks fairly closely to what one PC in a party of 5 would get on average in terms of magic items and gold.

@ sfedi - But that's too simple! By which, of course, I mean it's much better than my solution.

@ FireLance - I like. Consider it yoinked.

Follow up questions;

1) Because of the inherent bonus, magic items with scaling powers will only be worth it at the lower level available; Why buy a level 19 Dragonslayer Weapon when a level 14 will do exactly the same thing?

Is this a bug or a feature?

2) Would it mess with the game too much to make every class proficient with Ki Focuses, and to change all weapon enchantments to Implement (Ki Focus)?

Finally, I intend to keep the idea that an item need not be an item. It's kinda like making everything a slotted Legendary Boon, then, I guess.

Siberys said:

Because of the inherent bonus, magic items with scaling powers will only be worth it at the lower level available; Why buy a level 19 Dragonslayer Weapon when a level 14 will do exactly the same thing?

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I believe that inherent bonuses are intended to be used in campaigns where magic items are rare - rare enough that the PCs will never have to choose between buying a level 19 weapon or a similar level 14 weapon (assuming that they even get the chance to buy magic items in the first place).

In campaigns where magic items are not rare, inherent bonuses would mess with the magic item economy. There will be little incentive to have a higher-level version of a magic item that gives the same benefit.

Would it mess with the game too much to make every class proficient with Ki Focuses, and to change all weapon enchantments to Implement (Ki Focus)?

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Probably not. It would mean that the characters will be able to switch weapons more easily, but if they have weapon-specific feats and powers, they will still have little incentive to do so.

Well, Yeah. Inherent bonuses are intended for more low-magic campaigns. I'm looking into it, though, as a way to reduce DM workload and increase PC optimization. My players are not the sort to go for neck slot items unless it fits their character, for example, even though I know they need them, mechanically. This way, they can take whatever magic items they want, and they're still getting the bonuses they NEED.

I may just let them take the lower level version, in such cases; I know I'd like it as a player, and the extra cost was tied up in the bonus they now get built-in.