Healing Belt in MIC = broken?

[blacktie347]

As the only cleric in the OP's game...

whatever

 

[frankthedm]

Nice.

You asked a question and you got a lot of advice that you're choosing to ignore and just "ban" the spell instead. That's your choice. I know what I think of it.

OP asked about the item because it seemed very incongruent with the way the DMG priced healing.
The answers said the item is incongruent with the price of DMG healing items.
OP is not allowing the item because it is incongruent with the price of DMG healing items.

 

[Leatherhead]

So...I agree with the OP's decision about disallowing this item at the MIC price. It's so obviously broken compared to the Potion of CSW that it's not even comparable.

Most DMG healing items are notoriously underpowered. Like the ring of regeneration, that can heal 24 hps in one day, and costs 90,000 gold.

 

[blacktie347]

whatever

 

[blacktie347]

whatever

 

[Runestar]

This is why it's nice to play Clerics. They can heal well, and other sources are not as easy.

Likewise, Rogues can take down magical traps, etc. If you eliminate the exclusivity healing that only a Cleric can reliably and cheaply provide, then you reduce the incentive for playing a cleric.

Not really. You simply remove the incentive to play the cleric as a dedicated healbot (which not everyone may be willing to play), thus freeing him up to do other more effective stuff such as fighting. Or you can look at it another way. If nobody in your party wants to play a cleric, then at least your healing requirements are not shafted as there are viable alternatives available (such as a rogue UMD'ing wands of vigor).

Likewise, MIC item prices have to be low, else no one would ever choose them over the standard big six. The stark reality was that nobody was buying a ring of regeneration at that price, not when you could be getting a ring of protection+5 and amulet of NA+5 for almost the same amount.

MIC items only seem undercosted if you believe that the DMG items are priced correctly. In hindsight, I think we can conclude that it is actually the other way around - the majority of DMG items apart from the big six are just way too overcosted for the limited benefits they provide. That is the disease, and MIC is the cure.

Wotc addressed this issue in an article here.
Design & Development: Magic Item Compendium, part 1

 

[Elethiomel]

Dodged? Like you're a prosecutor and I'm on trial? I think you might have a misconception about what's happening here. This is a game and I do it to have fun, not to defend myself.

I think I might not want to address your point simply to disabuse you of the notion that this is a court room.

You're taking my post way out of proportion. Seriously. I had no intention of evoking trials. I have no notion that this is a court room. I have no notion that I am a prosecutor. I have no notion that you are on trial. Your condescension is not warranted.

This is not a court room. This is the rules forum. It is a place to discuss rules. When interpreting rules, sometimes wording is very important. One such case, in my opinion, is the custom item pricing section which uses words such as "guidelines" and "estimate". Treating them as rules to be followed to the letter is, again in my opinion, misguided.

I have significant experience as a GM and as a player, and in my experience having access to items such as the healing belt makes the game more fun. Resource management is something DnD has quite a lot of. a lot of it is tedious; items like the healing belt make interesting choices available (do I blow all three charges NOW or do I just blow one for more healing over a longer period?). Interesting choices is what makes the game mechanical side of DnD fun. Again, in my opinion.

Hence my first point was raised for two reasons: I was concerned that you had misinterpreted the custom magic item pricing guidelines as ironclad rules. And, I was concerned that you were throwing away interesting choices (and hence fun) because they didn't fit those guidelines. You chose to ignore that point and went straight to my auxiliary point. I posted defensively (and I must admit, a little passive-agressively; sorry about that) and you give me back a post full of condescencion and sarcasm. That's my reading of the situation.

 

[Flatus Maximus]

This is why it's nice to play Clerics. They can heal well, and other sources are not as easy.

Likewise, Rogues can take down magical traps, etc. If you eliminate the exclusivity healing that only a Cleric can reliably and cheaply provide, then you reduce the incentive for playing a cleric.

Huh, I come to exactly the opposite conclusion. If basic healing implements are rare/expensive and the cleric is the only real source of healing, then I'll want to play pretty much anything but a cleric. I mean, most of the daily spells I choose will get converted into cures, and the rest ought to be other healing type spells just in case. So I get to suck as a wannabe fighter until someone goes down. No thanks. In fact, in the games I run, I divide the price of all cure items by 10 just to avoid this and related scenarios. It works for us -- the party pushes further and we have more fun than we do retreating to the nearest heal zone. YMMV.

 

[blacktie347]

whatever

 

[blacktie347]

This is quite interesting. How do you explain this MIC wonder, then?

Amber amulet of vermin,​

Huge monstrous scorpion
1/day summons a Huge monstrous scorpion to serve you for 1 minute
700 gp

A Huge Monstrous Scorpion has 75 HP and is a CR 7 monster. Does this seem balanced to you? Why would anyone buy a Bag of Tricks, then?

The MIC is designed to make money for WotC, and if they have to change the game mechanics to do it, they will. Bottom line, it's money...the reason why TSR does this...oops, they're out of business now...perhaps they didn't do this effectively enough.