Magic Items without plusses?

[Starfox]

Forked from: Parties screwed without an Int-based PC?

Doesnt the DMG state something about for a scarce magic item game a DM can simply substitute the need for magic items by giving the PCs a bonus to their AC, defenses, attack, damage, etc. by 1 at every tier and half-tier?

That way you can have magic items be about their properties and powers, instead of about how much function they will add to balance the math. In fact, if you really want to limit the amount of magic items, but at the same time make them at the very least as useful as a character who had a relative "abundant" amount of magic items, you could simply increase the amount of times per day that you could use a specific magic item.

Maybe instead of a different magic item every milestone you could use any magic item that you had, whether it had been used previously or not. That way your flaming longsword, your most prized possession and only magic weapon, isnt a one day wonder.

I've been strongly considering this. Another advantage here is that you don't need to hand out so many magic items - I find that handing out one item per character per level makes the event of finding a magic item a lot less spectacular. It also makes it much more plausible why most encounters don't have magic items - they are not dependent on items either.

It would take an almost-complete rebuild of the economy, tough.

Ops, this ended up as a forked thread. Well... It might just as well be.

 

[CapnZapp]

It would take an almost-complete rebuild of the economy, tough.

Well, the good news is that you wouldn't need an economy then...

That is, magic items, and specifically their plusses to "the math", is the only reason the game needs such an elaborate (and exponential) economy and pricing structure.

Remove that, and you can use whatever common-sense basic medieval economy you like (which for many groups would mean "pretty much not bothering with an economy at all"). Much like in a non-level-based fantasy rpg, I mean.

Meaning a level 23 sword might cost as much or as little as a level 3 sword. Meaning there would be no reason why that epic level Mayor must offer you 100,000 gold for you to rescue the princess, when the heroic level Mayor only could offer you 100 gold. Obviously the King would have heaps more money than the local Lord, and thus a old and strong Red Dragon will have better loot than a young weak Black Dragon.

But there would be little reason for you to have to focus on the millions of gold pieces each epic level monster would yield: the adventurers don't need it to advance.

Instead consider saving that Red Dragon for the epic finale of your campaign, when finally the adventurers become richer than in their wildest dreams. Yes, finally D&D characters can become too rich - something that normally is next to impossible...

 

[Starfox]

As long as you can create magic items, even if all you do is choose the special effect the item is to have, then you need some kind of economy. Vorpal is a level 30 effect... It needs some kind of restriction or it will end up in level 6 hands.

Still, I do see how this could be very liberating.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

As long as you can create magic items, even if all you do is choose the special effect the item is to have, then you need some kind of economy. Vorpal is a level 30 effect... It needs some kind of restriction or it will end up in level 6 hands.

Still, I do see how this could be very liberating.

You could do this without money, though - maybe a level 30 item can only be used by level 25+ characters? (Or rather, it's special magical effect doesn't activate before that)

 

[Nail]

You could do this without money, though - maybe a level 30 item can only be used by level 25+ characters? (Or rather, it's special magical effect doesn't activate before that)

Didn't "ancestral weapons" (IIRC) do something like this in 3.5e?

 

[Irda Ranger]

As long as you can create magic items, even if all you do is choose the special effect the item is to have, then you need some kind of economy. Vorpal is a level 30 effect... It needs some kind of restriction or it will end up in level 6 hands.

You don't need an economy to do this. Since I don't like "the magic item economy" concept (I prefer more "normal" economies) I don't use them.

My solution is that items are whatever level their wielder is. A flameblade in the hands of a 4th level character (below the minimum level) is just a "magic" sword for purposes of piercing resistance. A flameblade in the hands of a 5th level character gets the special effects (treat it as a 5th level weapon).

My in-game explanation for this is that magic items don't "just work", the wielder must "bend them to his will" to force them to work, and if you're not high enough level you don't have what it takes to control the magic within them.

 

[Tellerve]

I have to say I really do like this idea. And I agree you wouldn't need money for higher level items, as you could either do the level restriction thing, or the fact it grows into you/you bend it to your will, or you could have to find rare components and make it less like an absolute cash transaction.

 

[Starbuck_II]

You don't need an economy to do this. Since I don't like "the magic item economy" concept (I prefer more "normal" economies) I don't use them.

My solution is that items are whatever level their wielder is. A flameblade in the hands of a 4th level character (below the minimum level) is just a "magic" sword for purposes of piercing resistance. A flameblade in the hands of a 5th level character gets the special effects (treat it as a 5th level weapon).

My in-game explanation for this is that magic items don't "just work", the wielder must "bend them to his will" to force them to work, and if you're not high enough level you don't have what it takes to control the magic within them.

That is interesting idea.