D&D 5E MASTERWORK ITEMS
pming
Legend
Hiya!
As at least one other person has said, I'm not keen on your list of choices.
"Maybe, some other thing" would be mine.
I have no problem with 'quality levels' of items. In fact, in my own homebrew system based on the old Darkurthe Legends RPG, I created a "QL" ("QualityLevel") scheme. I call it my "CPAGMEL" (See-pag-mel); Crap, Poor, Average, Good, Master, Equisite, Legendary.
Each of these levels has a %'age associated with it in regards to benefits, costs, and availability (as well as the minimum Skill Level required to even have a chance of creating one). Anyway, the "benefits" can cover anything in particular to the item at hand. It is a fairly loose system, allowing the player and GM to tailor a particular item towards some goal. A "Good" quality saddle could be described as "Extra padding gives the rider a more comfortable ride, letting them extend their normal riding day by around 5%", or it could be described as "This saddle has smooth-beveled ridges into key locations as well as excellent stirrups, giving the rider a 5% better chance of remaining seated under situations that might otherwise cause a rider to fall", etc. And yes, this means a Exquisite QL Dagger could have +4 to attack...but as I said, 5's range of numbers doesn't allow for this level of detail (I guess a +4 may be the equivalent of about, oh, +1 or +2 in "D&D" terms), whereas in my RPG ("Fantasy Elements" is what I called it), that bonus is nice to have but not unbalancing for 'low level' (no levels in the game, btw), but gives 'high level' users a much better edge. In 5e, it's a pretty flat curve from 1st to 20th level.
Anyway, with regards to 5e, because it has such a limited range of adjustments (+1 vs +3 is a pretty big adjustment, for example), I'd have "Masterwork" items be equivalent to "specialized" items; that is, they aren't "better at everything" for that item, they are "better at one aspect" for that thing...lighter, stronger, faster, etc. I DO NOT think that weapons and armor should have "pluses" from Masterwork items...not even with just one 'part' (e.g., +1 to hit but not damage). They should be desirable from a ROLE-PLAYING side of things and not a COMBAT side of things. You want bonuses in combat? Magic weapons or skill...simply tossing GP's and getting almost the same thing cheapens the magic, imho.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
As at least one other person has said, I'm not keen on your list of choices.
"Maybe, some other thing" would be mine.
I have no problem with 'quality levels' of items. In fact, in my own homebrew system based on the old Darkurthe Legends RPG, I created a "QL" ("QualityLevel") scheme. I call it my "CPAGMEL" (See-pag-mel); Crap, Poor, Average, Good, Master, Equisite, Legendary.
Each of these levels has a %'age associated with it in regards to benefits, costs, and availability (as well as the minimum Skill Level required to even have a chance of creating one). Anyway, the "benefits" can cover anything in particular to the item at hand. It is a fairly loose system, allowing the player and GM to tailor a particular item towards some goal. A "Good" quality saddle could be described as "Extra padding gives the rider a more comfortable ride, letting them extend their normal riding day by around 5%", or it could be described as "This saddle has smooth-beveled ridges into key locations as well as excellent stirrups, giving the rider a 5% better chance of remaining seated under situations that might otherwise cause a rider to fall", etc. And yes, this means a Exquisite QL Dagger could have +4 to attack...but as I said, 5's range of numbers doesn't allow for this level of detail (I guess a +4 may be the equivalent of about, oh, +1 or +2 in "D&D" terms), whereas in my RPG ("Fantasy Elements" is what I called it), that bonus is nice to have but not unbalancing for 'low level' (no levels in the game, btw), but gives 'high level' users a much better edge. In 5e, it's a pretty flat curve from 1st to 20th level.
Anyway, with regards to 5e, because it has such a limited range of adjustments (+1 vs +3 is a pretty big adjustment, for example), I'd have "Masterwork" items be equivalent to "specialized" items; that is, they aren't "better at everything" for that item, they are "better at one aspect" for that thing...lighter, stronger, faster, etc. I DO NOT think that weapons and armor should have "pluses" from Masterwork items...not even with just one 'part' (e.g., +1 to hit but not damage). They should be desirable from a ROLE-PLAYING side of things and not a COMBAT side of things. You want bonuses in combat? Magic weapons or skill...simply tossing GP's and getting almost the same thing cheapens the magic, imho.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
Rhenny
Adventurer
I agree. There are many ways to articulate a fine, non-magical item.
Perhaps it is so well made it is less encumbering
Maybe it does grant a bonus to applicable skill checks
It could be that it is so sturdy that it is much more difficult to break.
It may just be so beautifully adorned that it is prized by collectors and is worth more
That said, published options are never a bad thing.
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G
Guest 6801328
Guest
I have no problem allowing players to spend 100g to have a "masterwork" weapon.
It's the mechanical bonus I take issue with.
It's the mechanical bonus I take issue with.
Meh. A masterfully forged weapon in my world is already magic. Yes, you heard me. Blacksmithing is magical. Another poster said that yes, they'd like a magical burlap sack and, upon reflection, I have to agree. Being able to make magic out of anything sounds like a good idea to me, because it leaves it up to the GM to decide how they want magic to appear.
The only time I'd be interested in a "masterwork" weapon is if masterwork ends up as a new keyword, like reach or two-handed, that does something in combat. Which would be awesome. I'd love to see new categories of weapons. Maybe hooked weapons that make it easy to disarm opponents, or spiked armor/shields, or the like.
Also, for the record? I don't care about past editions that much. Masterwork isn't a sacred cow that needs to be preserved by any means. So, yeah. That no answer fits me perfectly.
Now, I wouldn't mind seeing more crafting rules. I'd love to see better rules for crafting, stronghold building, follower gathering, and more along those lines. I must admit, I'm a bit of an economics geek that loves putting bits of that in the game. But mastercraft as per 3e just feels like an unneeded step that ultimately adds nothing to the game.
The only time I'd be interested in a "masterwork" weapon is if masterwork ends up as a new keyword, like reach or two-handed, that does something in combat. Which would be awesome. I'd love to see new categories of weapons. Maybe hooked weapons that make it easy to disarm opponents, or spiked armor/shields, or the like.
Also, for the record? I don't care about past editions that much. Masterwork isn't a sacred cow that needs to be preserved by any means. So, yeah. That no answer fits me perfectly.
Now, I wouldn't mind seeing more crafting rules. I'd love to see better rules for crafting, stronghold building, follower gathering, and more along those lines. I must admit, I'm a bit of an economics geek that loves putting bits of that in the game. But mastercraft as per 3e just feels like an unneeded step that ultimately adds nothing to the game.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
I'm glad that someone is getting some use out of that system.
I had never thought of material for a bag of holding before. Now that I think of it, though, burlap would be a dynamite fabric for a bag of holding. It's durable, breathable, resists rough handling, and is environmentally sound.
Also, on planet Earth, it's really cheap. If it's good enough for coffee, potatoes, and sack races, it's good enough for a bag of holding!
Also, on planet Earth, it's really cheap. If it's good enough for coffee, potatoes, and sack races, it's good enough for a bag of holding!
