Removal of the limit on Daily Magic Item power uses

[ghrezdd]

My group (I am the GM) does not like the artificial limit on the use of Daily Powers granted by Magic Items (eg: 1 at Heroic, 2 at Paragon and 3 at Epic). I also feel that it nerfs magic items, but I also understand that a PCs power level was factored with that limit on items.

My question is how unbalancing would it be if that limit was removed?

 

[Nail]

Much depends on how much your players decide to spam Daily powers from magic items. If you remove the limit, there'll be no reason not to stockpile low level magic items with Daily powers.

Just sayin'.

 

[ForbidenMaster]

My group (I am the GM) does not like the artificial limit on the use of Daily Powers granted by Magic Items (eg: 1 at Heroic, 2 at Paragon and 3 at Epic). I also feel that it nerfs magic items, but I also understand that a PCs power level was factored with that limit on items.

My question is how unbalancing would it be if that limit was removed?

Assuming that you still wish to keep the limit on how many times you can use the item itself, you will essentially see characters running arround with numerous cheap magic items that are very powerfull and will be using them all throughout the day instead of their class features. Additionally, you will have problems such as a bag of holding with 20 dwarven armors so that the party never has to spend a healing surge outside of combat, and will get a free one durring every combat. In short, it can very much break the game.

Now if you dont keep a limit on how many times you can use an undevidual item, then it would essentially be the same as above, but without having to actually buy 20 dwarven armors. You would just have one, and never spend one of your own healing surges, ever. Again, not how the game was designed and definitly broken.

 

[mach1.9pants]

If it annoys your group a lot you can certainly get around it but it will require a high level of thought as DM giving out items and other, more gamist, restrictions on creation of items... especially at higher levels where the money to make a bag of holding and 20 dwarven +1 armours is negligible. How will you stop the players abusing the system? Obviously you can enforce a 'don't take the mickey' rule and as soon as they step over that line you slam the daily limts on again.

 

[Klaus]

My group (I am the GM) does not like the artificial limit on the use of Daily Powers granted by Magic Items (eg: 1 at Heroic, 2 at Paragon and 3 at Epic). I also feel that it nerfs magic items, but I also understand that a PCs power level was factored with that limit on items.

My question is how unbalancing would it be if that limit was removed?

Don't forget: you already get an additional Item Daily Power use at each milestone (you just can't use an already-used item).

The intent is, as the day goes on and the encounters pile up, your action points and items will play a larger role to compensate the diminishing healing surges and spent daily powers.

 

[BobTheNob]

Don't forget: you already get an additional Item Daily Power use at each milestone (you just can't use an already-used item).

The intent is, as the day goes on and the encounters pile up, your action points and items will play a larger role to compensate the diminishing healing surges and spent daily powers.

Klaus has read the intention correctly. This is how it is meant to work.

That said, I will tell you my story. Im am GM, party was accumulating loot for a while and I was noticing something : Players were asking for every item they could get their hands on that has passive effects. No-one wanted items with Daily powers. Not to mention that I was observing the game as it went on and people were not using the daily power items they had for fear it was the wrong time.

So I reviewed the situation and something occured to me. (Drum role) Players were not enjoying there loot! Rediculous situation, its a game, its meant to be fun, but no-one was getting a "Kick" out of it.

So I made an executive decision. Every item power that was daily, I made encounter, but still had to be "fueled" by the player (i.e. my heroic party could still only use 1 item an encounter, paragon could use 2 per encounter, epic 3). What happened after that? People started using there gear and were happy to get items with "Daily" powers in them.

We have been operating for a few months like this and really, there hasnt been any "imbalances" caused by it. As GM Im happy it hasnt damaged the game experience and the players are happy.

It works for our group

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

BobTheNob, how has that impacted on the pace of combat? I have experienced much the same thing.. and as a player I focus on items with properties. But so far the game I run hasn't had problem with the pace of combat and I am not sure I want to alter the dynamics of the game quite yet.

 

[Pale Jackal]

I like it, BobTheNob, especially since I run two fight days typically, I wasn't sure how I should deal with magic items and additional uses.

 

[BobTheNob]

BobTheNob, how has that impacted on the pace of combat? I have experienced much the same thing.. and as a player I focus on items with properties. But so far the game I run hasn't had problem with the pace of combat and I am not sure I want to alter the dynamics of the game quite yet.

No impact really. Everything proceeds as normal pace wise, the players are just using item powers more often.

Note : I still enforce that a single item cannot be used twice (post heroic) even if the player has 2 or more item uses per encounter.

Its not super-slick and has issues.For instance, One of our players had Dwarven Scale, which is a free heal per encounter. That was a little too powerful so I had to ammend that a healing surge was required. Touch ups are required here and there, but once you get a feel for what is right and wrong in 4e, thats not too hard to overcome

 

[Tantriel]

Our group currently doesn't use the Daily Power limits, with the only "rule" being that only one magic item per slot is allowed, so there's no swapping Armor/Belts/Gloves/whatever.

It doesn't seem to cause any problems, even with my character, who's tanked up with "Damage increasing" items, such as the Gauntlets of Ogre Power, and is hoping for a Girdle of Giant Strength

Basically, we just use item powers as we would any other power granted to the character from class/feat/etc, and don't worry any more about it.