Unboxing the DM's Kit

[JoJa]

What would a Tiefling fighter be without a Flaming weapon?

A Tiefling fighter.

 

[Wraith Form]

A Tiefling fighter.

...With a normal weapon, exactly.


Tieflings don't need flaming weapons to do damage, c'mon.

If that's your logic, I'd love to hear what kind of weapon a human "needs."

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

1) He's metagaming, unless his character has been told in game as a plot point the the Sword of Foo will help him defeat the evil lich king. My game culture strongly discourages metagaming.

Nope, the definition of Metagaming is when your CHARACTER makes a decision in game with the knowledge that the game is just a game and therefore works in a certain way.

If the player asks the DM to put a magic item into the game because he'd like his character to have that, then it is never a character decision and can't be metagaming.

2) If she has been told the Orb of Reckoning will help defeat the hobgoblin menace, it becomes a plot point and an adventure to find it is called for, the result of which is the defeat of a miniboss and the Orb as treasure.

This can be done just fine with wishlists. You just add one step at the beginning where the player asks for an item and then the DM says "Alright, I'll drop some hints in game where you can find it and your character can follow those to try to get it."

3) If you find the Fiddle of Happy Times and Sad Times Too and you don't want it, deal with it in game. Find someone in a major city to sell it to, pick up a new hobby, or trade it to a minstrel for a tip on where to find that Cape of Neck Slot Checkbox Ticking. Don't cry about it like a poorly-raised three-year-old.

It's not about crying or being a three year old. It's that the game is more fun when you can do cool stuff. If your DM hands out the appropriate amount of magic items but gives you entirely items that aren't useful for your character, then you are only getting 20% of the standard wealth in the game. This means that over the course of the game, you'll eventually have quite a bit less powerful items than you should. The difference between having a +6 weapon, armor, and neck item and a +3 of those same items at 30th level is the difference between life and death.

If your DM is handing out much more than the standard amount of items then it works alright, I admit.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Woah, it's like seeing the argueemnts made in the general forum about wish list and magic items.

DM: But look how awesome this item is! If you don't want it, suffer the consequences! Sell it for it's 20% value. That'll teach you how awesome I am!

 

[JoeGKushner]

Seems like the random magic items tables might be perfect for the next adventure tool. Tables are much easier to keep up to date if they're electronic.

Man, has WoTC said that they're even going to take the monster builder out of beta yet? Or make the encounter builder... you know, more useful? My days of hoping that the DDI would mature into something have quickly faded into the gray.

 

[Ahrimon]

I guess the good news is that uncommons sell for 50% of their value now. So that's a bit more spare cash for those unwanted items.

 

[Zaran]

Man, has WoTC said that they're even going to take the monster builder out of beta yet? Or make the encounter builder... you know, more useful? My days of hoping that the DDI would mature into something have quickly faded into the gray.

I can't find their encounter builder anymore so I'm thinking we may get our wish on that soon.

 

[ourchair]

I don't actually own my own Dungeon Master's Guide -- I commit much of the numbers to memory or fudge them, and rely on rules knowledge instead to keep the game coherent and internally consistent -- and I think this is great even for people who have already learned the game.

For one thing, the DMG it comes with is easier to carry and makes a better 'quick reference' than a large hardcover. The maps and tokens are a great choice of 'icing' and basically will take me from running games with paper clips and buttons to being able to move away from 'ghetto style' aesthetic.