Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Where Has All the Magic Gone?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Obryn" data-source="post: 4586167" data-attributes="member: 11821"><p>Since I'm running both 1e and 4e games nowadays, I've definitely noticed this, to a large extent.</p><p></p><p>First off, although 4e streamlined magic items and put them in a dry, less-interesting-to-read block format, it took a page from the 3.5 Magic Item Compendium and made it so that items with effects <em>other</em> than simple plusses are the rule rather than the exception. I think this enriches magic items pretty significantly from 3.5's default assumptions.</p><p></p><p>Second, AD&D 1e magic items are awesome. I love reading through all the bizarre, organic descriptions that make it plain there were no simple formulae at work. No hint of balance, either, by and large - which is part of the charm. There's nothing quite like figuring out bizarre uses for crazy items you looted from a hill giant, and determining what that weird cloak does through trial and error.</p><p></p><p>What could happen in 1e/2e, though, was that magic item abilities could overshadow a character's own abilities. For example, elven cloaks make everyone better at hiding than a thief. Elven boots make everyone better at sneaking. Girdles of Giant Strength are the meanest stat-boosting items in history. And so on. I remember characters with pages of magic items in my B/X/AD&D/etc games, back in the day, since they were littered all around published modules like candy.</p><p></p><p>I had a point, but I lost it somewhere along the way. Uhm... Well, I love 1e magic items in 1e-style games. I like 4e (and, by extension, 3.5 MIC) magic items better in 3e/4e-style games.</p><p></p><p>-O</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Obryn, post: 4586167, member: 11821"] Since I'm running both 1e and 4e games nowadays, I've definitely noticed this, to a large extent. First off, although 4e streamlined magic items and put them in a dry, less-interesting-to-read block format, it took a page from the 3.5 Magic Item Compendium and made it so that items with effects [I]other[/I] than simple plusses are the rule rather than the exception. I think this enriches magic items pretty significantly from 3.5's default assumptions. Second, AD&D 1e magic items are awesome. I love reading through all the bizarre, organic descriptions that make it plain there were no simple formulae at work. No hint of balance, either, by and large - which is part of the charm. There's nothing quite like figuring out bizarre uses for crazy items you looted from a hill giant, and determining what that weird cloak does through trial and error. What could happen in 1e/2e, though, was that magic item abilities could overshadow a character's own abilities. For example, elven cloaks make everyone better at hiding than a thief. Elven boots make everyone better at sneaking. Girdles of Giant Strength are the meanest stat-boosting items in history. And so on. I remember characters with pages of magic items in my B/X/AD&D/etc games, back in the day, since they were littered all around published modules like candy. I had a point, but I lost it somewhere along the way. Uhm... Well, I love 1e magic items in 1e-style games. I like 4e (and, by extension, 3.5 MIC) magic items better in 3e/4e-style games. -O [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Where Has All the Magic Gone?
Top