Magic Items Preference: flavor, or mechanical bonus?

Sacrosanct · May 21, 2019

Preference question, and no wrong answer. In your games, do you prefer magic items to add flavor to the game, or do you prefer magic items that offer mechanical bonuses.

For example, what sounds like it would add more fun to your game, getting a +1 sword, or getting a sword that illuminated upon command with the brightness of a torch. Would you prefer a suit of +1 armor, or armor that never needed repair and was always gleaming?

Kurotowa · May 21, 2019

My wish for a magic item is "This item makes me feel cooler." If it can't accomplish that then it's no better than mundane gear.

A +1 in combat always makes me feel cooler because combat power is satisfying in a combat focused game like D&D. Utility items that let me do something I couldn't before, like fly or breathe underwater, make me feel cooler because I can do something most other characters can't. Flavor items, like armor that's always gleaming, are the least reliable because they depend on the DM describing them having an impact on the world.

Gleaming armor only makes me feel cool if NPCs are occasionally impressed by my appearance. Getting Advantage on a social roll now and then would help close the deal. If it fades into a trivial background detail that never impacts the game, what's even the point?

Might I consider assembling the Dread Lord cosmetic item package from XGtE? (Cloak of Billowing, Smoldering Armor, and Dread Helm.) I might in theory, but the problem is there's no mechanically enforced benefit to it. It depends on DM whim if and when it gives me Advantage on Intimidate or the like. Unless my DM is really on the ball about describing how peasants cower and drunkards hesitate to pick a bar fight it's never going to be as satisfying as a magic item that does something. Even if that something is as prosaic as a simple +1 to attack and damage.

Tony Vargas · May 21, 2019

Not a fan of TotM, but, since I don't see how it actually has any bearing, went ahead and voted for da Flavah. Bland bonuses are bland.

Of course, in the olden days you didn't have to choose: your +1 sword most likely glowed (thanks, Tolkien), and your +1 armor was feather-light and needed no maintenance. 5e, likewise, has some cool options for adding extra seasoning to otherwise bland bonus items.

Raith5 · May 21, 2019

As a player I would rather survive than be cool, so give me a bonus.

Baldurs_Underdark · May 21, 2019

Flavor above cold numbers. I play the game to have a good laugh, and flavored items allow for new jokes.

Btw, I dislike abbreviations like TotM. I forgot what it means and first thought that it's another adventure, like Tomb of the Mummy or Tales of the Mighty. Takes me forever to realize it means Theatre of the Mind, and I actually had to use a search engine to get to its meaning.

S'mon · May 21, 2019

Bonuses beat flavour, but bonuses + flavour beats just bonuses.

Shiroiken · May 21, 2019

I think the question is better as "would you rather have a lesser bonus to get a cool, useful ability, or a higher bonus?" I'd rather have a sword of wounding than a +2 sword, even though both are rare. I'd give up +2 to hit/damage for cumulatively add 1d4 necrotic damage per round with each hit. I'd rather have either than sovereign glue, which is legendary but of limited utility.

MarkB · May 21, 2019

I voted for mechanical bonus because I want to feel like the item is actually being of use to me, but with that said, I'd far rather have something I can use creatively than something that just changes a number on my character sheet. If it's materially useful, I wouldn't classify it as "flavour", even if its usefulness is situational.

Then again, in a recent low-level game I played, the most highly coveted item was the Cloak of Heroic Flapping, whose only effect was to always flap and billow dramatically, regardless of the weather conditions.