Magic item rarity revision forthcoming?

[Felon]

My understanding is that magic items are seeing a revision that will designate them as common, uncommon, or rare. Do we know if this will be retroactively applied to existing items in some publication, and if so, when?

 

[renau1g]

Soon...

TBH I haven't heard a specified time or even if it will be applied. The new CB has them pre-loaded so I'm not sure if they'll release an official list

 

[Mirtek]

I doubt that they will provide any reclassification beyond the one they already did.

 

[Joshua Randall]

FYI (copy/paste from something else I was writing for people):

With the release of D&D Essentials (Rules Compendium, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, etc.) there were some changes made to the way existing things work to bring them into line with the Essentials rules. Those updates are in this document. (Warning! Direct link to PDF.) There's a list of magic item rarity on page 3 of that document.

Yet more Essentials-related upates are in this other document. (Warning! Direct link to PDF.)

 

[fba827]

as Joshua Randall's link points out, the majority of previously published magic items are uncommon. A couple dozen exceptions (listed in the above link) have been decalred common.

 

[Felon]

Hmm. I like the overall idea, but doesn't that reduce the number of items that are available for purchase rather small? The DM dispenses uncommons and rares, right?

Also, the list doesn't cover what items are now rare.

 

[Mirtek]

Hmm. I like the overall idea, but doesn't that reduce the number of items that are available for purchase rather small?

Yes, currently it's much too small. At some levels you have the choice of only a single item per slot (your level 8 paladin in plate and heavy shield better takes the +2 elven cloak with it's +2 stealth for one of your 3 item slots, because the only other alternative would be a plain +2 cloak with no property whatsoever)

The DM dispenses uncommons and rares, right?

Yes

Also, the list doesn't cover what items are now rare.

New rares (and uncommons and commons) will be introduced in new books/magazines.

A select few of the old uncommons have been updated to rare status (actually updated only refers to being called rare while still haven their stats unchanged from when they were first published in PHB1) in HotFL and HotFK.

As to why WotC only rates the old items in such a blanket approach: Why should WotC put any effort in cleaning up the items they have already sold us anyway, when the can just sell us a book with new items?

 

[MrMyth]

Hmm. I like the overall idea, but doesn't that reduce the number of items that are available for purchase rather small?

It does - though I think the goal going forward will be for a greater balance of common and uncommon items. And, honestly, a DM can find a good number of existing items to designate common if desired. I think the mass declaration of most existing items as uncommon was done because it was the easiest way to prevent abuse with the designers needing to do the least amount of work.

 

[zoroaster100]

As I understand it, the items that would qualify to be common must not have any daily powers, and must have properties that are always on. Some items which meet these requirements might still be uncommon if they are otherwise special or complex in some other way, perhaps, but if an item has a daily power of any kind, it cannot be common.

 

[Jhaelen]

I doubt that they will provide any reclassification beyond the one they already did.

This. They'll leave it up to the DM.

New (or reprinted) items will of course get classified. But they won't invest precious time in thinking too hard about items from old source books.

Just look at their approach to dealing with new monster design guidelines. You don't generate profits by supporting books people already bought.