Jeff Carlsen
Adventurer
Possible modifications that might allow such play do come to mind, yes. In addition, the set of "guidelines" concerning the character levels for which various levels of item might be "appropriate" seems to chime discordantly with the actual system presented. Does the "Magic Item Rarity" table mean that, if you roll for a "tough" encounter that 3rd level characters are to face and get a result including one or more "Rare" items, you ought to ignore that result because "Rare" items are "appropriate" only for characters of level 5 or above?
I think they're supposed to be two different tools, and they aren't intended to be used together. The rarity by level chart provides guidance for when you're picking and choosing individual magic items for an adventure, and is for games where you want a steady increase in the power of items. The Easy, Moderate, and Tough charts are for if you want to roll randomly and have surprises.