D&D 5E Attack Bonuses

[Sage Genesis]

Even so, it's a possible outcome. It's not as if no PC in D&D has ever had an artifact, after all. And even if we limit it to "very rare" items, you'll still end up with an attack bonus that is so high you practically only miss on a 1.

 

[keterys]

The belts are bad precedent, setting the stage for a whole lot of Wrong.

 

[ferratus]

Guys, c'mon. Rare magic items shouldn't be taken into account when discussing balance. The whole point of magic items of rare level is that they allow the player to have super powers, like Hercules' Lion skin, or Perseus' winged boots. A rare magical item should be character-defining.

If you are going to hand out a belt of giant strength, I want to have the strength of a giant. If you hand out a magic carpet, I want to roll out the carpet and go for a ride.

Otherwise, what is the point of having magic items at all?

 

[keterys]

It's not hard to make fun and interesting items that don't obliterate basic system math and pave the way for others to do just as bad or worse.

Magic carpets can let you fly and see wondrous things, and change how the game plays. Just don't let them also give you Dex 30, which gives you +10 Init, attack, AC, etc.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Okay, so can we please get rid of those stupid items, then, since they ruin the whole point of bounded accuracy?

The DM chooses which magic items the players have access to.

 

[keterys]

The DM chooses which magic items the players have access to.

And yet, we're still hoping they'll design the magic items in a way that people can use them to improve their game. They don't need the items to be perfectly balanced, and they should feel free to make some more out-there exciting items.

For example, the Spellguard shield gives you advantage on all saves against spells. That sounds pretty awesome. I'd think it were less awesome if it also gave you a +5 bonus to AC.

 

[GX.Sigma]

And yet, we're still hoping they'll design the magic items in a way that people can use them to improve their game. They don't need the items to be perfectly balanced, and they should feel free to make some more out-there exciting items.

For example, the Spellguard shield gives you advantage on all saves against spells. That sounds pretty awesome. I'd think it were less awesome if it also gave you a +5 bonus to AC.

The point of the Belts of Giant Strength is that they make you super-strong. In my opinion, the awesomest way to do that is to increase your strength beyond the cap (WAY beyond the cap, in the case of the artifact-level one). Any other version would not be sufficiently awesome to bear the name.

If you don't want to unbalance your game by increasing a character's strength beyond the cap, don't give them an artifact that makes them super-strong. Sounds fine to me.

I probably won't ever give my players a Belt of Storm Giant Strength (except maybe as an end-of-campaign goal)--but I think it's awesome that it's out there.

 

[Wulfgar76]

The Strength Belts are the most irresponsibly-designed items in the game. The better ones completely destroy Bounded Accuracy, the foundation of the system. They should grant damage bonuses ONLY. Even a +1 bonus to accuracy over the 'expected' attack bonuses in a non-scaling game press against the bounds of the system, a +2 bonus warps them, and a +3 breaks them.

 

[keterys]

Belt of Giant Strength (+1 to +5)
Benefit: You gain advantage and a +X bonus to Strength checks and saves. Multiply your encumbrance limits by 10^X.

Bam, Giant Strength.

Edit: For clarity, replace the +1 to +5 with the names of the giants. Just writing short-hand.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Belt of Giant Strength (+1 to +5)
Benefit: You gain advantage and a +X bonus to Strength checks and saves. Multiply your encumbrance limits by 10^X.

Bam, Giant Strength.

Edit: For clarity, replace the +1 to +5 with the names of the giants. Just writing short-hand.

That's like a potion of invisibility that only works when no one else is around.

Honestly, I don't think "you can pretty much always hit, and you deal a little more damage" is that game-breaking for an artifact.