D&D 5E Magic Item Math of 5e

[Maxperson]

I guess items may make the difference between being able to complete 6 encounters and being able to complete 8 encounters before being utterly drained.

Most 5e groups don't fight 6-8 encounters per day so the somewhat increased resource attrition is not an issue. IME encounters are usually about "Will we win" or "will we win without anyone dying", and (probably due to bounded accuracy) magic items seem to make only a marginal difference. Whereas in high level 3e & 4e items (or inherent bonuses in 4e replacing items) are vital.

If the DM is not giving those 6-8 encounters a day, he will have to make what challenges he does use much more difficult in order to compensate. That means that if he reduced to 4 a day, you should be running out of resources by encounter 4, even with those magic items. Take away those magic items and encounter 4 will likely kill you given the increased difficulty.

If the DM has not increased the difficulty to compensate, then he might as well just be handing out free exp, because those fights will be so easy with or without the items that there is no point in wasting the time to "fight" them.

 

[Prism]

I'm incredibly cautious about awarding defense items.

Offense is much less of a problem - there are always more goblins and dragons than the party can handle.

But stratospheric AC? Not a good idea.

I suggest to everyone to hold off the plus AC items until at least third tier.

At double-digit levels, it feels more okay if ordinary foes like thugs and Orcs can't actually hit you except on a 20.

Yes, and in fact the random magic item generation tables hold to this. The chance of finding decent magic armour (by that I mean magic studded leather, half plate, plate mail etc) is very slim compared to finding magic weapons or pretty much any other type of item. I stick to that concept when placing items as a DM

 

[MwaO]

If the DM is not giving those 6-8 encounters a day, he will have to make what challenges he does use much more difficult in order to compensate. That means that if he reduced to 4 a day, you should be running out of resources by encounter 4, even with those magic items. Take away those magic items and encounter 4 will likely kill you given the increased difficulty.

If the DM has not increased the difficulty to compensate, then he might as well just be handing out free exp, because those fights will be so easy with or without the items that there is no point in wasting the time to "fight" them.

+1.

Something has to counterbalance, because one of the biggest guidelines of 5e is the focus on strategic use of resources over tactical. If a caster with 12 spells knows he's fighting 4 or less combats every adventuring day, then he can spend 3 spells per combat without fear. If he thinks he might fight 8 combats in a day, then he needs to be careful about using more than 1 spell per combat. Unless he has +4 slots from somewhere - say a Wand of Wonder or a pair of Staves...

 

[CapnZapp]

Yes, and in fact the random magic item generation tables hold to this. The chance of finding decent magic armour (by that I mean magic studded leather, half plate, plate mail etc) is very slim compared to finding magic weapons or pretty much any other type of item. I stick to that concept when placing items as a DM

Though I feel that's more a result of 1) magic armor isn't that common 2) all the other types are also on the table...

Why would anyone ever create Leather +1? Or Ringmail?

That's LOL.

I wouldn't read into it a deliberate decision to withhold "better than max" armor. For that I would turn to published modules with "prerolled" loot, that is to say regular specified loot.

Do writers of official adventures include "useless" armor like Leather +1 or Ringmail +2 (useless in that they're no better than armor you can buy from the PHB)?

 

[Prism]

Though I feel that's more a result of 1) magic armor isn't that common 2) all the other types are also on the table...

I wouldn't read into it a deliberate decision to withhold "better than max" armor. For that I would turn to published modules with "prerolled" loot, that is to say regular specified loot.

I do think there is a little of that going on though. If you look at table H you get +2 leather next to +1 studded next to +1 splint. So the table designer certainly recognises that armour types are different. On table I +3 leather is as rare as +1 plate. Table G is the silly one where you get to find +1 leather and +1 chainmail

 

[CapnZapp]

I do think there is a little of that going on though. If you look at table H you get +2 leather next to +1 studded next to +1 splint. So the table designer certainly recognises that armour types are different. On table I +3 leather is as rare as +1 plate. Table G is the silly one where you get to find +1 leather and +1 chainmail

Well, to me "leather +3" is an oxymoron.

Sure, it's useful, but it makes absolutely no sense.

Then, on the other hand, trying to make sense of the current 5E magic rules is a descent into madness.

 

[Maxperson]

[MENTION=463]S'mon[/MENTION] Since you just laughed at my post, we can all take that to mean that you have no good response to the well reasoned argument I put forth.

 

[CapnZapp]

[MENTION=463]S'mon[/MENTION] Since you just laughed at my post, we can all take that to mean that you have no good response to the well reasoned argument I put forth.

Aside: I brought it to the attention of the mods that the Laugh button doesn't always work as intended and that it can (and is) used to bully other posters. The complete opposite of the intended function, basically.

Laughing *at* somebody is not the same as laughing *with* that person.

I was dismissed.

 

[Maxperson]

Aside: I brought it to the attention of the mods that the Laugh button doesn't always work as intended and that it can (and is) used to bully other posters. The complete opposite of the intended function, basically.

Laughing *at* somebody is not the same as laughing *with* that person.

I was dismissed.

Yeah, but you can only be bullied if you let people bully you. Being laughed at doesn't bother me, so nobody here can bully me

Heck, if the only response someone gives is a laugh, it's kinda sad, really.

 

[MwaO]

I do think there is a little of that going on though. If you look at table H you get +2 leather next to +1 studded next to +1 splint. So the table designer certainly recognises that armour types are different. On table I +3 leather is as rare as +1 plate. Table G is the silly one where you get to find +1 leather and +1 chainmail

I think that's in part to hit the numbers that seem to be showing up. Namely, you should expect to find about 1 permanent magic item every 4 levels. Having essentially dud and consumable items helps kick the 24 rolls on Tables F-I back to the right numbers.

Btw, going back a bit and clarifying some of the numbers - expectations of a magic weapon in Table F, +1 equivalent in Table G, etc...