dave2008
Legend
If anything is to avoid it is +x shield and armor.
I am aware, as I mentioned in the OP that is my current solution.
If anything is to avoid it is +x shield and armor.
Did you read the OP? I said that is my current solution, but that I am looking for a different option. I also clarified in the OP that it is not broken, but "bent" and I want an adjustment. I've been playing 5e since it came out, so I know how to make the encounters that challenge my group. I am looking for a different solution.
It isn't broken, it just doesn't fit in the dynamic of the game you are utilizing.
In various different games with different groups of players I cater to different styles. With one type of style if they DO NOT have these types of bonuses they will die...point blank. I can kill a level 20 party of 5 members with 8 Hill Giants (a CR FAR below what is typical) simply with a few tweaks to items that focus on the players weak saves and using smart tactics if the group isn't composed of really good players.
On the otherhand, I can have that same bunch of Hill Giants killed by a party of 4 fifth level characters who have no magic items simply by playing a straightforward combat if the players use good tactics.
It's not necessarily about the CR and balance in that way, but HOW you DM and play the game and cater to different playstyles.
My alternative is that if you give out magic items don't hand out items that skew the numbers too much. Sorry if that alternative doesn't work for you, but if you've already come to a conclusion, why ask?
The other obvious solution would be to change what +X items do. For example, under my own set of house rules, +X weapons only deal extra damage, and +X armor increases your DR; but I also converted armor into DR as baseline, so it might be kind of weird outside of that context.Yes, that could be a solution. But I was also trying to find a solution without using the ban hammer. I am also looking for a solution that would work for spells I don't know about or future spells (or magic items) that do similar things.
That solution does work for me, it is what I am doing now. But I am looking for another option. Also, I haven't come to a conclusion. As I stated in the OP: "I can bet this breaks something else, but I am not sure what. Any thoughts?"
So, I am curious if my proposed solution messes with something else in the game's mechanics that I am not thinking of.
Here is my proposed solution: magic doesn't stack. Whatever magic gives you a bonus to a roll (not disadvantage or advantage) cannot stake with another type of magic that gives you a bonus to the same roll.