Why develop a core system of an rpg around the availability to convert hold to magic items, only to then have it be driven by "no"?Well, yeah, a system where a PC can snap their fingers and convert gold into a magic item as a bonus action would be pretty terrible.
But availability of magic items is just as much in the DM's control as the presence of a wraith. Sure, if the PCs know they are going up against a bunch of undead, they could see that a mace of disruption only cost 755 gp, and try to buy one; but there's no guarantee that one is for sale. And personally, I find the rarity system perfectly fine as a gauge of availability. Universal solvent may only cost $100 because of how useless it is, but as a legendary item, it may be really really difficult to track down.
That's how to have it both ways. Provide the relative utility numbers for magic items, but make it clear to players up-front that the items they want might be hard to find -- they don't get to just pick and choose. Make that the baseline, and then DMs can relax it if they want.
That does not give any results that help anyone.
For some like me, the neutered driven-by-cost-assess rpg fails to meet our desires.
For those like Zapp, who see the inability of an outlet to spend gold for personal character bonus/power as a core system problem, having lists of prices and a deployment system driven by "no" fails to achieve that goal.
A system that only works when it's not used is not something yo wrap a rpg creation process around.
It would be like giving the rogue sneak attack but then balancing the class around them not getting sneak attacks in play and then saying yo the GM "dont give them too many."
The core purpose of putting prices based on power onto every single magic item in the game pcs might want is so that they spend gold to buy them, not to give the GM more frequent reasons and cases to have to say no.
It's a recipe for getting the absolute worst of both world and then some. There is a system built to make item pricing eork, throwing out all the ones that dont fit and then there is the core premise of the GM must say no for it to work.
Or maybe I am obviously wrong and maybe decades after decades of point buy systems have proven how easy it is and that's why it's now common and practically built in practice for every rpg cuz it's just so obvious.
What page was that agsin?
Why not just go grab hero systems 400 ph plus rulebook which is practically chock thru eith "effect value point buy msnsgrmrnt" and the, you got it, should take no time to stat out those 5e magic items and viola... it's done. I mean they have I think over 3 decades of honing that point buy for effect system, so its gotta be perfect or dang close now.
Last edited: