D&D (2024) DMG 5.5 - the return of bespoke magical items?

[tetrasodium]

huh, if i'm relying on an NPC to craft my magic items for me maybe they should set up a hub where people can request certain items, maybe i could outsource the process completely where they could pre-prepare and have some of the commonly requested items on hand, where the items can just be straight exchanged for gold, a distributor of enchanted objects, some sort of magic item...shop, perhaps?

That might be a good idea to raise with your gm when you express a desire to work with them on magic item crafting through such a place but I'm not sure what point you are trying to make since your post comes off seeming to express sarcastic frustration or anger.

 

[KYRON45]

Just their PCs insofar as gameplay is concerned.

Correct. If the players want control, they can DM.
Am I old school or just a jerk?

 

[Micah Sweet]

huh, if i'm relying on an NPC to craft my magic items for me maybe they should set up a hub where people can request certain items, maybe i could outsource the process completely where they could pre-prepare and have some of the commonly requested items on hand, where the items can just be straight exchanged for gold, a distributor of enchanted objects, some sort of magic item...shop, perhaps?

Sure. So long as the execution of the magic mart can be made to work within a setting framework acceptable to me and my players, I have no problem with it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

In fact, expanding on that point, plenty of materials in D&D worlds are inherently magical, so the idea of a craftsman making magic armor out of, say, dragon hide, with skill instead of finger wiggling seems reasonable.

Yeah. I totally concede the point.

 

[Micah Sweet]

A lot of people on this site seem to have been burned before. It's really a shame.

That might be a good idea to raise with your gm when you express a desire to work with them on magic item crafting through such a place but I'm not sure what point you are trying to make since your post comes off seeming to express sarcastic frustration or anger.

 

[tetrasodium]

A lot of people on this site seem to have been burned before. It's really a shame.

It's not surprising that those kinds of outlooks towards GMs & internalized player frustrations not quite targeted at anything are more common than they were in editions past. Sure there were folks who might express frustrations of being burned, but they tended to be outliers.

I think that 5e does a lot to encourage adoption of that mindset through the way it sets the default for so many dials to 11 or close & then just packages it in rulings not rules while throwing it to the GM with "you can houserule it". Houserules tended to be a mix of restrictions benefits nerfs & buffs over baseline RAW in the past & it was easier to view it as neutral at worst if "yea $X change is a bit of a pinch but $Y-change is awesome" seems a bit too far... That's quite different from "wow.. all of these are basically nerfs" & it's even worse if the player viewing those changes as nerfs lack experience with other editions or systems where the kinds of gameplay where those new "nerfed" baselines can be fun

 

[Scribe]

A lot of people on this site seem to have been burned before. It's really a shame.

A social activity derailed by social awkward people? Who would have ever guessed that could happen.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not surprising that those kinds of outlooks towards GMs & internalized player frustrations not quite targeted at anything are more common than they were in editions past. Sure there were folks who might express frustrations of being burned, but they tended to be outliers.

I think that 5e does a lot to encourage adoption of that mindset through the way it sets the default for so many dials to 11 or close & then just packages it in rulings not rules while throwing it to the GM with "you can houserule it". Houserules tended to be a mix of restrictions benefits nerfs & buffs over baseline RAW in the past & it was easier to view it as neutral at worst if "yea $X change is a bit of a pinch but $Y-change is awesome" seems a bit too far... That's quite different from "wow.. all of these are basically nerfs" & it's even worse if the player viewing those changes as nerfs lack experience with other editions or systems where the kinds of gameplay where those new "nerfed" baselines can be fun

Agreed. It is extremely frustrating to houserule for simulation and verisimilitude purposes, because the base game is so forgiving that every such change is basically a nerf. This is why I can't use WotC's game as my base anymore.

 

[ezo]

I wouldn't say that. A path where you go from 1st to 20th? Absolutely not. I've never ran that sort of campaign. I realize the concept is popularized because of Paizo but I still wouldn't say a continuous unbroken path is normal by any means.

Yeh, IMO such "paths" for 1 to 20 are patently ridiculous.

Most such adventures (IME anyway) run the course of weeks to maybe a couple months in length in adventure time. The concept of a PC going for 1 to 10, 15 or even 20 is such a time span breaks all sense of verisimilitude. In my own games, for example, PCs will spend a minimum of 3-5 game years getting to such levels, and likely much longer.

In fact, expanding on that point, plenty of materials in D&D worlds are inherently magical, so the idea of a craftsman making magic armor out of, say, dragon hide, with skill instead of finger wiggling seems reasonable.

We did this in 2E all the time, in fact the game had rules for it.

Am I old school or just a jerk?

Can't we all just be both?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yeh, IMO such "paths" for 1 to 20 are patently ridiculous.

Most such adventures (IME anyway) run the course of weeks to maybe a couple months in length in adventure time. The concept of a PC going for 1 to 10, 15 or even 20 is such a time span breaks all sense of verisimilitude. In my own games, for example, PCs will spend a minimum of 3-5 game years getting to such levels, and likely much longer.


We did this in 2E all the time, in fact the game had rules for it.


Can't we all just be both?

It would be interesting to create a setting where the crazy fast leveling of the modern adventure path was a setting assumption. The world would likely be full of 20th level characters, probably in all the significant leadership positions (since there's very little that can realistically step to such a character).