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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 740409" data-attributes="member: 530">I'm strongly opposed.1.  Breaks the CR system, by making level no longer a reliable gauge of power.2.  People who know more things are usually more experienced, not vice versa.3.  They assume a niche in the rules that are already covered by feats and prestige classes -- both of which are better integrated into the rules.  What is the benefit to creating a new mechanic?4.  Detracts from the superior ability that wizards have to create magic items, lessening their unique role in the party.5.  It's a power-up escalation in the system.  The more ways of manipulating points you create, the more opportunity for min-maxxing you add.  Continued trends in this direction will only make things worse.6.  There is an XP-feedback loop.  As you get more powerful relative to your true character level, CR encounters equivalent to your level become easier to defeat.  Therefore, you are able to take on more difficult encounters per your level for having these abilities and thus acquire XP at a faster rate.  Essentially, you are spending some amount of XP to gain the ability, but the  utility of the ability allows you to gain back that XP, and more, at ever increasing rates.  For example, a character is 7th level but has bought enough benefits to be as powerful as an 8th level character.  He still gets XP as a 7th level character (which is more), despite the fact that he has the effective capability of a 8th level character.  As a result, there is no reason not to take many of these abilities, as the XP cost more than pays for itself.7.  The cost of acquiring such abilities remains constant while the XP totals of character increases dramatically.  There is no reason not to take a whole bunch of these once you get to high levels.  The cost becomes wholly irrelevant and they become, essentially, free power-ups.  Compare an ability with a 500xp cost at 1st level to 20th level.  500xp is irrelevant at 20th level but +1BaB is still +1BaB.In the end, I think that it is a clumsy graft of a point buy mechanic ala GURPS onto a strongly level based game.  A more widescale change to the levelling mechanic might make a similar, but different mechanic, more workable (like in four colors to fantasy), but this mechanic alone does not mesh well with the system.  From a system design standpoint, I have to say that I find that this mechanic was poorly thought out.</blockquote>

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