Ability Boost Items: A Crutch or a Tool?

[Cbas10]

In which case I have to suggest that there is nothing wrong with crutches, since no-one sneers at wizards for needing spellbooks or at fighters for needing weapons. So if you object to stat-boosting items it must be for some other reason.

I never said I objected to stat-boosting items; I never said that they were always crutches which characters depend on. The original topic raised that point, and my responses have been, "Sometimes; it depends on the situation."

Okay then.

"In the end, if a character cannot do something without one of these magical items, it is an object that is used by someone clearly unable to perform a set of actions if they did not have that object.. If the items merely make things easier, it is an object that is used to merely augment a person's already-competent skill.."

Read and understood. Now let's discuss whether ability boost items are a crutch or a tool, and whether any stigma ought to attach to using them because of that.

I will kick the ball off by noting that an item that boosts wisdom, charisma, or intelligence can make high-level spells available to a cleric, paladin, sorceror, bard, or wizard of high level but modest stats, who would otherwise be clearly unable to cast them.

Well, in addition to the example in my first post, I'll posit an 18th level wizard with a 17 intelligence (not concerned about min-maxing...err..optimization...just creating a simple example). This wizard cannot cast his 8th or 9th level spells unless he gets a headband of intellect +2 or something like that. Therefore, he can find some other area of expertise and compensate for the loss of the highest level spells. Well, he is already fairly good at using his light crossbow, so getting a hold of gloves of dexterity +2 would be a good idea for a tool; an item that is not NEEDED for using the crossbow, but will give him a little extra edge. However, the wizard may prop himself up on a headband and depend upon having it, for he cannot even take advantage of his own class-provided abilities without the little magic item. At 18th level, rolling a "1" on a save against the opponent's maximized fireball will ensure the destruction of any magical crutches.

 

[Umbran]

I was never comparing the utility/need/dependancy of weapons vs. ability-boost items. I never even mentioned any sort of magic item ouside of the ability-boost items. I'm not trying to be argumentative; just trying to make sure we swing back to the topic.

My point is that the distinction between ability boosting and other magical items is both weak and artificial. I'm not going off topic, merely suggesting that the topic is not as narrow as you might think.

An item that gives +2 enhancement bonus to Strength has much the same effect as a +1 weapon. If one is a crutch, so is the other. In considering whether the item is a "crutch" the method of the item's operation is not nearly so important as the effect it ultimately has.

 

[Cbas10]

My point is that the distinction between ability boosting and other magical items is both weak and artificial. I'm not going off topic, merely suggesting that the topic is not as narrow as you might think.

An item that gives +2 enhancement bonus to Strength has much the same effect as a +1 weapon. If one is a crutch, so is the other. In considering whether the item is a "crutch" the method of the item's operation is not nearly so important as the effect it ultimately has.

Okay, I see what you mean. I'd say that a magical sword is not needed (compared to having a regular one), just as the gauntlets of ogre power are not needed. Both are just extras to help a character; not an item that the character depends upon.

 

[frankthedm]

In D&D you are your magic items. They are not tools, YOU are.

 

[Altalazar]

They can be both - in fact, my items that give ability boosts sometimes causes a character to NEED crutches. (Little burrowing beetles that nestle themselves at the base of the spine - and fortitude save required... with only one fitting at a time) And hope you don't fail - really hope you don't roll a '1'...

 

[RangerWickett]

Let's consider a slightly different sort of item, one that simply gives a character a particular stat, like a 16 Intelligence. It is useless to a genius (or worse, it would make him less intelligent), but the effect it would have on a dolt would be astounding.

Don't know where I'm going with this.

Speaking about commoners not realizing the truth of the powerful, has anyone played (and beaten) Final Fantasy X? Massive spoiler about to come up, so I'll conceal it for those who want to play the game and haven't yet.

Spoiler

So, in FFX, the dead do not pass on to the afterlife unless they are 'sent' by a priest. Otherwise they linger, and may turn into fiends. Well, the high clergy of the priesthood are almost all dead, lingering spirits, and the 'player characters' in the game have no idea about this. The PC priest, a provincial young lady, is highly disturbed that her superiors are dead and refuse to pass on, and particularly disturbed that they keep this fact a secret. And they are, of course, mostly evil.

 

[Nightfall]

Ought to work, assuming you're into that kind of thing.

Yeah well it's just something that my epic munckiner friend thought of.

 

[ruleslawyer]

In D&D you are your magic items. They are not tools, YOU are.

Only the more obnoxious players, actually...

Sorry. Amusingly enough, stat-boosting items generally don't work out to be a "crutch" in the manner in which most people are suggesting "crutches" work, since characters usually use such items to boost stats that are already high. It's rarely the wizard with a Str of 8 who picks up a belt of strength +4 to become a competent combatant; rather, it's typically the Str 22 fighter.

I'm not such a fan of stat-boosting items, myself, since they do seem, to my (highly subjective) mind, something like a performance-enhancing drug. But of course, I know that this is because of the RL parallels that I (unfairly) draw between, say, steroids and gauntlets of ogre power, and between a sword +2 and a really nice Burton snowboard. It's really a subjective distinction, as hong points out. All the same, I do prefer the following system proposed by Grog, which eliminates the need for stat-boost items:

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70771

 

[Nightfall]

In D&D you are your magic items. They are not tools, YOU are.

Dude you need to lay off the caffinee.

 

[rkanodia]

As far as the distinction between 'crutch' and 'tool' goes, I would be willing to say that the 2nd ed AD&D gauntlets of ogre power (granting the character a specific Strength score, or does nothing if his Strength is already greater) fit the 'helps a weak person, useless to a strong person' definition of 'crutch' much more than the 3E/3.5E gauntets of ogre power (providing a fixed benefit to the character, regardless of his existing stats).