D&D 5E Access to Ability Boosting Items in your game

[koga305]

Hi everyone,

Based on the DM's Basic Rules PDF, there are at least three items in the game that set one of your ability scores to 19: Amulet of Health (Constitution), Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Strength), and the Headband of Intellect (Intelligence). The concern has been raised that these items will encourage atypical character building choices - that is, a Fighter could put a low score in Strength, boost Dexterity for the ranged attacks and initiative, and then put on the Gauntlets to function more effectively than a straight Strength-based Fighter. I'm curious how you (a nonrandom sample of 5E DMs) plan to handle these items in your game, and how easy it would be for a character to gain access to one of those items.

I'm not sure how to add a poll to a thread, so I'll list the options:

1. I don't plan on using these items in my game.
2. One of these items might appear randomly in a treasure hoard.
3. A PC who wanted an item like this could go on a quest for it.
4. If I knew one of my players wanted this item, I'd place it in a treasure hoard for them to find.
5. Common and uncommon magic items like these can be bought and sold in my game.
6. I've got a different solution, and I'd love to tell you about it in the comments.

 

[Plaguescarred]

IMC one of these items might appear randomly in a treasure hoard and a PC who wanted an item like this could go on a quest for it.

 

[SilverfireSage]

Definitely a combination of 2 and 3, but I would add a caveat to that. If someone deliberately tried to make a character based on the assumption that they would get one of these items at some point, I wouldn't necessarily punish them for it, but I would heavily point out that it's a bad idea. 5e already has a lower magic item threshold than other games, so to assume you would get a "Rare" item is foolish. Now if they built a character's backstory around them wanting to be a fighter but being built more for a wizard (high intelligence and dexterity, low strength) and played them as such, I would totally be for that and allow them to quest for that item to make them more beneficial to the group. That sort of thing is what the game is all about, and makes me feel proud for my players that they actually want to play a character. The other way is simply metagaming, and if there's anything I cannot stand in D&D, it's metagaming.

 

[Crothian]

One of these items might appear randomly in a treasure hoard.

The idea that someone builds a character that needs a specific magical item is just asking for trouble. I think that's true for any edition of the game.

 

[Paraxis]

I dislike these type items for a few reasons.

It messes with organized play, you could find one before the level where you can respec and build your character around it.

It never goes to the class or character you think it should, the strength gauntlets end up with the priest since the fighter has already spent his ability score increases to get to a 20, all this does is piss off the fighter's player.

They don't work for everyone, it is weird that a headband that makes everyone else smarter doesn't make the smart wizard any smarter.

My solution, I will just not hand out these items in my game.

If I do have say an artifact that should increase an ability score do to lore, it would set the ability at 20 and if the character already had a 20 would set it at 22.

 

[the Jester]

Probably 2 and 3, but really, it's too soon to tell- it will depend a lot on how interesting the magic item choices in the DMG and the random generation methods available are.

 

[Thank Dog]

My preference for magical items in this edition is as follows:

1) Every PC will eventually get a "signature" item. This item will reflect the character in some manner and will be found in some memorable way. It will more than likely be of legendary status.

2) Random. Entirely and utterly and completely random.

I will never give items because a player requests them. This might sound harsh, but I feel it leads to far too many problems in and out of game that detract from the purpose and point of the game, ie. fun and also destroy any sense of accomplishment or suspension of disbelief. Players should operate on the assumption that magical items are a lucky boon and not a right.

I would also try to balance the randomness so that PC's get roughly 4 (not including the signature legendary) magical items over 20 levels and that they serve mostly utilitarian purposes, i.e. Bag of Holding, Gloves of Swimming & Climbing, +1 armour, +1 weapon.

 

[aramis erak]

The concern has been raised that these items will encourage atypical character building choices - that is, a Fighter could put a low score in Strength, boost Dexterity for the ranged attacks and initiative, and then put on the Gauntlets to function more effectively than a straight Strength-based Fighter. I'm curious how you (a nonrandom sample of 5E DMs) plan to handle these items in your game, and how easy it would be for a character to gain access to one of those items.

Note that maximum human attributes are 20's, so they're actually less than peak human ... or 5 points lower than peak barbarian strength and con. Yeah, starting Array maximum is 17... but by the time these goodies are likely to show up, they're also not above the peak attribute

I would suspect this to be due to the very issue of dump-stats.

• One of these items might appear randomly in a treasure hoard.
• A PC who wanted an item like this could go on a quest for it.
• A PC might make or commission one...

 

[Lancelot]

I'm squarely in category 2. Any item *might* be found randomly in a campaign, but they can't be bought, crafted or specifically quested for.

Now, I might flex that for certain items. If the party has a long-term campaign enemy that is a dragon, then it makes a lot of sense for them to seek/buy/craft a weapon that is good against dragons. That's excellent story material. However, I just don't see that for stat-boosters.

Elderly Shaman: "Harken unto me now. The great dragon Incendarious has ravaged our lands for years. The Prophecy has foretold that Three Great Heroes will come forth, wielding Weapons of Power to slay the cursed beast. Are you those heroes?"

PC Barbarian: "Aye, I am that Hero. Though my skin crawls at the thought of holding a magicked blade, I will quest for the lost sword Drakenbane... forged by the foul sorcerer Geb-Horus, and sealed away these many years in the Crypt of the Bloodstained Altar!"

PC Cleric: "Yes, I am that Hero. Accompanied by my fellows, we will quest to the far reaches of the Frozen Lands, where I will seek out the heart of the remorhaz and the breath of the yeti. With these elements, and the divine blessings of my god, I will craft a shield that will withstand the dragon's fiery breath!"

PC Rogue: "Sure, I'm that Hero. But I could really do with some stat-boosters. Can anyone point me towards the nearest Magic Shop? No? Okay, but I'm a Con-dump build, so someone around here must have a spare Amulet of Health, right? Guys...?"

...

As a side-note, one of my two campaigns just hit 4th level. Not one of the PCs has a permanent magic item. They've only ever found one (a +1 longsword, which had a name and a history and a description, but was ultimately just a +1 longsword). The PC who was using the magic longsword got killed by goblins in a near-TPK. So the other players voted, and decided to bury him with it.

Yeah. My jaw nearly hit the floor. And yet, they're still enjoying the game, and not feeling like they need magic items at all. Sure, they wished they had some when they bumped into a grick (resist vs non-magic) last session, but the druid's shillelagh spell and the wizard's magic missiles handled that issue. At the rate we're going, I'm actually feeling comfortable if they go several more levels without ever seeing another permanent magic item. That's just not possible in 3e or 4e.

I'm loving it.

 

[SilverfireSage]

I dislike these type items for a few reasons.

It messes with organized play, you could find one before the level where you can respec and build your character around it.

It never goes to the class or character you think it should, the strength gauntlets end up with the priest since the fighter has already spent his ability score increases to get to a 20, all this does is piss off the fighter's player.

They don't work for everyone, it is weird that a headband that makes everyone else smarter doesn't make the smart wizard any smarter.

My solution, I will just not hand out these items in my game.

If I do have say an artifact that should increase an ability score do to lore, it would set the ability at 20 and if the character already had a 20 would set it at 22.

I think the point is that it ends up with a character that wouldn't normally have that item. Making it a 19 was a brilliant choice, as it is still +1 lower than anything any of the people who are going for those attributes will have, while still being likely much better than that PC would ever have. But I want to know, why is it weird that a headband wouldn't make anyone else smarter? It's like the gauntlets of ogre strength. It never made sense that they added a +something bonus to strength, because that's not how they work. They work by giving you an ogre's strength, that's why they're called that, so it makes sense that all of the other items would work that way as well.