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Alternatives to the feat-tax solution to to-hit and F/R/W defenses
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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 4745194" data-attributes="member: 12377"><p><strong>Ability-Score Items</strong></p><p></p><p>An idea I've been toying with is magic items that increase your ability scores.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Wait! ...Before you reply that this is a terrible idea that ruined 3e and would destroy 4e, hear me out!</p><p></p><p>The "gap" that needs fixing is roughly 3 points to attacks and defenses. So if ability-increasing items followed the same enhancement progression as other enhancement items, that's a +6 to ability scores by level 25, which is an improvement of 3 points, closing the gap almost completely. (The gap is really 4 or 5 points, depending on how you count it, but I'm OK with having feats make up 1-2 points here and there.)</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Here's how it could work:</strong> Every worn magic item grants an enhancement bonus appropriate to its level to one or more ability scores. (This also solves another problem that I've been noticing -- many non-neck-slot worn items kind of suck.)</p><p></p><p><u>Level / Bonus / Ring Bonus</u></p><p>1-5 / +1 / -</p><p>6-10 / +2 / -</p><p>11-15 / +3 / +1</p><p>16-20 / +4 / +2</p><p>21-25 / +5 / +3</p><p>26-30 / +6 / +4</p><p></p><p>The DM decides which ability score the enhancement bonus applies to, based on the item slot:</p><p><em>Head:</em> Int, Wis, Cha</p><p><em>Arms:</em> Str, Con, Wis</p><p><em>Hands:</em> Str, Dex, Int</p><p><em>Feet:</em> Dex, Con, Cha</p><p><em>Waist:</em> Str, Dex, Con</p><p><em>Rings:</em> A ring enhances <em>all</em> ability scores, but has an enhancement bonus two points lower than a single-ability item.</p><p></p><p>The above are only guidelines. If an item seems particularly lame (<em>jester's shoes</em>) it may enhance two scores instead of one. Likewise, a lame ring might enhance a single score at the normal bonus level and all other scores at the reduced ring level. Heck, a neck slot or armor that is particularly lame might grant an enhancement bonus; you could even introduce "Ability Enhancing" as a level 2-3 armor property or neck slot item. As usual, enhancement bonus doesn't stack (so if you wear two rings, really only the better one applies).</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Alternative proposal:</strong> If you read the above and envision your party fighting over items ("I want the <em>boots of striding</em> for the speed bonus!" "But you've already got a Dexterity item, and I haven't!"), you can introduce a whole new item slot just for enhancing abilities. Call it the "Talisman" slot: It takes the form of a brooch, pin, armband, bracelet, belt-buckle, or could even be a gem in the pommel of your weapon or in the breastplate of your armor. A level 1 talisman enhances 1 ability, a level 2 talisman enhances 2 abilities, etc., according to the chart above. +5 levels increases the enhancement bonus to +2. You can't build a talisman to enhance all 6 abilities (so you will always suck at something). Granted this would make the talisman into a "must-have" item but that is really no different at all from weapons, implements, armor, and neck-slot items. However, you would need to increase treasure-per-level to ensure everyone can get one.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Anyway, just a thought. I know that ability-score items in 3e were overpowered, but with the math for 4e baked into the system and the assumption that there are already certain "must-have" items, I think something like this might work.</p><p></p><p> -- 77IM</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="77IM, post: 4745194, member: 12377"] [b]Ability-Score Items[/b] An idea I've been toying with is magic items that increase your ability scores. Wait! ...Before you reply that this is a terrible idea that ruined 3e and would destroy 4e, hear me out! The "gap" that needs fixing is roughly 3 points to attacks and defenses. So if ability-increasing items followed the same enhancement progression as other enhancement items, that's a +6 to ability scores by level 25, which is an improvement of 3 points, closing the gap almost completely. (The gap is really 4 or 5 points, depending on how you count it, but I'm OK with having feats make up 1-2 points here and there.) [B]Here's how it could work:[/B] Every worn magic item grants an enhancement bonus appropriate to its level to one or more ability scores. (This also solves another problem that I've been noticing -- many non-neck-slot worn items kind of suck.) [u]Level / Bonus / Ring Bonus[/u] 1-5 / +1 / - 6-10 / +2 / - 11-15 / +3 / +1 16-20 / +4 / +2 21-25 / +5 / +3 26-30 / +6 / +4 The DM decides which ability score the enhancement bonus applies to, based on the item slot: [i]Head:[/i] Int, Wis, Cha [i]Arms:[/i] Str, Con, Wis [i]Hands:[/i] Str, Dex, Int [i]Feet:[/i] Dex, Con, Cha [i]Waist:[/i] Str, Dex, Con [i]Rings:[/i] A ring enhances [i]all[/i] ability scores, but has an enhancement bonus two points lower than a single-ability item. The above are only guidelines. If an item seems particularly lame ([i]jester's shoes[/i]) it may enhance two scores instead of one. Likewise, a lame ring might enhance a single score at the normal bonus level and all other scores at the reduced ring level. Heck, a neck slot or armor that is particularly lame might grant an enhancement bonus; you could even introduce "Ability Enhancing" as a level 2-3 armor property or neck slot item. As usual, enhancement bonus doesn't stack (so if you wear two rings, really only the better one applies). [B]Alternative proposal:[/B] If you read the above and envision your party fighting over items ("I want the [i]boots of striding[/i] for the speed bonus!" "But you've already got a Dexterity item, and I haven't!"), you can introduce a whole new item slot just for enhancing abilities. Call it the "Talisman" slot: It takes the form of a brooch, pin, armband, bracelet, belt-buckle, or could even be a gem in the pommel of your weapon or in the breastplate of your armor. A level 1 talisman enhances 1 ability, a level 2 talisman enhances 2 abilities, etc., according to the chart above. +5 levels increases the enhancement bonus to +2. You can't build a talisman to enhance all 6 abilities (so you will always suck at something). Granted this would make the talisman into a "must-have" item but that is really no different at all from weapons, implements, armor, and neck-slot items. However, you would need to increase treasure-per-level to ensure everyone can get one. Anyway, just a thought. I know that ability-score items in 3e were overpowered, but with the math for 4e baked into the system and the assumption that there are already certain "must-have" items, I think something like this might work. -- 77IM [/QUOTE]
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Alternatives to the feat-tax solution to to-hit and F/R/W defenses
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