Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 6468342" data-attributes="member: 3424">Over the weekend, I entered the magic item tables and the treasure hoard generation tables in the DMG into a spreadsheet to determine what is the expected distribution of magic items that would be generated by what the DMG refers to as a "typical" campaign in the last paragraph of page 133, i.e. seven rolls on the Challenge 0-4 table, eighteen rolls on the Challenge 5-10 table, twelve rolls on the Challenge 11-16 table, and eight rolls on the Challenge 17+ table.[SBLOCK="General Observations and Comments"]Before I get into the analysis, here are some general observations and comments. Consumables and Permanent ItemsMagic Item Tables A to E tend to produce consumable items (potions, scrolls, ammunition) while Magic Item Tables F to I tend to produce permanent items. While there are exceptions, for simplicity, the following analysis assumes that a roll on Magic Item Tables A to E will generate a consumable item, while a roll on Magic Item Tables F to I will generate a permanent item.Magic Item RarityThe tables are more or less grouped by magic item rarity. Table A has a 90% chance of generating a common item, and a 10% chance of generating an uncommon item. Table B only generates uncommon items. Table C has a 96% chance of generating a rare item and a 4% chance of generating an uncommon item.Table D has a 99% chance of generating a very rare item, and a 1% chance of generating a rare item.Table E has a 50-50 chance of generating either a very rare or a legendary item.Table F only generates uncommon items.Table G has a 98% chance of generating a rare item and a 2% chance of generating an uncommon item.Table H has a 92% chance of generating a very rare item, a 6% chance of generating a rare item, and a 2% chance of generating an uncommon item.Table I has an 88% chance of generating a legendary item, a 6% chance of generating a very rare item, and a 6% chance of generating a rare item.The items of lower rarity on Tables G to I are the higher level armors such as breastplate, half plate, scale mail and plate.  For example, +1 plate is one of the rare items generated on Table I. (Table I also lists +1 scale mail.  I am assuming this is a typo and that it should actually be +3 scale mail since there is a +1 scale mail on Table G and a +2 scale mail on Table H.)Terms and AssumptionsFor the analysis proper, I will be using statistical terms.  For example, a roll on the Challenge 0-4 Treasure Hoard table actually has a 24% chance of generating 1d6 rolls on Magic Item Table A, each of which has a 90% chance of generating a common magic item.  However, for the purpose of my analysis, I will say instead that a roll on the Challenge 0-4 Treasure Hoard table has a 76% chance of generating a common consumable.I also assume that the treasure hoard table rolls are fairly evenly distributed:One roll on the Challenge 0-4 table at Level 1.Two rolls on the Challenge 0-4 table at every level from 2 to 4. Three rolls on the Challenge 5-10 table at every level from 5 to 10.Two rolls on the Challenge 11-16 table at every level from 11 to 16.Two rolls on the Challenge 17-20 table at every level from 17 to 20.I have rounded the numbers in the analysis to keep to whole numbers. Some results are expressed as [N or N+1], which I have used to denote that the expected number is fairly close to [N and a half].Now, on to the meat of the analysis.[/SBLOCK][SBLOCK="Challenge 0-4 Table"]A roll on the Challenge 0-4 table has a:76% chance of generating a common consumable.47% chance of generating an uncommon consumable.24% chance of generating a rare consumable.30% chance of generating an uncommon permanent item.3% chance of generating a rare permanent item.Hence, over the first four levels, the party is expected to find:5 common consumables.3 uncommon consumables.1 or 2 rare consumables.2 uncommon permanent items.[/SBLOCK][SBLOCK="Challenge 5-10 Table"]A roll on the Challenge 5-10 table has a:50% chance of generating a common consumable.54% chance of generating an uncommon consumable.26% chance of generating a rare consumable.6% chance of generating a very rare consumable.35% chance of generating an uncommon permanent item.10% chance of generating a rare permanent item.2% chance of generating a very rare permanent item.Hence, over levels 5-10, the party is expected to find:9 common consumables.10 uncommon consumables.5 rare consumables.1 very rare consumable.6 uncommon permanent items.2 rare permanent items.[/SBLOCK][SBLOCK="Challenge 11-16 Table"]A roll on the Challenge 11-16 table has a:32% chance of generating a common consumable.55% chance of generating an uncommon consumable.71% chance of generating a rare consumable.44% chance of generating a very rare consumable.4% chance of generating a legendary consumable.9% chance of generating an uncommon permanent item.22% chance of generating a rare permanent item.24% chance of generating a very rare permanent item.7% chance of generating a legendary permanent item.Hence, over levels 11-16, the party is expected to find:4 common consumables.6 or 7 uncommon consumables.8 or 9 rare consumables.5 very rare consumables.0 or 1 legendary consumable.1 uncommon permanent item.2 or 3 rare permanent items.3 very rare permanent items.1 legendary permanent item.[/SBLOCK][SBLOCK="Challenge 17+ Table"]A roll on the Challenge 17+ table has a:2% chance of generating an uncommon consumable.53% chance of generating a rare consumable.149% chance of generating a very rare consumable.39% chance of generating a legendary consumable.1% chance of generating an uncommon permanent item.14% chance of generating a rare permanent item.21% chance of generating a very rare permanent item.44% chance of generating a legendary permanent item.Hence, over levels 17-20, the party is expected to find:4 rare consumables.12 very rare consumables.3 legendary consumables.1 rare permanent item.1 or 2 very rare permanent items.3 or 4 legendary permanent items.[/SBLOCK][SBLOCK="Overall Treasure"]Over the course of a typical campaign, the party is expected to find [Note: there may be discrepancies from a simple summation of the above breakdown due to rounding]:18 common consumables20 uncommon consumables19 rare consumables18 very rare consumables3 or 4 legendary consumables9 or 10 uncommon permanent items5 or 6 rare permanent items5 very rare permanent items4 legendary permanent itemsAssuming a party of four PCs, each PC should obtain:4 or 5 common consumables5 uncommon consumables5 rare consumables4 or 5 very rare consumables1 legendary consumable2 or 3 uncommon permanent items1 or 2 rare permanent items1 very rare permanent item1 legendary permanent itemTo translate this into a very even distribution of magic items over all 20 levels, I would probably go with the following approach:1 common consumable every level from 1 to 5.1 uncommon consumable every level from 6 to 10.1 rare consumable every level from 11 to 15.1 very rare consumable every level from 16 to 19.1 legendary consumable at level 20.1 uncommon permanent item at level 4, and another at level 7.1 rare permanent item at level 10 and another at level 13.1 very rare permanent item at level 16.1 legendary permanent item at level 19.[/SBLOCK]</blockquote>

Verification