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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 4058570" data-attributes="member: 58197">The thing is, though, the Christmas Tree Effect is only a problem because of the Big 6.&nbsp; 3E monsters are built on the assumption that players will be armed with their wealth by level invested mostly in Big 6 items.&nbsp; If the players don't have those items, they'll be understrength.&nbsp; Worse, the impact of not being decked out in the Big 6 does not fall equally on all classes; melee warriors suffer more than casters.&nbsp; Hence, trying to remove the Christmas Tree Effect from 3E causes a host of problems.If the Big 6 and their ilk are gone, then the Christmas Tree Effect ceases to be an issue, because magic items add versatility instead of raw power.&nbsp; DMs can adjust the level of magic items in their games to suit their liking and that of their players, without worrying too much about the impact on game balance.&nbsp; If you enjoy having PCs decked out in fifteen different kinds of magic loot, you can do that.&nbsp; If you like magic items to be rare and exciting, you can do that, too.(The designers have indicated that 4E will have a &quot;Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Effect,&quot; or maybe a &quot;Christmas Shrub Effect.&quot;&nbsp; Presumably what they mean is that there will still be +X weapons/implements and +X armor, and challenges will be scaled to match.&nbsp; However, we've also been assured that DMs who want to strip even this level of evergreen out of the game can do so with a minimum of fuss.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 4058570, member: 58197"] The thing is, though, the Christmas Tree Effect is only a problem because of the Big 6. 3E monsters are built on the assumption that players will be armed with their wealth by level invested mostly in Big 6 items. If the players don't have those items, they'll be understrength. Worse, the impact of not being decked out in the Big 6 does not fall equally on all classes; melee warriors suffer more than casters. Hence, trying to remove the Christmas Tree Effect from 3E causes a host of problems. If the Big 6 and their ilk are gone, then the Christmas Tree Effect ceases to be an issue, because magic items add versatility instead of raw power. DMs can adjust the level of magic items in their games to suit their liking and that of their players, without worrying too much about the impact on game balance. If you enjoy having PCs decked out in fifteen different kinds of magic loot, you can do that. If you like magic items to be rare and exciting, you can do that, too. (The designers have indicated that 4E will have a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Effect," or maybe a "Christmas Shrub Effect." Presumably what they mean is that there will still be +X weapons/implements and +X armor, and challenges will be scaled to match. However, we've also been assured that DMs who want to strip even this level of evergreen out of the game can do so with a minimum of fuss.) [/QUOTE]

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