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<blockquote data-quote="Scars Unseen" data-source="post: 8535108" data-attributes="member: 10196">I agree that this is a method that at least mitigates the problem (though it does not, in my mind, solve it), but I think this is also somewhat incompatible with the way a lot of people handle leveling these days.&nbsp; I would venture to say that outside of sandbox style campaigns, milestone leveling may be the more popular approach at this point.&nbsp; It could be adapted by doing milestone XP gain, but I'm not sure how many people who don't want to deal with the minutiae of XP rewards would welcome the complication of asynchronous leveling.&nbsp; Seems like it'd be better (if not simpler) to rebalance class design than to balance XP gain.I think the best solve for this is to largely get rid of those sort of utilitarian magic items.&nbsp; To an extent, I get the concept of &quot;boosting&quot; items.&nbsp; The design space is well known, so it's easy to predict how they'll work when you add them to the game.&nbsp; But they have the same problem as ASIs:&nbsp; they are both utterly boring and simultaneously the obvious choice when it comes to bumping your character's power.&nbsp; So I say (and I say the same to post-creation ASIs as well) get rid of them altogether.&nbsp; No +1 swords, no &quot;necklace of fireballing you harder.&quot;&nbsp; Actually take the time to design unique items instead of filling in a chart of bonuses.&nbsp; And to help do that, clear out some of the spells that tend to cause major power imbalances, and use similar ideas (but not 1:1 copies) when designing items.&nbsp; Make twinned door knockers that connect any two doors they're attached to.&nbsp; Make a sword and sheath that transfers any wounds taken by sword's wielder to the sheath's holder.&nbsp; Make a pair of glasses that makes a target immobile for as long as the wearer also doesn't move.&nbsp; All kinds of things you could that would just be much more fun than simple bonuses, even if they're harder to balance.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Scars Unseen, post: 8535108, member: 10196"] I agree that this is a method that at least mitigates the problem (though it does not, in my mind, solve it), but I think this is also somewhat incompatible with the way a lot of people handle leveling these days. I would venture to say that outside of sandbox style campaigns, milestone leveling may be the more popular approach at this point. It could be adapted by doing milestone XP gain, but I'm not sure how many people who don't want to deal with the minutiae of XP rewards would welcome the complication of asynchronous leveling. Seems like it'd be better (if not simpler) to rebalance class design than to balance XP gain. I think the best solve for this is to largely get rid of those sort of utilitarian magic items. To an extent, I get the concept of "boosting" items. The design space is well known, so it's easy to predict how they'll work when you add them to the game. But they have the same problem as ASIs: they are both utterly boring and simultaneously the obvious choice when it comes to bumping your character's power. So I say (and I say the same to post-creation ASIs as well) get rid of them altogether. No +1 swords, no "necklace of fireballing you harder." Actually take the time to design unique items instead of filling in a chart of bonuses. And to help do that, clear out some of the spells that tend to cause major power imbalances, and use similar ideas (but not 1:1 copies) when designing items. Make twinned door knockers that connect any two doors they're attached to. Make a sword and sheath that transfers any wounds taken by sword's wielder to the sheath's holder. Make a pair of glasses that makes a target immobile for as long as the wearer also doesn't move. All kinds of things you could that would just be much more fun than simple bonuses, even if they're harder to balance. [/QUOTE]

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