Confused about Gear, where can I find armor and items to reward my players

[talimore1]

Hello everyone,

I used to DM WAY back in 2e and 3e but never in 4e and I have been out of the game for a long while. I recently came upon the Essentials 4e and so I got all the essentials books, no tilesets, some markers and some nice Chessex game mats I can draw campaigns on.

I'll be starting a campaign in a few days and we will start with the three campaigns that the various Essentails Kits and Books came with but after that we will be moving to a campaign I am working on but I am having trouble finding a good source of items, armor, weapons, ect. to give out to players as rewards or even items they can find in the overworld.

Is 4e just limited to whats in the rule book and character books. Just basic armor and basic weapons. Where are all the magic weapons and armor I hear 4e is good for?

Thanks in advance for your help and support and I'm loving looking around these forums.

 

[S'mon]

There's stuff in the Essentials DM's Kit. If you want more I suggest Adventurers Vault, it has tons of good stuff and is my primary resource for handing out unusual items.

 

[Grydan]

Adventurer's Vault, Adventurer's Vault 2, and the upcoming Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium are all gear-focused books (with both magical and non-magical equipment).

Of the two vaults, I think the first is the better, but opinions vary.

There's also a decent sized selection of magic items in the Player's Handbook, with PHB 2 & 3 having smaller selections mostly aimed at the new classes in those books.

There's additional magic items in a significant number of the other books as well, though usually in small enough amounts that it's not worth buying a book for the items alone.

It's also worth considering a subscription to D&D Insider, which gives you access to the Compendium and the Character Builder, online tools which both contain (nearly) all of the official items released so far, as well as access to the online magazine Dungeon and Dragon, which frequently contain even more new items.

 

[talimore1]

Adventurer's Vault, Adventurer's Vault 2, and the upcoming Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium are all gear-focused books (with both magical and non-magical equipment).

Of the two vaults, I think the first is the better, but opinions vary.

There's also a decent sized selection of magic items in the Player's Handbook, with PHB 2 & 3 having smaller selections mostly aimed at the new classes in those books.

There's additional magic items in a significant number of the other books as well, though usually in small enough amounts that it's not worth buying a book for the items alone.

It's also worth considering a subscription to D&D Insider, which gives you access to the Compendium and the Character Builder, online tools which both contain (nearly) all of the official items released so far, as well as access to the online magazine Dungeon and Dragon, which frequently contain even more new items.

I heard mix things about DDI. How is it? Worth 10$ for a small weekly campaign?

 

[Grydan]

Like Kzach suggests, a one-month sub just to try it out is probably worth it for almost any group (especially if your group is willing to split the cost). Even if it turns out to be something you don't want to stay subscribed to, you'll be able to download all of the 4E Dragon and Dungeon magazine material to date. That in itself represents a massive wealth of magic items, character options, DM advice, and adventures. Far more than you can get from any one book.

 

[talimore1]

Like Kzach suggests, a one-month sub just to try it out is probably worth it for almost any group (especially if your group is willing to split the cost). Even if it turns out to be something you don't want to stay subscribed to, you'll be able to download all of the 4E Dragon and Dungeon magazine material to date. That in itself represents a massive wealth of magic items, character options, DM advice, and adventures. Far more than you can get from any one book.

I signed up for a month but wow the compedium has almost to many items. Hard to filter them all, any suggestions on where to start looking for good low level gear that the new level 1-2 players can buy?

 

[DEFCON 1]

I signed up for a month but wow the compedium has almost to many items. Hard to filter them all, any suggestions on where to start looking for good low level gear that the new level 1-2 players can buy?

Use the Character Builder. You can look for magical weapons and armor of specific types and it'll show you the ones by level in the range you need.

 

[Kzach]

I signed up for a month but wow the compedium has almost to many items. Hard to filter them all, any suggestions on where to start looking for good low level gear that the new level 1-2 players can buy?

The filters are definitely your friend here.

I also tend to use keywords like if I'm making a mage enchanter and I want items that help me slide, push and pull targets, I'll put into the search box "slide push pull" just to narrow the selection down.

Having said that, welcome to the Compendium: the most awfully designed search engine on the planet.

 

[wlmartin]

Hello everyone,

I used to DM WAY back in 2e and 3e but never in 4e and I have been out of the game for a long while. I recently came upon the Essentials 4e and so I got all the essentials books, no tilesets, some markers and some nice Chessex game mats I can draw campaigns on.

I'll be starting a campaign in a few days and we will start with the three campaigns that the various Essentails Kits and Books came with but after that we will be moving to a campaign I am working on but I am having trouble finding a good source of items, armor, weapons, ect. to give out to players as rewards or even items they can find in the overworld.

Is 4e just limited to whats in the rule book and character books. Just basic armor and basic weapons. Where are all the magic weapons and armor I hear 4e is good for?

Thanks in advance for your help and support and I'm loving looking around these forums.

You need Adventurers Vault & AV2
That should be good enough for what you need

 

[Spatula]

The compendium isn't that bad. I find that it's more useful than the search functions on most online shops & forums.

The real issue, IMO, is the massive amount of items, most of which give piddling bonuses under dubious circumstances. Or are specifically tailored to a particular class, build, or race.