D&D 5E (2014) Creating items that scale with the PC for non-spellcasters

[Quartz]

How do you do it? Give me ideas for signature items!

Spellcasters are easy as you work off spell slots: instead of saying the item grants a particular spell and thus being superceded when the PC gets well above that level, you say it grants a particular domain, or an extra spell slot of the PC's highest level etc. That way the item scales with the PC.

But what about non-spellcasters? The fighters, the rogues, et al? How do you do it for them? A plain +1 item is going to be thrown over for a plain +2 item, for instance, and there may be player jealousy if the spellcasters' items get better and better but the non-spellcasters' items do not. Conversely if you front-load the non-spellcasters' items vis-a-vis the spellcasters'.

Doing something like an item that adds the proficiency bonus to damage is a start but seems lame and lacks the 'Wow!' factor.

 

[HarrisonF]

For scaling, I like to look at how the classes scale.

For example, fighters scale with extra attacks, so a long sword that lets you make an attack as a bonus action (or as a free action or with charges depending on the power level). An extra attack gets better as you level up and get more feats to apply to it.

 

[Gilladian]

Start by giving the item a minor power, not a + to hit at all. When it is time to improve it, have it seem to "wake up" after a significant fight. The weapon subtly changes, and it gains a +1. Later, add another special ability. Each thing can be tailored to what is happening in the campaign at the time. Maybe the + to hit is only against certain creatures, or only when weilded by a particularly aligned character. And the powers can be brought out by significant events, and reflect them. Get breathed on by a red dragon, and afterwards, your sword is a flame-tongue. Or a frost-blade. Players love it when their items reflect what actually went on in the game, rather than what you, as DM, think is "appropriate".

 

[Pauper]

Third Edition, sure -- that was the whole point behind Legacy Items.

Fourth Edition, absolutely -- that edition was all about the gear; even the Organized Play campaign incorporated scaling magic items as signature rewards.

Fifth Edition? You don't really need to award permanent magic items at all. You've correctly identified that the appropriate 'scaling factor' in Fifth Edition is damage by level, but putting enough additional damage into the system via a scaling magic item so that a player sits up and says 'Wow' runs a real risk of unbalancing the game's structure. Adding an extra spell slot to a spellcaster doesn't really unbalance the game -- it simply extends the adventuring day by an extra round, since the caster has one additional spell to throw before lobbying for a long rest. Since non-spellcasters don't have this problem (the fighter never runs out of attacks, for example), it's hard to find a resource that's commensurate so that a non-spellcasting item seems on-par with a spellcasting item.

Other options end up running afoul of the same problem: an item that allows a fighter to regain hit points or hit dice might not effectively extend the adventuring day, because it's not usually the fighter's HP, but the cleric's healing magic, that determines when the day is over. Increasing defenses is basically the same problem -- the fighter loses far fewer HP and thus still feels fresh when the cleric and wizard are tapped out of spell slots.

I'm not sure what resource to use for a non-spellcating magic item, but damage is one resource I'd definitely avoid using.

--
Pauper

 

[Tony Vargas]

How do you do it? Give me ideas for signature items!

Spellcasters are easy as you work off spell slots.

But what about non-spellcasters? The fighters, the rogues, et al? How do you do it for them? A plain +1 item is going to be thrown over for a plain +2 item, for instance, and there may be player jealousy if the spellcasters' items get better and better but the non-spellcasters' items do not. Conversely if you front-load the non-spellcasters' items vis-a-vis the spellcasters'.

You might say that anyone willingly playing a non-caster should be aware that that's going to happen anyway. The wizard is going to go from casting Sleep and owning an encounter to casting Wish and owning the world. The fighter is going to go from hitting once every six seconds, to hitting 4 times every six seconds. But there are implications to those attacks: Scaling for fighters and simple melee monsters is all bout hps & damage. A magic sword that grants a damage bonus, like +2d6 vs a particular type of creature, scales each time the fighter gets another attack/round. A magic weapon that lets him use an attack action to do something magical, likewise.

You could also have a magic item that produces some spells 1/day or whatever, but 'as if cast using a spell-slot of 1/2 the wielder's character level' with something extra cool at 20th.

For a rogue, an item that enables a skill use that might not otherwise be practical - like hat of instant disguise, for instance - 'scales' with the skill check in question, and if expertise applies, that's nothing to sneeze at.

 

[thalmin]

Atuned magical weapons/armor/gear can always have level prerequisites, why not multiples? What started out to be a simple +1 item could gain new powers, like

• Detection
• darkvision or darkvison enhancement
• acute hearing
• saving throw bonus
• skill bonus
• spider climb
• waterbreathing

If you have access to a 1E or 2E DMG, check out what special properties are on different items.
Personally, I miss weapons with weapons with personalities and egos.

 

[Quartz]

Atuned magical weapons/armor/gear can always have level prerequisites, why not multiples? What started out to be a simple +1 item could gain new powers...

That's a good idea. I think something like that is better done by having bits missing from the original item, then allowing the PC to adventure for the missing bits. Something like a spear with seven missing rings along the shaft. When the PC is ready - i.e. at the appropriate level - the spear points her in the direction of the next piece.