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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cadfan" data-source="post: 3924039" data-attributes="member: 40961">Players like getting stuff and increasing their stats.  If every item is a "unique ability" item instead of a "+X" item, you either have to decrease the number of items a character has, irking players, or you end up drowning in minutia.If you drop all the +X items and give out the same number of items as before, you end up with too much stuff.  If everyone in the party needs not only a unique weapon, but unique armor, shield, gloves, belt, cloak, amulet, and two rings, you end up with the christmas tree effect except worse, because now you're overloaded with special abilities, making encounter design a nightmare.If you drop all the +X items, and give out fewer items than before, my players won't be happy, and I wager a lot of other people's players will be the same way.  I'm all for killing sacred cows, but "kill monsters, take their stuff" is probably too sacred even for me to slay.I personally favor a middle ground.  Keep +X weapons.  Keep +X [skill] items.  Probably keep +X armor and shields, so that the math from the +X items works out.  Drop items that increase your ability scores, and break items that increase your saves up into multiple types of items, one for each save (probably put these bonuses in the armor).  Lower "X" for most +X items, and add additional abilities to the item."+2 Sword" = boring."+1 Flaming Sword" = cooler.And a note on skills- this is the one place where +X items are practically mandatory.  Items like "Slippers of Spiderclimb" are actually damaging to the game because they're NOT +X items.  Lets say that so far in your campaign, climbing problems have been solved by the Ranger.  He climbs whatever it is you need to get over, ties a rope and lowers it for everyone else.  To do this, he's got maxed ranks in Climb, no armor penalty, and a good strength score.  His current Climb mod is +12.  Then you find Slippers of Spiderclimb.  If you give them to the Ranger, he now automatically climbs things.  That's nice and all, but it means all his skill ranks are wasted.  Plus, you can get more mileage by giving the Slippers to the Cleric.  Now he can wear his full plate and climb better than the Ranger, while the Ranger follows and does his best.  You now have two characters who can climb instead of one.  Except the Ranger lost his niche to a pair of shoes.Change Slippers of Spiderclimb to read "+10 to climb checks," and your problem is fixed.  Now you have two choices.  If you give the Slippers to the Cleric, the Cleric will be able to sort of keep up with the Ranger.  Lets say, Climb mod +7 total, due to armor penalties.  So you'll have two climbers, the good one, the Ranger, and the ok one, the Cleric.  Or, you can give the Slippers to the Ranger, giving him a total mod of +22.  Now he's ridiculously good at climbing, and its all because he invested in the Climb skill.That's why certain +X items are helpful.  Non +X effects tend to be all or nothing, which devalues classes that do things on a percentage chance.  Making them into +X items with the same theme empowers the classes who do similar things, by letting them do those things even better, instead of being pushed out of their niche.</blockquote>

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