That's what I thought...but I wanted to be sure.
Disdaining the Big Six
- Thread starter EroGaki
- Start date
The Big Six are the six major magic item types that are required as you level. The game ( or adventure modules, at least) expect you to constantly upgrade them: Magic weapons, magic armor/shield, stat boosting items, cloak of resistance, ring of protection, and amulet of natural armor.
These are the most common items found in any adventure (unless it is homebrew, of course). The problem I have with them is that, as you gain levels, lacking these six will end horrifically for you unless your DM is careful. And in the meantime, there are all sorts of magical items that do actually magical things that you can't use because all of your item slots are taken up by the Big Six.
Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
'The Big Six' are those magical items that are all but necessary to own because they grant such useful bonuses: magical weapon, magical armor/shields, rings of protection, amulets of natural armor, cloaks of resistance and ability boosters.
Interesting...
Since I'm mostly in homebrews or modified modules, I don't see that come up as often.
My current 11th level PC has a +2 Sickle, +2 Mithril armor and a Wand of Ice Storm w/14 charges on it, frex- hardly up to the standard you'd expect for a PC of his level.
Since I'm mostly in homebrews or modified modules, I don't see that come up as often.
My current 11th level PC has a +2 Sickle, +2 Mithril armor and a Wand of Ice Storm w/14 charges on it, frex- hardly up to the standard you'd expect for a PC of his level.
rgard
Adventurer
And each one is precious to the character. I'll bet you remember each encounter when/where the items were acquired.
I prefer homebrews that aren't magic item rich.
Normally, the answer would be yes- but this guy is a replacement PC for one I retired.
HIS arsenal of magic was pretty small as well- a rod that could, among other things, be used as a +2 Flaming Whip, an Immovable Rod and a Rod that did either a Force Sword or Force Beam (that came to him because- for a variety of reasons- nobody else in the party could use it). He was also (briefly) the bearer of a Cloak of Arachnida, but the party's thief took it from him...and also of the Sword of the Champion of the Water Temple...but the Sword didn't like him.
Still, but for some powerful magic items that were integral to the storyline- and which were destroyed over the course of the campaign- nobody has had a handle on any weapon greater than +3.
HIS arsenal of magic was pretty small as well- a rod that could, among other things, be used as a +2 Flaming Whip, an Immovable Rod and a Rod that did either a Force Sword or Force Beam (that came to him because- for a variety of reasons- nobody else in the party could use it). He was also (briefly) the bearer of a Cloak of Arachnida, but the party's thief took it from him...and also of the Sword of the Champion of the Water Temple...but the Sword didn't like him.
Still, but for some powerful magic items that were integral to the storyline- and which were destroyed over the course of the campaign- nobody has had a handle on any weapon greater than +3.
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Well, depending on your campaign rules and character class that may actually be both adequate and sufficient.
Is your mithral armor light, medium or heavy? The latter two are actually quite expensive.
What the character is really missing is a cloak of resistance, an item that grants a +2 bonus to an ability.
If you use higher than average point-buy, you can do without ability boosters.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
I think the detailed analysis in Trailblazer shows pretty convincingly that it is not necessary to have the Big Six. Rather, these items are the Big Six because they are a dominating strategy thanks to their low cost for their benefit. Everybody wants them but, aside from certain expectations about having weapons capable of getting through damage reduction, they aren't technically necessary.
So it's not that they're necessary, just too good to pass up when looting bodies and too good to not convert your other loot/magic into through the use of item creation feats or item purchase.
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Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
Hence my 'all but necessary' comment.
I once played a low-item campaign; it was fun because it never got beyond 6th level, and because the DM told us before hand that it would be a gritty campaign. If we had played much higher into the levels though, it would have gotten ridiculous. AC in particular is almost exclusively dependent on magical items, which would make high level combat a matter of rolling high initiative and Power Attacking. Not fun.
This isn't the house rule forum, but this is my Tome of House Rules. The very last two pages describe how to grant the big six bonuses as inherent level-based bonuses -- I wrote them during my final days as a 3e DM, when I was finally fed up with the big six and WBL. It's the only satisfying solution I've ever seen, to toot my own horn quite frankly.
I once played a low-item campaign; it was fun because it never got beyond 6th level, and because the DM told us before hand that it would be a gritty campaign. If we had played much higher into the levels though, it would have gotten ridiculous. AC in particular is almost exclusively dependent on magical items, which would make high level combat a matter of rolling high initiative and Power Attacking. Not fun.
This isn't the house rule forum, but this is my Tome of House Rules. The very last two pages describe how to grant the big six bonuses as inherent level-based bonuses -- I wrote them during my final days as a 3e DM, when I was finally fed up with the big six and WBL. It's the only satisfying solution I've ever seen, to toot my own horn quite frankly.
Aus_Snow
First Post
And if you want more alternatives, a poster named 'hong' - wherever he's got to these days. . . - came up with two a while back:
Innate Magic
Imbued magic
The former is the more recent (and simpler) one.
Innate Magic
Imbued magic
The former is the more recent (and simpler) one.
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