Economics, Balance and Magic Items
covaithe
Explorer
Erekose13 said:
This part of the idea really turns me off. Is treasure imbalance really that big of a problem, that we need to introduce an out-of-game mechanism for handwaving the treasure system? We somehow managed to get by in 3.5 without this kind of thing. Couldn't we wait six months or something and see how it goes, and then revisit the idea if there seems to be a problem?
-- covaithe, curmudgeon-in-residence
Graf
Explorer
I find it so weird that people are so obessed about certain balance issues (races, classes) and so inclined to be laizze faire about other ones.
4e has scaled back the balance issues for magic items.... but it has also produced races that, so far, appear to be pretty balanced. It's such a strange disconnect to my mind.
Given all the support for Ere's proposal (and the fact that my original poll selections were obviously unsatisfactory to a significant proportion of posters on the thread) another poll is warrented.
4e has scaled back the balance issues for magic items.... but it has also produced races that, so far, appear to be pretty balanced. It's such a strange disconnect to my mind.
Given all the support for Ere's proposal (and the fact that my original poll selections were obviously unsatisfactory to a significant proportion of posters on the thread) another poll is warrented.
Bront
The man with the probe
Magic items are things you earn, and are granted by the GM, so most people feel a little different about that than they might about things that are a little more easily considered in the balance scheme of things (IE, hard character rules, not items that can come and go).
I don't think external balancing should occur on magic items for just that reason. It's not going to be popular to say to a player "You have too many magic items, you need to lose one" after an adventure. It may suck for a player who's on the other end of that scale, but my experience in living games is that it does tend to balance out over time, though the 3E vs 4E mechanic for it may varry a bit.
As for economics, I'm pretty easy going on that, but I think the big worry is that you mention the tavern. Since the Tavern is an off screen between adventures kind of thing and there is often little control about how long you're there, making people pay for things there is a bit unfair.
I don't think external balancing should occur on magic items for just that reason. It's not going to be popular to say to a player "You have too many magic items, you need to lose one" after an adventure. It may suck for a player who's on the other end of that scale, but my experience in living games is that it does tend to balance out over time, though the 3E vs 4E mechanic for it may varry a bit.
As for economics, I'm pretty easy going on that, but I think the big worry is that you mention the tavern. Since the Tavern is an off screen between adventures kind of thing and there is often little control about how long you're there, making people pay for things there is a bit unfair.
Halford
First Post
I think the magic item problem can easily be solved by having DM s look over each characters wealth before an adventure begins. DMs can then simply tailor treasure hand outs to favor characters with fewer magic items.
"Oh Grotbags has no magic items, I'll throw an Orb in for her!" Sort of thing.
"Oh Grotbags has no magic items, I'll throw an Orb in for her!" Sort of thing.
The Digger
First Post
I have one question about Erekose's no. 5. Yes you could simply raise a fella's longsword from a +1 to a +2, or a wand from +2 to +3 etc etc, but what about the other effects of the item? e.g. the differences in powers between say a +7 set of Razor scale and a +8 set of Curseforged scale?
I'm not a great fan of 'balance' but I realise that the maths of 4E require certain enhancements as people level up. It is a pity really because being 'behind the curve' can sometimes lead to exciting and innovative ways around the deficit.
I would always prefer to go with something along the lines of Halford's suggestion based, probably but not too literally, on 'wish lists' submitted at the start of the adventure. I would not necessarily stick strictly to these lists as new (better?) items may appear in future books or there may be home-made items which would do.
I'm not a great fan of 'balance' but I realise that the maths of 4E require certain enhancements as people level up. It is a pity really because being 'behind the curve' can sometimes lead to exciting and innovative ways around the deficit.
I would always prefer to go with something along the lines of Halford's suggestion based, probably but not too literally, on 'wish lists' submitted at the start of the adventure. I would not necessarily stick strictly to these lists as new (better?) items may appear in future books or there may be home-made items which would do.
