Equiment vs. Skill in D&D

[Odysseus]

I do believe high level characters are dependant on equipment. The CR system is calculated , based on the characters having the equipment appropreate to their wealth and level. As specified in the DMG. Or put another way. If you don't have the equipment your not the level you think you are.

One idea I was considering. Is that characters can exchange xp for magical powers. So 1000 xp might buy them the power to use a weapon as a +1 magic weapon.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I do feel 3.5 can be particularly bad for this with the DR rules and the golfbag of weapons this encourages.

It's been brought up before, and I've still never, ever seen this happen. My characters carry just as many weapons now as they did in earlier editions. For instance, I've currently got:

1. A rapier
2. A composite longbow
3. Several daggers, 1 silver
4. A light mace

My last 2E character had:

1. A longsword
2. A longbow
3. Several daggers, at least one of which was silver

The only change is the addition of a light mace, and that has more to do with my current character being a weapon finessing pirate who lacks the Strength to deal with skeletal undead while using a poking sword. My earlier character was a higher-Strength Elven F / MU, who could take the 50% damage penalty and laugh.

One thing I am tempted to do is give a way of improving the magic items a character possesses, for example: so that a fighters original +1 sword progresses with him to higher powers. IIRC the item creation system doesn't permit this, if so I'll try and work out a set of houserules and post them to the forum for comment.

You might want to check the rules again.

ADDING NEW ABILITIES
A creator can add new magical abilities to a magic item with no restrictions. The cost to do this is the same as if the item was not magical. Thus, a +1 longsword can be made into a +2 vorpal longsword, with the cost to create it being equal to that of a +2 vorpal sword minus the cost of a +1 sword.

If the item is one that occupies a specific place on a character’s body the cost of adding any additional ability to that item increases by 50%. For example, if a character adds the power to confer invisibility to her ring of protection +2, the cost of adding this ability is the same as for creating a ring of invisibility multiplied by 1.5.

The fighter can take his original +1 sword, find someone capable of crafting a +2 sword, and commission them to do it.

Thus, unlike in earlier editions which didn't provide any rules for such, a 3.X character can within the rules use the same sword from character creation through Epic levels.

 

[Stalker0]

Also, the magic item thing doesn't have to be a burden...you can make it roleplay oriented.

We had a city game, with ye old magic shop. However, the dm would give us a mission, and we'd specialize our equipment. We'd get goggles of darkvision for underground mission, boots of fly for aerial ones etc. It was a little James Bondesh, new toys for a new mission.

 

[med stud]

My problem is not that the PCs are item relient but that they have so many items. I like the upgrading-sword tactic; the fighter finds a sword +1 in some ruins, names the sword and then the sword follows him through the levels etc.

Same thing with more or less all abilities. I also tend to keep down stat-boosters. Thor's belt of strength becomes fascinating because it's unique; if every schmuck has a belt of strength, all of different effect, it becomes as exciting as golf clubs.

 

[Staffan]

I like this in principle but I'm not a big fan of the golf-bag syndrome; so IMC things tend to be either DR X/- or else easy to bypass needing only enough magic _or_ the right material. An exception is creatures with particular immunities, like a wire golem immune to piercing & bludgeoning weapons.

We'll have to disagree on that, I suppose. One of the things I liked the best when 3.0 came out was that fighters would now (hopefully) use the right weapon for the right situation - the glaive when fighting an ogre (to nullify his reach advantage), the flail for tripping people, and so on. Turns out it didn't quite work out like that, so I like that the new DR rules provide the "right tool for the right job" feel instead.