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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 4633921" data-attributes="member: 12731">One way of reading the OP's question is he don't want to bother with the multitude of items you "must" have.In that case, the discussion switches to two issues:1) what bonuses are absolutely essential for the math to work?2) assuming you hand out these bonuses regardless of items (just like you get lots of automatic power-ups when you level), how to make the relatively rare occurrence of a "real" magic item noteworthy and worth your time and attention?In the first case, can't you simply say...a) +1 to attacks (replacing enchantment bonuses on weapons or implements) each half tier (at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, and 26th level. Top of with a sixth increment when you're about to start the final quest for immortality or whatever)b) same to Fort/Ref/Will (replacing neck items) at similar intervalsc) same to AC (replacing magic armor), but with a twist:c1) for heavy armor, add the bonus twice (replacing the masterwork component of magic armor). Yes, this progression is really much the same, ending with +6 at 30th level.c2) for light armor, hand out two increments only (+1 at about 21st level and +2 at 30th). Again, these increments are on top of the regular 1-6 bonus to AC you get over the levels.Have I forgotten something absolutely essential? (Obviously the complete lack of items with properties or Dailies will hurt, but I don't think such bonuses plays in the same league as the above. Besides, we'll discuss magic items below. Here I'm talking about the nuts and bolts of the game.)Then for the second issue, you can go wild handing out few items, but each with powerful properties (yes, you can mix in more than one property per item)! You can experiment with handing out items whose Dailies become Encounter powers. Etc...Because the "basic" enchantment bonuses have been taken care of already, I recommend that any "plus" of such items be limited to +1 or +2. (Nicely corresponding to how you find items "above your level" in the base game)I think it's important to make it clear that such a +2 item would be equally desirable at 5th and 25th level. The "increasing numbers" game has been taken care of already, so your players should not expect +1 weapons at low level and +6 weapons at high level. Instead, the same weapon's basic plus can remain throughout the entire game. As for properties such as "resist 5 fire", you should obviously consider increasing this (to resist 10/15/20 etc) if you like the idea of heroes keeping the same weapons throughout the campaign. This also cuts down on the number of magic items you need to hand out.Good luck!I don't have to add that you should only do this with players who are okay with the focus moved away from treasure and finding new kewl stuff, do I? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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