Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bacon Bits" data-source="post: 7948339" data-attributes="member: 6777737">I don't care about magic item churn. Sometimes I give out a lot. Sometimes I don't give out very many at all. It doesn't really matter.I do have a few rules I follow.1. There's no such thing as a simple +stat item. No +1 longswords, no +1 armor, no basic cloaks of protection. Our stat generation method generates slightly more powerful PCs which guarantees at least one 16 to 18 before racial mods. They don't need magic bonuses until high level. Frankly, though, I never want players to be in a position where they pick a mechanically better item over one that's cool, fun, and creative. Magic items are potent, but the one thing they shouldn't ever be is a universally reliable tool.2. Almost no core magic items. Even in published modules, everything I give out is weird and unique and often purpose built or crafted for something that the PCs don't understand. Example: A necromancer had a pendant that closes wounds like a periapt of wound closure and grants a bonus first level spell like a pearl of power (only 1st level), but it's a charred black ghoul heart that beats when it operates and makes the bearer smell moderately like a corpse.3. Many items are sentient to a varying degree. Items remember the purpose they were created for, and some of them try to corrupt or manipulate the bearer. It's not a curse, and it's not like sentient items in the DMG. It's more subtle than that, although sometimes it means magic items function differently for different PCs.4. The above two make resting to determine an items properties only the first step, since it's actually more important to learn about the item's history not what it looks like it can do. This means identify or similar magic is useful, though my players often forget this until it bites them.5. Magic items change as the game progresses. Sometimes the players have "mastered" the item and can activate it without being attuned. This is usually a low powered item that I want to keep around but the player can't justify keeping. Other times I introduce a "substitution bench" for attuned items that kicks in over level 8, 10, or 12. The substitution works as follows: As an action, you can unattune from one item you're attuned to and attune to another magic item that you have attuned to before. You can't reattune to an item you unattuned in this way for 24 hours. After you do this you can't do it again until you finish a short or long rest.I also give out non magic item rewards as new character abilities. I want characters to gain abilities they didn't plan for that they have earned through their actions. Usually they give the player more options or it's a unique spell that suits their character progression, etc.The one other thing I would say is to not save the cool stuff for later. I've had the same gaming group for 20 years, and still campaigns often only run half as long as we plan. Give the cool stuff out now or you'll never see it.</blockquote>

Verification