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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eldritch_Lord" data-source="post: 5473170" data-attributes="member: 52073">AD&D worked with random magic items just fine, thanks.  The difference was that there was (A) a different system dynamic (saves were already quite good before ability boosters, which worked differently anyway; attack and AC bonuses were more constrained; etc.), meaning items weren't nearly as necessary, though fighters often got powerful magic swords anyway, and (B) there were no standard prices, leaving the DM free to determine the economics of magic in his world.It wasn't a houserule to roll to learn spells, whether they were learned at level-up or learned from scrolls; if you failed that roll, you had to wait a level to try again, and the percentage chance to learn a given spell topped out at 95% for even the brightest magic-users.  Also, magic-users could know a finite number of spells of each level until Int 19, and given the difficulty of raising ability scores (requiring several dozen wishes or a priceless tome) that was unlikely, leaving even Int 18 wizards with a maximum of 18 spells known of each level, a far cry from a 3e wizard's spellbook of every spell under the sun.</blockquote>