How important should Stuff (tm) be?

[Mycanid]

Well Psi - A4 WAS a 1e module. I think it was playtested with equipmentless pc's because the adventure was written for equipmentless pc's.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

The problem with magic items is that they're not just for DR purposes. Raising characters' ACs, Saves, and attack bonuses is vital, too. At the same time, stat-boosters are expected; spellcasters are intended to have x spells of each level to cast per day, and those numbers can't be reached without the Headband of Intellect, or what-have-you.

IME, the only *need* to overcome encounters in 'normal' 3.x is the DR. Pretty much everything else can be overcome by tactics or planning.

I have never heard off your assertation that spellcasters have a 'character level to must have extra spells' guideline...and stat-boosting items are rare IMC. The only problem I have faced with a low magic-item campaign is the DR/planar critters.

Alot of DnD higher level gaming is all about an arms race, which is one of the reasons I avoid it. The idea of a GM needing to have a critter than can *only* be beat if the PC's have acquired item X looks much too alike to the CRPG 'quest for the key to open the door' stuff.. a gaming style I could do without.

 

[PallidPatience]

IME, the only *need* to overcome encounters in 'normal' 3.x is the DR. Pretty much everything else can be overcome by tactics or planning.

I have never heard off your assertation that spellcasters have a 'character level to must have extra spells' guideline...and stat-boosting items are rare IMC. The only problem I have faced with a low magic-item campaign is the DR/planar critters.

Alot of DnD higher level gaming is all about an arms race, which is one of the reasons I avoid it. The idea of a GM needing to have a critter than can *only* be beat if the PC's have acquired item X looks much too alike to the CRPG 'quest for the key to open the door' stuff.. a gaming style I could do without.

Do you do a lot of heavily modifying of the creatures you do use? Do you use a lot of creatures from the MM or other sourcebooks? If you mainly use NPCs and a specific type of monster (which you modify to fit), then you've tinkered with the assumptions of the game. It seems that you already have. Save DCs get pretty high, though, and they can be tough to make reliably if you're not equipped to handle it. ACs may be another story in some cases, but opponents' attack bonuses are difficult to bypass, too. By the way, DR isn't hard to overcome. Align Weapon and Magic Weapon exist for a reason. Both are very low-level spells. It's the metal types that get difficult (and aren't really related to magic in any way).

Also, if you play high-level opponents correctly, they'll challenge the PCs no matter what they have (within the guidelines). Throwing high-CR monsters at PCs like confetti won't do anything. Stupid PCs die. Stupid monsters die, too. Use them to their strengths. Why is an incorporeal undead charging blindly into combat, and not Spring Attacking through walls? Why are the kobolds charging headlong at PCs and not drawing them back into traps and ambushes?

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Much agree that the charge in to die NPCs are quite silly.

My last campaign was based in Eberron using a variety of published modules..no tweaks involved. However I only got to 5th level before real life stopped the campaign. As noted above I tend to stay under 14th level and avoid the planar influences, usually I use Lycans, Vamps, and humanoids.. with recent delvings into Abberations

Generally I avoid tweaking monsters and use them as is in the MM.. I have too many other things to prep before a game to bother trying to re-balance a critter.
However I also have a tendency to use natural groupings of critters instead of lone high CR critter.

Actually my biggest problem with the higher levels is coming up with good reasons why the CR+2 BBEG doesn't wipe the floor with the party... its way too easy to pull a TPK even when you aren't cutting the deadly challenge line too close.

But, I think this is getting off track from the OP.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

One thing that I have always found starnge is how people say that PCs need +X weapons to overcome certain monsters no matter what. Why not just have it so that the PCs dont need magical weponry to overcome monster X. Just havw it so that normal weapons will hurt said monster. That way magic can remain special and you can still use those monsters.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

IME, the only *need* to overcome encounters in 'normal' 3.x is the DR.

You don't need that, actually. 3.5 DR is low for a reason.

Pretty much everything else can be overcome by tactics or planning.

But I disagree with this. No matter how sharp your tactics, you can get hit by an arrow, poisoned, killed by a spell, etc. DnD is pretty murderous without those Cloaks of Resistance. Same thing when you're a 12th-level fighter with an AC of 21 + Dodge.

The idea of a GM needing to have a critter than can *only* be beat if the PC's have acquired item X looks much too alike to the CRPG 'quest for the key to open the door' stuff.. a gaming style I could do without.

I haven't seen that in a standard DnD campaign. The heroes don't find themselves requiring specific items; they're just a lot weaker without the standard gear, especially defensively.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

And I haven't ever seen a 'standard' DnD Game

But I agree, the lack of items tend to make the party less powerful defensively.. meaning they have to start thinking about stuff like cover, first aid, anit-toxins... all mundane, cheap alternatives to standing toe-to-toe with the bad guys who can slaughter you by using reasonable approached like poisen, flanking, surprise attacks..etc...

err.. is this a bad thing?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

And I haven't ever seen a 'standard' DnD Game

But I agree, the lack of items tend to make the party less powerful defensively.. meaning they have to start thinking about stuff like cover, first aid, anit-toxins... all mundane, cheap alternatives to standing toe-to-toe with the bad guys who can slaughter you by using reasonable approached like poisen, flanking, surprise attacks..etc...

err.. is this a bad thing?

Yes. NPCs and intelligent monsters can also allowed to use tactics like cover, first aid, anti-toxins (is there a rule saying NPCs can't use tactics?), and combat isn't much fun if you know you can't miss and enemies can't make their saves.

 

[Hussar]

I really gotta do the math. Sigh

I did do it for 7th level, and, well, there's almost no difference between a 7th level character with magic equipment and a 7th level character without. Yes, the "with" character is more powerful, but, not more powerful than an 8th level character. You can easily make up the difference.

Change the point buy. A 7th level 25 point buy character with equipment is almost identical to a 7th level 35 point buy character. The only difference is when facing DR creatures. And, even then, that's not usually a massive difference anyway.

DnD does NOT rely on magic items to be effective. At least, not before double digit levels. Sure, maybe by 15th the difference is huge. I don't know, I haven't done the math. But, for at least half the campaign (levels 1-10) magic makes about the same difference as point buy.

 

[Endur]

Stuff is of no importance.

Except for unique items, which are cool.