How will the designers (or the players) deal with magic item influx due to PC death?

[RigaMortus2]

It is, imho, really only a problem is you let the new PC come in already equipped with magic items.

Carl

And why wouldn't you? If they are coming in at level 10 for example, they should have gear appropriate to that level. 3E had wealth by character level. We don't know yet if 4E will, so this is all we have at the moment to base this on. If you want to play an Epic character, they need to have the equipment for an Epic character.

 

[RigaMortus2]

If PCs are dying off and the party is making out like bandits there is something seriously wrong with the game (and it becomes time to institute the "all new chars from begin at level 1 rule). >

That is a WHOLE other thread if you do this... Level 10 Party, PC dies, in comes level 1 dude... They are either going to power level really fast (in which case, why not just bring them in at level 10 anyway?), or die really quickly. Neither is good IMHO.

But again, that is for another thread.

 

[RigaMortus2]

I'd like to add my voice to the crowd saying that there should be no game rule regarding what to do with a fallen friend's equipment.

IMC PCs seldom exist without families and/or friends. Most of them are closely connected to the campaign setting. Furthermore, PCs don't wander the earth having adventures. They may travel a lot, but they always come home between excursions. If the subject had ever come up (it hasn't - not once), I would have dealt with it in story, not through any sort of rule. Even if the family couldn't prove that they were the legal owners of their relative's property, they could damage the party's reputation by calling them thieves.

<snip>

You are assuming an aweful lot. You are assuming every character has a family, and no one will play the loner or recluse or hermit. You are assuming that a person's family has the right to their stuff when they die. You are assuming that the other PCs won't have a problem giving the items up, when in most cases, magic items and loot is really party treasure and the party often decides amongst themselves who should get what. I can't really see some family member coming in and saying "Even though you just found this +5 sword a week ago, you all did decide that Bob should use it, and since my poor Bobby is dead, I will take this sword back to his father." I think any party would be upset with that.

Now, if it was magic items the PC started with, and he has it written out they are family heirlooms, then sure. But loot you find in a dungeon? No way...

You are also assuming that everyone runs things the same way. There are campaigns where it is not easy to raise a character from the dead so they can reclaim their items. There are campaigns where magic item shops are prevelant. There are players who don't have any living relatives written into the background for story purposes.

There are just too many factors to consider, and only a handful of options when it comes to dealing with acquiring magic items through PC death.

 

[Jhulae]

Not sure if is going to be addressed, or if it even needs to be addressed (in which case, we're all on our own) but have the WotC designers put any thought to when a PC dies and the player comes in with a new character, what happens with the magic items that PC had?

Really? Out of all the potential issues that may be cropping up with 4e, this is a major problem?

It wasn't addressed in 3.x, 2nd Edition, 1st Edition, or almost any RPG that doesn't require binding to one's magical items.

How have gaming groups managed to survive all *those* systems where characters die?

Non issue. Seriously.

 

[MaelStorm]

In 4E this can be dealt really easily because you can opt for no Magic Item at all, by adding +X depending on level. New characters can start at any level they want easily and you simply add +X where appropriate.

As other posters suggest, I suspect Magic Gear will be more personal. Powers work with specific implement and these vary with classes. PCs can easily create their own Magic Items with rituals.

Plus PCs can simply buy their Magic Gear when creating their new characters. If the DM don't work with the automatic +X, they can adjudicate PCs can choose automatically their +X equipment in the PHB.

So yes, if it ever was an issue before, it has now evolved to a complete non-issue in 4E I guess.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Really? Out of all the potential issues that may be cropping up with 4e, this is a major problem?

It wasn't addressed in 3.x, 2nd Edition, 1st Edition, or almost any RPG that doesn't require binding to one's magical items.

How have gaming groups managed to survive all *those* systems where characters die?

Non issue. Seriously.

Just because it has never been addressed doesn't mean it isn't an issue. 4E is supposed to be "fixing" things that were a problem. I can't see how this is NOT a problem, unless the DM and players come together and agree ahead of time how to deal with a dead PC's items.

Since they are unifying a lot of things in 4E, why not this?

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Just because it has never been addressed doesn't mean it isn't an issue. 4E is supposed to be "fixing" things that were a problem. I can't see how this is NOT a problem, unless the DM and players come together and agree ahead of time how to deal with a dead PC's items.

Since they are unifying a lot of things in 4E, why not this?

One thing that we should learn from social science is that it's all very good to come up with an hypothesis, but you still have to check if people actually behave according to your hypothesis.

I don't think that gaming groups, in general, have ever had a serious problem from the accumulation of magic items through PC deaths. I have been in campaigns with chronic PC deaths in every AD&D edition and if too much magic items or wealth could be a problem, it would have been a problem there.

Seriously, it is too easy to make wealth a non-issue for a D&D game. It is possible (and even desirable in some games) to make the PCs fabulously wealthy royalty and still create a motivation for adventure in areas where wealth is of absolutely no value.

 

[Saishu_Heiki]

Here is a variant of the rules I have used for my last couple of 3.5 campaigns. It allows people to use emotionally vested items ("my grandfather's sword", "my mother's holy symbol") throughout the game, instead of having to chuck it because the next level of item came in the hoard. My players have absolutely loved it.


Magic items -
There are few powerful magic items to be found. Arms and armor are rarely found above +2, with a good selection of utility magic items still being found (Cloak of Resistance, etc).

However, a character has the option of soul-binding any high quality item he owns.
This makes the item able to receive "drained" magic in a ritual. A soul-bound item
only functions at its highest level for the person it is attuned to. If that person
dies, the item loses its power as the connection is severed.

Some items (or people) are so famous/infamous or renowned that their items become
something greater. These items become fabled items, growing dormant, but not losing
their power over time. In addition to rituals, certain actions or knowledge are
required to awaken the dormant powers. These items are so potent that no person may
be attuned to more than one at any point, but since it is nearly unheard of for a
person to own more than one it is usually not tried.

Draining/Instilling Magic Items -
Any non-fabled/soul-bound magic item is able to be stripped of its magic in a ritual.
Doing so drains all power from the item, making it a masterwork, but non-magical, item.

A soul-bound item is able to receive this drained power and acquire new powers and
abilities. The owner must participate in both the draining and instilling rituals,
which must take place immediately following each other.

Optional Guide for Instilling
Every "plus" or ability of an item releases one magica (a discrete quantity of magic).
Soul-binding requires one magica that does not add to plusses.The amount of magica
that must be instilled to an item to raise its power level is equal to the square
of the effective plus (a +1 or equivalent enchantment requires 1 magica, a +2
requires 4 magica). Magica can be stored in an item w/o increasing its
effective plus. This means an item could have 3 magica stored and only needs one
additional magica to gain a second effective plus.

 

[Bayonet_Chris]

Federalism

Why is there a push to have the the game legislate something that is, in effect, a GM/Player decision? The game can't provide a rule for every specific situation that could possibly occur. If there is a practice you don't like in the game you're running, then fix it. This is more of a behavior problem than rules problem.

 

[DeusExMachina]

In 3.5e we always pick up the dead guy's stuff and start using it and the new PC comes in with his own set of new magic items. Seeing how often items are specialized to specific types of characters and that after a few levels you will have stronger items anyway, it usually didn't create a game imbalance. Sure we had some back up items or sold some more stuff, but all in all this didn't really affect us much...
Seeing how 4e has less emphasis on magic items, because the power shifted from magical items to character abilities to a large extent, I don't think this will be a problem at all in this edition...