D&D 5E Increasing/Modifying Attunement

[jmartkdr2]

I do like the idea of treating a "set" of items as only taking one attunement slot. One friend of mine got a set of gear that altogether took something like 6 attunement slots, not even counting the gear he already had. (We were playing a Pathfinder module converted to 5E.) He ended up using only 2 or 3 items, and it just felt like a complete waste.

Even if it hadn't been an issue of system conversion problems, the idea of a set of magic items that are designed to work together on a common theme should be a cool and exciting thing to encounter, not a "Oops, you can't do that because 5E."

Also helps dual-wielders, since they no longer need an extra attunement for their weapons compared to other warriors.

 

[aco175]

I tend to give out a few more items that the books say, so I bumped the attunement to add another slot at 8th and 12th level. Never really thought about limiting items to locations on the body like 2 head items or such. The players limit themselves with this where nobody has tried to have wear two sets of boots or bracers.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Note that there's a line in the DMG that you can't use a worn item if you can't wear it, and to use two of them you need to be able to wear both at the same time. So you can't wear two pairs of boots, but you could wear magic socks and magic boots at the same time. The limit on rings is around 20, though.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

There is also the houserule idea I have seen posted that Attunement Slots = Proficiency Bonus.

This is what I use for my game. Characters are up to 16 now, so five slots and it seems to work well. I like that magic item power level scales with everything else.

 

[CleverNickName]

Yeah, I'd file this under "Not Broken/Don't Fix." Three attunement slots is plenty for nearly every character build. That said: I have allowed players to remove the attunement requirement of specific items, if they complete a certain quest.

For example, the warlock in the party recovered a Staff of Frost, but couldn't attune to it without sacrificing another item to free up an attunement slot. So I created a little side quest where he completed a mission for his patron, and his reward at the end of the mission was that his Staff of Frost no longer required attunement.

Giving out more attunement slots for everyone feels a bit heavy-handed to me (and a bit boring.)

 

[the Jester]

In 1E, fighters could use spell scrolls, wands, whatever, and this helped close the gap.

Sorry, but that's incorrect. 1e fighters couldn't use spell scrolls- you had to be a member of the right class (e.g. a cleric to use a cleric scroll). Magic items were highly restricted- most wands had a (M) or (C, M) next to their 1e listing, indicating which classes could use them (c = cleric, m = magic-user, etc). 1e fighters were definitely not able to use what we now think of as "caster only" items. There were a few exceptions, but it definitely wasn't the general case.

 

[el-remmen]

My guess is that it will make absolutely no difference to our style of play, except allow the PCs to have a couple more items available at higher levels - but we'll see.

Right now my party of 5th level heroes have, not including potions or scrolls (items marked with an "A" required attunement)

Gnome Bard/Wizard: Magic Dagger, Cloak of Elvenkind
Half-Orc Barbarian: none currently!
Tiefling Ranger/ Sorcerer: Magic Scimitar +2 (A - secondary powers only), Scarab of Proof Against Poison (A), various one-use magic arrows.
Human Druid: Staff of Thunder +1 (A - secondary powers only), Wand of Shocking Grasp

 

[the Jester]

My approach is going to be to change which specific items require or don't require attunement. I'm in the midst of a detailed analysis and attempt to reverse engineer the rules WoTC used to determine it in the first place (and I have found there are several unwritten rules).

I'm very interested in what you find, if you'd care to share once you're done.

 

[Mistwell]

I like setting the limit to your proficiency bonus.

 

[Flamestrike]

I include a feat that increases attunement slots by 1, and allows casting of Identify as a ritual.

Its there if you want it, otherwise 3 slots is more than enough.