Magic is needed. In what forms, is the question.

[Naathez]

All right....

I think it's generally agreed that PCs need the magic the system "assumes" they have a ta given level to overcome the corresponding CRs.

(If it ISN'T generally agreed, please do tell me! )

Now... fact is I actually HATE seeing players carry around heaps of magic stuff.

"What's that, Wizzie the Wizard? Sword +1 again? -sigh- okay... Henchie the Henchman, it goes in bag of holding #246, with the others."

or worse:

"HEY!! Okay this is a sword +3, cool! I guess the +2 stuff is useless now... gonna throw it all, and use this one. Too bad though... I slew Evil Clarie the Cleric, had kinda grown attached to it. Oh well."

(Reason i DON'T use fighters in these examples is "Fightie the Fighter" sounds too silly, even for me.)

And it gets worse for objects.... wizards wearing a strip of cloth round their heads, and thieves with these nifty gloves...

And worst of it all, since (I frankly respect those who think otherwise)
I DO NOT ALLOW BUYING AND SELLING OF MAGIC ITEMS
I hate the fact that they have to find it all, or at best be prized with it by someone.

"Reggie the Rogue, and Bart the Bard (heh). Thank you for saving our city. Do accept these as tokens of friendship. - cartload of magical stuff is POURED from the ceiling over the 2 unlucky heroes- (of course Reggie ain't hurt, he evades.)"


SO what i was thinking is... how unbalancing is it to make some of this magic... not magic?

like... when it's time for a fighter to get his +2 sword...

You tell him "You've developed a particular skill with your sword. You hav +2 to hit and damage"

or sometimes "Rangie the Ranger ... you deal the killing blow with your scimitar, lopping off the Fire Mage's head. Some of his blood pours on your blade... (insert fluff). Your Scimitar now flames up with a thought, dealing +1d6 fire damage"

Of course, in the first instance, the bonus would have to go in anti-magic zones (though it's not magic)...

DO you think the fact this separates bonuses, or special abilities, from objects, makes this unbalanced...? these were just examples...

I'm looking for opinions, or more examples...

Thanks ev'ry and each of you.

Enworld, speak thy Truth...

 

[Ibram]

Firstly creatures that require you to have a magic weapon to defeat them are incredibly rare IMC, so i dont feel a masive compulsion to give one to every party member. when magic weapons are encountered IMC there is a story behind them, and they usualy have some unique powers (there are no +1 swords, but there may be a +1 longsword that hums in the presence of magic).

 

[Frum]

leveled equipment

In my current campaign, I am working with a reduced wealth per level system. Much of the item wealth the characters would gain increases by level, but the wealth amounts apply to the equipment that they are already using, or equipment that they buy or find.

I find that this really works for me, as I feel no compulsion to give out a metric ton of magical items that I would not allow to be sold (as you wouldn't), many of which would become useless later. Essentially, in my campaigns, I use 75% of the wealth amount as listed in the DMG. 1 third of that amount is found as money, gems, magical items, art, etc. The other two thirds are mapped out in a per character level progression. When a character has enough to 'buy' a new enchantment on a treasured item, they can do so, using the costs and balances of equivalent magical items.

It has worked well so far, as my players often request unique kinds of magical effects for their items that really make their characters seem more heroic or unique. It tends to lend itself to a 'items grow with the characters' feel, in which weapons and armor used by the heroes really do become powerful and legendary as they are. So far, no balance issues, but this may become more pronounced as we reach higher levels (the PC's are currently level 7). Maybe that is something more like what you are looking for, but I can't vouch for its balance beyond what I have already experienced, so it might need tweaking, and might fail in a campaign with a different monster palette than my own.

 

[Buttercup]

I don't hand out cart loads of magic items either. And when I do, I prefer consumables like potions, scrolls and wands with limited charges, or items that aren't primarily useful in combat, like immovable rods.

Magic weapons & armor are quite rare, and likely to be family heirlooms that won't work if aren't of the right bloodline. Or they're powerful and dangerous artifacts, with ugly consequences for using them.

I love the idea of items that grow in power as the character advances, but I haven't used it much yet.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

Although I haven't played Midnight, its heroic paths are a pretty good substitute for large quantities of magic items. Or you could use some other variety of innate acquired abilities (skill and/or the favor of Fate).
What's particularly neat about heroic paths is that they're really meant only for PCs, based on what I've read from the designers (the bad guy NPCs get magic items, not sure about good guy NPCs). I could be wrong about that, but I hope not. Here's why I like it - it makes the PCs special. I think 3E went a little too far in trying to establish "PCs aren't special."

 

[Stormborn]

I am runnign a very low magic world right now, but I wanted the give the PCs some bonuses. Most of the more traditional magic weapons I have explained as different types of construction, better metals, etc. That covers most of the +1 etc. abilites. Things like expanded crit ranges can also be explained that way.

The PCs actually do have more magic than they are aware of, since there are no "Identify" spells. One such items is "The Ring of the Swordsman" which one of the PCs is wearing. She doesn't know that the ring effects her primary weapon (a rapier in this case) and ONLY her primary weapon, but as long as she keept that weapon the rigns power will go up every other level. Thus, she keeps her sword,that she has a lot invested in right now, and she gets a gradually increasingly powerful weapon.

Of course magic in my campaign is atypical so it might not be germaine to the original question. But I have worried about higher level CRs and the lack of magic. Calculating all that seems difficult.


I like the idea of the blood creatign a flaming weapon. Maybe do that, but wait until the PC really needs that extra +1d6 and then have it activate for the first time. In down time you can say that with practice they have learned to control it.