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<blockquote data-quote="Michael Tree" data-source="post: 121311" data-attributes="member: 1455">I answered Yes to the poll, but in retrospect I should have answered Sort-of.&nbsp; I encourage players to create magic items that aren't in the book, but will modify or flat-out disallow items that are too unbalancing to the game, or completely change the nature of the game.&nbsp; The reason isn't &quot;because I say so&quot; but rather &quot;because it will unbalance the game, and ultimately make it less fun.&quot;I, as a GM, want to have fun telling a story, and challenge not just the PCs but the players as well.&nbsp; When a single magic item removes that chanllenge, when my GMing changes from &quot;challenging the player&quot; to &quot;trying to cope with a magic item&quot; it's not fun anymore.Take for example your +40 Hide item.&nbsp; Yes there are ways of dealing with this, but having to constantly have to counteract it is a pain, and destroys the verisimilitude of the game as well.&nbsp; If every opponent suddenly has means of undoing a +40 hide item, that's metagaming in the worst way.That particular item has other problems.&nbsp; Firstly, it detracts from the classes whose usefulness revolves around being stealthy.&nbsp; If any fighter or wizard could suddenly gain a +40 bonus to hide, what's the point in taking 10 levels in rogue or ranger for a measly 13 ranks in hide?Secondly, characters don't know about numerical bonuses.&nbsp; A character could make an item that &quot;makes me much better at hiding&quot;, but not one that &quot;gives me a +40 bonus on hiding&quot;.&nbsp; It's up to the GM, and to a lesser degree the player, to determine the mechanical effects of items a character makes.We have to remember that those numbers in the back of the DMG are guidelines, and nothing more.&nbsp; Any item that seems too cheap for what it does *is* too cheap for what it does, and should be made more expensive.&nbsp; Any item that seems too outrageously powerful to ever be allowed into the game should never be allowed into the game.&nbsp; An unlimited use cure light wounds gizmo definitely fits into the latter category, for all but perhaps the highest level characters.&nbsp; An unlimited use use-activated True Strike weapon also falls into the latter category IMO.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Michael Tree, post: 121311, member: 1455"] I answered Yes to the poll, but in retrospect I should have answered Sort-of. I encourage players to create magic items that aren't in the book, but will modify or flat-out disallow items that are too unbalancing to the game, or completely change the nature of the game. The reason isn't "because I say so" but rather "because it will unbalance the game, and ultimately make it less fun." I, as a GM, want to have fun telling a story, and challenge not just the PCs but the players as well. When a single magic item removes that chanllenge, when my GMing changes from "challenging the player" to "trying to cope with a magic item" it's not fun anymore. Take for example your +40 Hide item. Yes there are ways of dealing with this, but having to constantly have to counteract it is a pain, and destroys the verisimilitude of the game as well. If every opponent suddenly has means of undoing a +40 hide item, that's metagaming in the worst way. That particular item has other problems. Firstly, it detracts from the classes whose usefulness revolves around being stealthy. If any fighter or wizard could suddenly gain a +40 bonus to hide, what's the point in taking 10 levels in rogue or ranger for a measly 13 ranks in hide? Secondly, characters don't know about numerical bonuses. A character could make an item that "makes me much better at hiding", but not one that "gives me a +40 bonus on hiding". It's up to the GM, and to a lesser degree the player, to determine the mechanical effects of items a character makes. We have to remember that those numbers in the back of the DMG are guidelines, and nothing more. Any item that seems too cheap for what it does *is* too cheap for what it does, and should be made more expensive. Any item that seems too outrageously powerful to ever be allowed into the game should never be allowed into the game. An unlimited use cure light wounds gizmo definitely fits into the latter category, for all but perhaps the highest level characters. An unlimited use use-activated True Strike weapon also falls into the latter category IMO. [/QUOTE]

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