Magic Item Talk

[KidSnide]

I like specific cool magic items, but good DM guidance on custom magic items is also important. The key is providing ad hoc guidance that allows DMs to creating a wider range of special magic items, rather than providing a table that is robust enough for PCs to be able to use it as a shopping list. Once you allow PCs to create their own arbitrary items, you need to restrict that list to a known set of well playtested powers.

Instead, the guidelines should spur DMs to create cool new items. The purpose of providing estimated values is to give GMs a sense (an imperfect sense!) of how powerful those items are. The best magic items are the ones that are unique to the campaign, either because they are common (and, thus, part of the campaign's flavor -- think Eberron here) or because they are special and connected to specific aspects of the setting (e.g. the sword of a PC's evil ancestor). The purpose of a custom magic items table should be to help DMs create these special items. It has to help DMs come up with unique properties and combinations. The 3e and 4e systems are too focused on balance, and insufficiently focused on helping DMs make their campaigns special.

If WotC wants to later publish a book of magic item creation with robust balanced tables that's fine -- it's even useful. (Letting PCs make custom magic items for their characters would be a helpful feature of many campaigns. It just shouldn't be a default assumption.) But they shouldn't be publishing that until the system is mature enough that the balanced tables are correct. And regardless, such a book should be an optional module, not a part of the core rules.

-KS

 

[tlantl]

from the blog:

[We] "are moving back toward a more classic approach, where items are special, feel magical, and have a place in the world."

Yay!!

Maybe item creation becomes adventures in themselves again.

I'd really love to see item creation return to upper level play and your average player won't need magic to do his job, at least until they are over 10th level and even then a minor magical bonus to hit creatures from the outer planes or the most powerful monsters such as incorporeal, Undead, and negative energy creatures.

I'd really like to see creating potions and scrolls being a bit easier than wands and other items but the process should be time consuming and components for inks, quills, and vellum being expensive and rare.

 

[NewJeffCT]

While the customization was great, we lost sense if wonder, or maybe I am just old now. But, magic feels a bit mundane in 3e and 4e (and I only run 4e) to me.

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While I'm running a 4E game now, I think a DM making his or her own unique magic items was more easily done in prior editions.

I should add that I think magic items should be in the hands of the DM. If players want to create potions or minor consumable items, that would be okay, but I still think it should be either time consuming or costly. (i.e., this potion only becomes magical when created at midnight under the light of the full moon - meaning, it can only be done once a month. Or, this salve requires as somebody mentioned above - the tears of the Harpy Queen - to complete.)

 

[Tehnai]

While I'm running a 4E game now, I think a DM making his or her own unique magic items was more easily done in prior editions.

I actually have to agree. In older editions, you didn't have to worry about a magical item breaking game balance, awesome things were just awesome things.

With fourth edition, you get constantly spooked about whether it'll tilt encounter balance too hard, if it'll put the player in too much of a spotlight, and so on.

I do miss the time when you would give a Holy Avenger to your player because "HOLY AVENGERS ARE BITCHIN'!"

 

[renau1g]

While I'm running a 4E game now, I think a DM making his or her own unique magic items was more easily done in prior editions.

For sure, especially with the heavy reliance on the character builder/ DDI for many players, adding something not already in the database is terrifying for some DM's and god forbid people having to add in any of that math to their sheets...

 

[Minigiant]

Rarity for magic items is a place where I am good with rarity.

Common: +1 sword (Easily crafted overall if costs are paid. Might be mass produced in high level societies.)

Uncommon: +1 flaming sword (Significantly harder to craft as it requires a special formula/recipe and ingredients)

Rare: sword +1, flame tongue (extremely hard to craft and one guy and his apprentices can craft it. Does not use item creation rules. PCs cannot craft with DM help even without permission. Attributes are easy enough for DMs to reconfigure)

Legendary: Fang of Flamarr (there is only one as the item was created under conditions that are impossible to replicate. Does not follow any crafting rules and may be extremely unbalanced. Might not even follow the games rules. DMs should be weary of making changes to it, if they even like a NPC or PC get it.

 

[TerraDave]

This is one place were they can really go old school.

*Unique items (and any related rules) in the DMG
*Optional, restrictive, flavorful rules on creation
*Default math may assume a bare minimum of +s at high levels, but its ok to get more and less.

 

[Kinak]

For sure, especially with the heavy reliance on the character builder/ DDI for many players, adding something not already in the database is terrifying for some DM's and god forbid people having to add in any of that math to their sheets...

I hadn't really followed that chain of thought through before. That's a sad state of affairs.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[NewJeffCT]

For sure, especially with the heavy reliance on the character builder/ DDI for many players, adding something not already in the database is terrifying for some DM's and god forbid people having to add in any of that math to their sheets...

well, I wouldn't say it was terrifying to me. However, it was annoying because you'd get the warning that the character does not meet approved standards (or whatever the message was...). You almost felt like a criminal for doing it.

One of the more memorable moments of a great 2E campaign I was involved with was after an epic, climactic battle early in the campaign, the DM had a great scene where we were now proven to be heroes of prophecy, and he gave each PC a special, unique magic item tailored for that PC. They were actually beyond what we'd typically have at that level, but he had expected us to use these items for the duration of the campaign.

I liked the scene so much that when I DM'd a 3.5E campaign 10 years later, I did something similar in my game, though each magic item was tailored for the PCs in my game and the climactic battle was obviously different...

 

[renau1g]

well, I wouldn't say it was terrifying to me. However, it was annoying because you'd get the warning that the character does not meet approved standards (or whatever the message was...). You almost felt like a criminal for doing it.

Most people on this boards probably wouldn't feel that way (as we're amongst the hardcore of the game), and terrifying is hyperbole, but a lot of new DM's probably felt constricted by the Compendium/DDI and also by Wish Lists (worst idea ever IMO).