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<blockquote data-quote="NotZenon" data-source="post: 5846803" data-attributes="member: 85907">First of all, great thread idea.&nbsp;&nbsp; I will say i have not read even close to the 9 pages of this discussion, so i'm sorry if my opinion is just a rehash of whats been said already.&nbsp; I love magic items but not when they are so common that they become blah.&nbsp;&nbsp; When i read fantasy novels they are really cool cause magic items do something unique.&nbsp; Somethings &quot;awe&quot; factor really is proportional to its rarity (and power)&nbsp; for example a handgun would be a rare and powerful magic item in ancient Egypt, but not so much in southern (modern) Texas.&nbsp;&nbsp; A +5 sword at level X isn't any more magical or awe inspiring than a +1 sword at low level if everyone has them.&nbsp;&nbsp; But to be honest &quot;Plus&quot; anything swords have never been that awe inspiring.&nbsp; Might as well call it a nondescript game mechanic modifier weapon.&nbsp;&nbsp; Game mechanics are something abstract, and therefore will never be that awe inspiring.&nbsp; &nbsp; Sure you can say its +1 because its lighter and sharper than other swords, but players know that a sword can only become so light and so sharp.&nbsp; Just trying to say that mechanical modifiers will never be as interesting as items that actually &quot;do stuff&quot;.&nbsp; If i was designing the new edition i would consider removing mechanical modifier items altogether. Another thing that ruins magic items in my opinion, is the bag of holding full of potions of healing.&nbsp; Or the bag of holding full of magical wands. Or bags of holding full of anything really.&nbsp; I have no logical criticism of this other than it just seems campy.&nbsp; It seems like a cheap way of getting around the class limits on spells as well.&nbsp; Who cares if the mage only gets X first levels spells when he has a wand of 10,000 magic missiles? In my personal opinion this all harkens back to the video game industry.&nbsp; In a video game RPG there are only so many ways to reward players and thusly make the game funner (so they will keep playing).&nbsp; You can reward them with a level up every few hours, or a story line completion every few hours, but other than that; buying new stuff, and finding new stuff is what keeps dragging them along to the next level, so much more so in mmorpg's than in story based rpg's.&nbsp;&nbsp; In my opinion what attracts players to table top gaming, rather than video game gaming is what it can bring that a video game can't.&nbsp; Sure there is the in person interaction, that is definitely a strong factor, but also in a good game, there is the idea that you can play your favorite book or movie style hero, and actually have a chance that the game is going to be about more than just collecting stuff and leveling up.&nbsp;&nbsp; Anyways i'm just rambling my way now.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="NotZenon, post: 5846803, member: 85907"] First of all, great thread idea. I will say i have not read even close to the 9 pages of this discussion, so i'm sorry if my opinion is just a rehash of whats been said already. I love magic items but not when they are so common that they become blah. When i read fantasy novels they are really cool cause magic items do something unique. Somethings "awe" factor really is proportional to its rarity (and power) for example a handgun would be a rare and powerful magic item in ancient Egypt, but not so much in southern (modern) Texas. A +5 sword at level X isn't any more magical or awe inspiring than a +1 sword at low level if everyone has them. But to be honest "Plus" anything swords have never been that awe inspiring. Might as well call it a nondescript game mechanic modifier weapon. Game mechanics are something abstract, and therefore will never be that awe inspiring. Sure you can say its +1 because its lighter and sharper than other swords, but players know that a sword can only become so light and so sharp. Just trying to say that mechanical modifiers will never be as interesting as items that actually "do stuff". If i was designing the new edition i would consider removing mechanical modifier items altogether. Another thing that ruins magic items in my opinion, is the bag of holding full of potions of healing. Or the bag of holding full of magical wands. Or bags of holding full of anything really. I have no logical criticism of this other than it just seems campy. It seems like a cheap way of getting around the class limits on spells as well. Who cares if the mage only gets X first levels spells when he has a wand of 10,000 magic missiles? In my personal opinion this all harkens back to the video game industry. In a video game RPG there are only so many ways to reward players and thusly make the game funner (so they will keep playing). You can reward them with a level up every few hours, or a story line completion every few hours, but other than that; buying new stuff, and finding new stuff is what keeps dragging them along to the next level, so much more so in mmorpg's than in story based rpg's. In my opinion what attracts players to table top gaming, rather than video game gaming is what it can bring that a video game can't. Sure there is the in person interaction, that is definitely a strong factor, but also in a good game, there is the idea that you can play your favorite book or movie style hero, and actually have a chance that the game is going to be about more than just collecting stuff and leveling up. Anyways i'm just rambling my way now. [/QUOTE]

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