Magic Items

[FireLance]

I think that ultimately, everything is a DM resource simply because it is the DM who decides (even if he does so by simply not raising any objections) what are valid choices for the players to spend their resources on.

Consider mundane equipment. In most run-of-the-mill games, mundane equipment is just something that a player spends gold to buy during character creation. However, a DM could, in theory, restrict the ability of the characters in his campaign to obtain certain types of mundane equipment - for example, perhaps the use of plate mail is restricted only to knights of a particular order, and a character must prove himself worthy to be a member of that order before he is allowed to buy a suit of plate mail.

Similarly, a DM might decide that certain types of magic items may be created or purchased by the PCs, while keeping control of the other items to himself. In doing so, he might follow the guidelines suggested by the game system, or he might come up with his own based on what he thinks will or will not unbalance his campaign if the players are allowed greater access to them.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

DM resource mainly.

The rarity sytem is just enough to make me happy.

If they are a player resource, they are degraded to tools. Having magic items beeing taken into account in the encounter guidelines is a good thing... telling players that they are meant to have items x or y by level x is a mistake in my opinion.

This makes finding a magic items nothing extraordinary, and not finding magic items disappointing...

the rarity rules at least allow me to give out magic items with properties that are cooler than standard items without fearing that a player may think he can recreate it or move the magic to another item...

 

[Wednesday Boy]

A hybrid. Players should decide what magic items they want and the GM should decide whether and when they should get them.

As a player it's no fun getting a magic item that I'm not interested in and as a GM it's best to have the magic items come into play when I'm ready for them.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

No Opinion. More precisely, I'm trying to figure out what our group likes best. As DM I've been trying multiple methods and haven't found one I'm happy with.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Another issue is characters created above 1st level. In 4e, the player got to choose magic items for the character, making the items part of character creation, and very much a player resource (thus, magic items were in the PH). In a 4e campaign, he got to put things on a 'wish list,' which the DM might or might not go with, making it more of a hybrid resource. In an Essentials campaign it'll be random, but how does Essentials handle the created-above-1st-level character?

 

[Ahrimon]

I'm going to have to go with a hybrid resource. As much as I can really bring out the potential in my characters by asking for/buying items X, Y & Z. I prefer to let the DM know what characteristics of my character that I'm looking to improve through items and let him find something that fits. It might not be the most mechanically optimized item, but as long as it furthers my characters goals I'm ok with it. Plus over the years there have been so many items I've gotten and given out when DM'ng that while not being exactly what was asked for ended up becoming iconic peices of a particular character. We never would have had those awesome gaming moments had it not been for those items.

 

[Zaran]

i picked GM resource. I always thought it was a mistake to include magic items in the PHB. Wish lists only promote power gaming. Wishing for one particular item is different and that's something that quests are made of. Which of course is the domain of the GM.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Wishing for one particular item is different and that's something that quests are made of. Which of course is the domain of the GM.

Quests are okay. Especially for weapons. Armor, though, is a lot less frequently found as a quested item in literature. The only quested armor I can recall from fiction is the Armor of Bronze from the Drenai books...and even that came with a cool sword.

And can you really seriously have a quest for bracers or boots? That seems just...wrong.

After a while, though, that'd get old, especially if the quests took a long time in game.

"(sigh) Okay, so we finally killed the Radiant Vampire Emperor for Lologas' +4 bow, Minionslayer. Finally, after four months of sessions. Hey, didn't he just get a +5 Vorpal Bow of Nuclear Winter Fireballs? What'd we do this for again?"


Personally, I think it's perfectly fine to make items available to players. My group doesn't use wish lists, but the players do mention things they'd like to see, which may or may not drop and the DMs don't have a complex about the players being able to buy their own gear, because (a) the game rather assumes they do and (b) what else is the money going to be spent on?

Brad

 

[reticent]

My preference is that the game be constructed in such a way that no character needs to have any magic items in order to meaningfully contribute. This creates the freedom for magic items to be uncommon enough that even a less than optimum item is still coveted sufficiently to feel special, and even a seasoned adventurer is only likely to accrue a few such items over a career. Then, if some particular type of item is sought by a player it should be in the context of the campaign narrative with the understanding that, just as in real life, what they get is likely to be only some approximation of what they hoped for. Therefore I prefer magic items be the domain of the DM.

I don't think this style of game has quite fit (A)D&D's design philosophy since 2nd edition. I do think the approach that has been taken, where gear of level appropriate quality is expected to be itemized at players' discretion into predefined "slots", is a valid design choice. I just think that approach emphasizes abstract gaming aspects over verisimilitude.