Magic Rings - no level restriction?

[Wolfwood2]

Back during the 4E previews, I seem to recall an awful lot of nerd rage over an announcment that magic rings would not be usable by heroic tier characters. As I recall, you could wear one ring at paragon tier and two rings at epic. Magic rings were supposed to be 'special' items.

Yeah... what happened with that? I'm not seeing any such restriction in the PHB, and magic rings don't look any more snazzy than other items.

 

[BradfordFerguson]

I think you answered your own question... So rings were probably more powerful when the rumor (?) of ring level limit came out, and then they decided to strip off the level limit and also nerfed the rings before release of the books? Just guessing.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Back during the 4E previews, I seem to recall an awful lot of nerd rage over an announcment that magic rings would not be usable by heroic tier characters. As I recall, you could wear one ring at paragon tier and two rings at epic. Magic rings were supposed to be 'special' items.

Yeah... what happened with that? I'm not seeing any such restriction in the PHB, and magic rings don't look any more snazzy than other items.

Apparently, the nerd rage made them reconsider. Wouldn't be the only thing. I don't see any Golden Wyvern Adepts either.

But some of the restriction is still there, as someone else noted in another thread:
The weakest Ring as level 14. According to the treasure guidelines, you're not expected to get items above your level +4.

 

[frankthedm]

Too much nerd rage over the ring's level limit. Glad to hear about this

 

[Revinor]

In DMG at page 146, there is a mention that one of the benefits of being in Paragon tier is ability to use rings. I was not able to find any other sentence on the subject - so it seems that it is leftover from previous versions of the rules. Unless you interpret it in the way that rings are starting from paragon magic item levels, so you probably won't get any beforehand.

 

[eleran]

Yeah, it simply HAD to be the nerd rage. No one has ever made changes to any kind of design without the influence of sweaty smelly people hole up in their parents basement.

 

[Grazzt]

In DMG at page 146, there is a mention that one of the benefits of being in Paragon tier is ability to use rings. I was not able to find any other sentence on the subject - so it seems that it is leftover from previous versions of the rules. Unless you interpret it in the way that rings are starting from paragon magic item levels, so you probably won't get any beforehand.

Or at least til the end of the heroic tier. The quote above was mine from another thread about the treasure tables and rules saying that PCs generally get a magic item no more than 4 levels above their own. Which means: min ring level in the DMG = level 14; minimum PC level to acquire such a ring = level 10.

(Course lower level rings would probably be fairly easy to design I would think)

 

[Aegir]

There doesn't seem to be any rule against wearing rings even from Lv 1, but the lowest level ring is 14, and going by treasure suggestions (never give out an item of more than party level +4), they won't start popping up in treasure until Lv 10. You can't buy or create them before that either, as the cap on both those is PC level.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Apparently, the nerd rage made them reconsider. Wouldn't be the only thing. I don't see any Golden Wyvern Adepts either.

But some of the restriction is still there, as someone else noted in another thread:
The weakest Ring as level 14. According to the treasure guidelines, you're not expected to get items above your level +4.

I bet we'll see lower level rings from third-parties come October, and from WotC within a year, probably sooner, though, so it's good in the long-run, even if in the short-term it didn't make much odds.

I've noticed that virtually all the nerd-rage inducing names and ideas seem to have been cut - Dragon's Tail Cut is called something much less exciting, and as mentioned, Golden Wyverns are and Wizards schools are nowhere to be found. Kind of a pity, actually, I think, but there you go.

 

[CAFRedblade]

As others have pointed out, the lowest level is 14 for a ring, and I remember reading that a character cannot wear more than two rings, one per hand perhaps (magical at least) otherwise none of the magical rings will function. So while it doesn't explicitly stat, no wearing rings until such level, the basis to infer this is written within the books..
Of course, one can always attempt to create lower level rings for people to wear and use.