Andor
First Post
So between the starter box and the Hoard of the Dragon Queen supplement we are getting some idea of 5es approach to monsters and magic items.
Charged items seem to start with some low number of charges (10 for staves, 7 for wands), then regenerate more each day. So they are a potentially infinite resource, BUT if you spend the last charge you have a 1 in 20 chance of watching the item crumble away. I like this myself, and I'm curious to know if the rules specify if you know how many charges an item has. You would if you identified or attuned to it, but then the next day you get a random number of charges. Do you need to recast identify or spend another hour communing with your wand to learn the new total? And do you need privacy for that?
Keeping the charge total secret from the players adds to the GM bookkeeping total, but can add a measure of tension into the game.
Speaking of attuning, it looks like magic items of a certain level of power, or perhaps coolness need to be attuned to use, limiting both party sharing and how many you can have. On the one hand I like many of the throttle limiting functions this serves, but I'd hate to see a dramatic scene ruined because the ensnared Paladin couldn't throw his Axe of Demon-Splitting to the fighter because the fighter wasn't attuned to it. According to the starter set the limits are one attuned user per item, 3 attuned items per character.
Monsters look pretty good to me. I think rule 1 of 5e is do not take dragons lightly! Although the vampire is no slouch either. Regen 20!
Btw, who is planning to use the fixed (average) damage option for monsters? Is it a time saver? Is it just more fun to roll?
Charged items seem to start with some low number of charges (10 for staves, 7 for wands), then regenerate more each day. So they are a potentially infinite resource, BUT if you spend the last charge you have a 1 in 20 chance of watching the item crumble away. I like this myself, and I'm curious to know if the rules specify if you know how many charges an item has. You would if you identified or attuned to it, but then the next day you get a random number of charges. Do you need to recast identify or spend another hour communing with your wand to learn the new total? And do you need privacy for that?

Speaking of attuning, it looks like magic items of a certain level of power, or perhaps coolness need to be attuned to use, limiting both party sharing and how many you can have. On the one hand I like many of the throttle limiting functions this serves, but I'd hate to see a dramatic scene ruined because the ensnared Paladin couldn't throw his Axe of Demon-Splitting to the fighter because the fighter wasn't attuned to it. According to the starter set the limits are one attuned user per item, 3 attuned items per character.
Monsters look pretty good to me. I think rule 1 of 5e is do not take dragons lightly! Although the vampire is no slouch either. Regen 20!
Btw, who is planning to use the fixed (average) damage option for monsters? Is it a time saver? Is it just more fun to roll?
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