New article Design and Development Article on Magic Item Slots

[Lab_Monkey]

So much for getting rid of the so-called Christmas tree effect....

I agree. The number of items on the 11th level character is... well, very Christmas tree like.

I'm very happy that they've cut down the number of stat/natural armor/deflection/etc. bonus items. Having only 3 such items per character is very reasonable. Still, I would have preferred they cut the item:character ratio down even more severely.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised though- finding new magic items is fun for players. Even if you find only an item or two per session, that adds up quickly over the course of a long running campaign.

I will probably end up awarding a few multi-power legacy items and cutting down on the number of slotted items per character for my 4e campaign.

 

[Sir Brennen]

It seems like every change they make drives me further away from 4e. I don't know what's worse that I started out pro 4e and hoping it would be great or that I now lack any confidence in the ability of the designers.

What change in particular in this article do you have problems with, and why? Seems most of the comments in this thread is that things didn't change enough.

 

[Gargoyle]

So much for getting rid of the so-called Christmas tree effect....

That was my impression. I was hoping for fewer slots and no "We expect you to have +2 ....".

 

[Green Knight]

Next time you decorate your Christmas tree with three ornaments, send me the pic over photobucket.

Exactly. They're building the game around only needing three magic items, rather than one item in every possible slot with stat boosts up the wazoo. And the three items are items which every character would have. An offensive item and two defensive items (AC and Saving Throws).

 

[Lab_Monkey]

After reading it a second time I definitely feel that this a positive change. All the items on his 11th level gnome sound interesting and evocative. While the armor isn't that exciting, the weapons and cloak both seem the have some special properties beyond just being +X items.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Unhappy to see three categories with "pluses", unhappy to see that cloaks and necklaces are conflicting. But I can live with the latter.

And for the former: Well, the +2 weapon is an iconic item, it's a D&D staple. To get rid of it is to lose something very D&Dish, I can understand why it's still there, and hence it causes a ripple effect - if attacks (i.e. weapons and implements) get boosted, the defences have to be boosted as well (i.e. armour and F/R/W saves).

Additionally, I can see that weapons need to have more than just a special effect (fire, cold whatever), dealing extra damage and hitting better certainly makes happy, because otherwise we'd also get the same effect with extra damage (+d6), there are not many interesting weapon effects that don't involve attack rolls or damage. While not ideal, I can live with and understand it.

Well, it's still a Christmas tree, but a small one. A shrub. As promised.

Cheers, LT.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

+x Swords is DnD.

but this time it is very easy to adjust, because magical weapons, armor and necklaces all add the same bonuses to attack, AC and defenses at a certain level.

So if you don´t give out those items, the math still works (and you just have to use slightly less powerfull monsters and equally low equipped monsters)

 

[Doug McCrae]

Seems very similar to 3e. I was expecting much more of a change based on the 'Xmas tree is gone' and 'Charlie Brown Xmas tree' comments. Only four slots have been removed - face, torso, back and one ring - reducing the 3e total of 12 to 8 in 4e.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

What change in particular in this article do you have problems with, and why? Seems most of the comments in this thread is that things didn't change enough.

Not that they changed but the nature of the changes taken individually. They're item slot redistribution seems a little off. As one poster pointed out "can't wear a cloak and amulet at the same time" ? The ring and head issue are the worst offenders in my case. Not bing able to wear a magic ring until you reach X level, and getting more slots as level goes up? Too gamist entirely. Then there's the blurb about the "orbitals". Suddenly they've become the equivalent of the glowing EPIC/ENDGAME markers above characters in certain MMOs. Apparently the wide range of ioun stones is gone, I liked the range of ioun stones and in fact made sure the DMG list was copiously added to both as player and DM (custom items are why the creation rules exist). Even the crappy little dull gray ones were interesting and useful, for one I generally had them used as fashion accesories by nobles along with continual flame clothing and such.

 

[DandD]

Sad. So much for that promise. People will still hunt for better plus-items, and try to hog as many magic items as possible, if they give better stats. Oh well, some things in D&D you simply can't get rid off.
I'm disappointed in this.