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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 5698665" data-attributes="member: 52734">What I want from magic items is as follows:1) I do want a GP value or some other method to rate how valuable/difficult it is to make an item, or if you were to be trading magic items, what their relative values generally are.  I missed not having some sort of relative idea of the value of magic items back in 2E, and made figuring out what I should be putting into treasure hordes difficult, not to mention what to do when PCs wanted to dispose of unwanted magic items (seriously; I had a player with a ranger character who had several +1 and a +2 sword he wanted to get rid of because he only used his +3 sword).However, just like you couldn't go down to Walmart and buy an RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade, not D&D*) off the shelf just because you had the cash on hand, buying/selling magic items shouldn't be something done offhand.2) Magic items should be interesting, and not all of their effects should be positive.  "Quirky" items should be common - from the potion you gag on quaffing because it tastes so awful (Fort save or nauseated 1d4 rounds), to the +1 sword that hums "Ride of the Valkries" when drawn (let's see you sneak up on the hobgoblin guard with that one).  I wouldn't mind seeing the return of cursed items - especially those with some beneficial effects (like a Berserker Blade - you gain the benefit's of a barbarian's rage, but you don't stop fighting just because the last enemy drops).Part of the issue with magic items is they've become mass-produced items cranked out from the same boring die press.  Each +1 sword is like every other +1 sword in existence - While characters have grown in being individually unique, magic items have remained cookie-cutter facsimiles of power boosts.And I'm not just talking about making flames tongue weapons instead of +X weapons (which I have no issue with, except if they are an expected part of the math).  I'm talking that each flames tongue sword is like every other flames tongue sword, two cloaks of the arachnae have exactly the same properties (even if one is made by a drow and the other an aranae) or all belts of strength +2 are exactly the same.  Instead, if one character had Ember, a flames tongue that was wreathed in billowing smoke that could obscure attacker and defender whereas another had Magmabite that dripped a burning fluid that splashed adjacent targets on a hit, that would make each item unique, and give the item a unique personality.  Perhaps when donning the drow cloak one hears the whispers of the Spider Queen revealing the dark desires of those the wearer gazes at, while the aranae's cloak crawls with tiny spiders who can be coaxed to scout for the wearer.  A cursed version might cause the cloak to dissolve into a spider swarm when hit, only to revert back to its normal form a few rounds later.   You might even see some folks turn down or put away an item because the item's quirks may be unsuitable for a situation.* Though honestly, walking into Walmart and buying the 4E PHB would be just as impossible.</blockquote>

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