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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Balesir" data-source="post: 5699784" data-attributes="member: 27160">I am defined more by what I (can) do than by the clothes that I wear, and yet there are those who would define me by the clothes I wear.  At the same time, who I am defines the clothes I wear.A character's gear is (or should be) a reflection of who the character is, and if that defines them in the mind of others that is not necessarily a reflection of reality.And rather than depending upon what the dratted GM deigns to chuck into a treasure chest for them?I agree that players should be in control of their character's nature and capabilities (as limited by the world and/or the rules).  I don't see why equipment - much less one arbitrarily defined segment of equipment - should be an exception to this.Magic items being "mysterious" in a world where wizards cast fireballs, priests raise people from the dead and important people die only when they run out of "hit points" seems bizzarre, to me.  "Hey - that stick created a ball of fire just like Old Theophilus does!" "Oooooohhhhh!!  Spooky!! how can this be?!?!?"...Um, Old Theophilus made it??  Tsk.Apart from point 1, have you not just described the process of "levelling up"?The first item is one major way in which I think the "infrastructure" of D&D might be improved, but other than that it's just what is already there.I personally like Magic Items as an element of that "levelling up" process because they represent character design/development resources that are in the hands of the party, rather than a specific player.  They give scope to "optimise the party", enhancing the party interdependence alongside the "roles" in 4E.  They also help identify weaknesses in specific character roles or builds; if all the players agree that one specific role or character needs "extra help" from a disproportionate allocation of magic items, it can be indicative of an issue that could do with addressing.</blockquote>

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