While it is unreasonable to expect every magic item found by the party to be usable, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect SOME customisation to the party.
If this is a response to my comment about customization, I didn't say I wanted every item to be usable. I pointed out that nearly none of them were usable. Those that were useful came almost-invariably from semi-optimized NPCs.
Wealth-by-level I find to be an obscene concept. The idea that by Level 7 "I should have this and this and this" just feeds the fire of the "gimme gimme" mentality a lot of people have these days. Additionally, I have found that actually having the "correct" wealth-by-level makes combat encounters easier than they should be.
And yet, it is the default assumption of both 3.5 and PF. Having at least close to correct WBL gives you important bonuses and help keep you alive and well. IMO, the best way to stay alive and well is playing smart, but that's another topic. As for too easy, it's entirely dependent on how the encounters were set up. Was it a bunch of lower-CR enemies to make a proper EL fight? Or was it one or two bigger monsters? What level was the game? (As it gets higher, it gets tougher to gauge difficulty correctly, speaking from experience.)
And, lastly, it cheapens the magic item creation feats. If a player really, really, really wants a Wand of Haste (lets not go into why...) then they can take the creation feat and make one if the DM won't give it.
And if you don't have the time to craft things? You just blew a feat... If you're lucky, the DM allows retraining. If not, you're stuck with a useless feat. Theoretically, you are supposed to get down-time, but like WBL, it's simply theoretical. Games vary in their use of such things.
Adding to Fangor's response: there can also easily be limitations on what is "in-stock" at magic shops. It's the DM's fault if the town has a Wizard 6, but sells +3 or +4 items.
Axel said:
Hey, one of my favourite characters is a half-orc Monk w/ 20 Strength!
My comment about Monks didn't mean they can't be fun or effective. It was meant in the context of needing magic gear to stay potent (or even just competent) at higher levels.
The metagame assumption of 3.x is that the PCs will be allowed to sell trinket/useless items in exchange for the resources necessary to craft the ones they DO want; 4e glossed this over with their WoW-style "magic powder" disenchantment mechanic.
And in some games, that works. Other games so severely limit magic items that it becomes pointless either way.
Wealth also doesn't have to be in gold or magic items (though, again, 3.x assumes that it is), though the DM will have to 'justify' his reasoning if the players point a gun at him and make him distribute WBL.
I'm guessing you mean the 'political/social wealth' like becoming a commander/lord/whatever? I know older editions had that in mind for higher levels, and some 3.x/PF games (particularly the Kingmaker AP, from what I've heard and read) do manage to pull it off. Again, for some games that would work, and others it would fall flat on its face.
I know in the game I mentioned before, my character (the one in my sig-sblock who has survived every damn thing thrown at him for the past 3 years) would absolutely hate having to actually manage things like that. He's an adventurer, not a ruler.
To be fair, I recently played in an adventure where the level 5 PC's were sorely under-geared for the monsters we were facing. I was allowed to make a new 4th level PC and buy my gear as per the WBL. I came on board with a CLW Wand and a +1 Longspear... which was more than most of the party had. The best weapon any of them had was a permanently Blessed/Good-aligned 2-handed sword (cool concept, though).
Yeah, there's an example of lack of WBL being a problem. Admittedly, it can be a problem in the other direction if the DM doesn't pay attention to what the players are buying. I'm not saying WBL is the be-all end-all or a cure-all, merely that it
is and that it is an assumption built into this edition of our beloved game.
Way I figure it, as long as their melee characters get at least a +1 weapon, players can handle most monsters of around their level.
Up to a certain level, sure. That idea would work fine for an E6 game. Around 8th, though (IME), magic items start getting really important.
I absolutely know my high-level Monday party would be dead already if it wasn't for their magic items.
EDIT: Jackslate, yes, PF got rid of crafting's XP costs. I think they just increased the GP cost, or they might have just left it alone... Not sure, as I haven't really been involved in a lot of PF and haven't even thought about playing a crafter in a PF game.