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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Beginning of the End" data-source="post: 3790489" data-attributes="member: 55271">Hasn't this been debunked often enough? The 3rd Edition designers got that concept by looking at the actual reality of what was happening at the gaming table. There's a thread floating around here somewhere that analyzes the treasure that could be readily acquired in the old 1st Edition modules, and I see Hussar has already brought up the paladin.EDIT: A thread which I see has also been mentioned and linked to.You do realize that Castle Zagyg is Gygax's Greyhawk, right? The same Greyhawk that was described as having those continual light spells back in 1E?Anyway, I find the solution for this is to make magic and monsters about more than just the stats.For spells, I'll compile spellbooks out of various supplements to create unique tomes with memorable names. Wizards don't just cast a new spell, they cast the fiery blossom that they learned from the Seven Sagas of the Djinn.For items, I try to invest them with unique mechanics; names; and/or histories. A +5 longsword can become ho-hum. A +1 longsword crafted all from bone that drinks the blood of its victims, pulsing with thick veins of dark crimson as it gains an additional +1 bonus for very 25 hp of damage it inflicts gets remembered. If you give someone +3 mithril plate, it just becomes a line on their character sheet. Given them a glittering vial of liquid mithril which, when opened, flows over their body and provides a seemingly impenetrable protection (while having all the same stats as +3 mithril plate) and it becomes the signature trademark of their character.For monsters, I remember that the reason Smaug was cool wasn't (just) because he was a dragon, but because Tolkien had given him a rich history, made him the living nemesis of an important PC (so to speak), and then spent an entire book building up his rep: Just getting to Smaug was an epic adventure. So when I want the PCs to be awed by an opponent, I spend some time on them.(Familiarity can also work the other way if you're careful about it: When of the most memorable moments I've had while gaming is when a random encounter table for Rappan Athuk turned up a beholder in the wilderness outside the dungeon. The veteran player at the table, who was playing a 5th level character, hit the deck... and we spent several tense moments as the party clung to their hiding places and prayed that the beholder wouldn't detect them. Part of the secret here is using these legendary creatures in non-combat encounters.)Anything can be special the first time you see it just because it's nifty cool. The first time I played D&D, continual light was pretty cool. After casting it a dozen times or so, though, it had become rote routine. The first time I encountered the idea of lighting a city with continual light spells, I thought it was magical and awesome. But, yeah, after seeing a dozen cities like that, it just becomes set dressing. So, maybe continual light just can't be cool any more...... unless, of course, by continual light you mean the Royal Court of the Gilded Emperor, where the ceiling is fretted with a roiling cloud of pale blue flame. Inquiries will reveal that the ceiling was thus enchanted in remembrance of the fall of ancient Aerioch, which perished in flames 3000 years ago.If the only way you can make magic mysterious, awe-inspiring, and memorable in your campaign is by controlling the rarity with which a particular stat block shows up... well, then I'd argue that your magic is about as mysterious, awe-inspiring, and memorable as a particularly powerful Magic: The Gathering card.</blockquote>

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