Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder: How Should it Handle High Level Dependence on Magic Items, ie the "Big 6"

[Duskblade]

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[Grue]

Hooboy.... well wotc had it's take on this and went with 'revamp the entire system'. Generally when running 3xe (or 2nd or 1st) I've just used DM judgement on challenges and used various in game methods to tweak things along the way.

While I like what Paizo has put out (and run and played in a decent portion), my experience is their 'canned' modules run a bit tougher than what my local group typically can handle at the suggested levels (even using beta Pathfinder). I'll be interested to see what their solution to the christmas tree character dileama is, but IME you ignore the big 6 in their published adventures at the peril of a TPK.

 

[Minicol]

How about not distributing these items by the cartload when you are the DM ?

 

[S'mon]

#21 - eliminate variable XP by level, return to a 1e-2e geometric XP progression where 1 XP means the same thing whatever level you are. That way PCs no longer need to be balanced against monsters of equivalent level; if magic-poor they can adventure against weaker foes and progress more slowly, or if they acquire powerful magic they can adventure against more powerful foes and progress more quickly, with either approach being inherently 'balanced'.

Edit: Stacking item bonuses on Attributes raises the problem that gauntlets of ogre power are trivial to a STR 10 PC, but very powerful to a STR 20 PC. I'd go back to a 1e style approach where items (or spells) set a flat score, probably 18 for most items/spells, and thus do not stack with inherent boosts from Wishes & stat increases by level.

 

[S'mon]

How about not distributing these items by the cartload when you are the DM ?

There's still (1) magic shops and (2) easy item creation, though. Few Wizards will refrain from creating an INT-boosting item.

 

[Betote]

There's still (1) magic shops and (2) easy item creation, though. Few Wizards will refrain from creating an INT-boosting item.

Are there magic shops, really? That'd be the main point. Magic items are meant to be gained during adventures, not bought in a magic wal-mart. As for item creation, well, if a wizard has got the feat, spells, skills, materials and time, I'd say let them do as they wish.

In my campaigns, there are no magic shops, just antique or trinket shops where PCs don't really know what they're buying apart from the shop owner's description, and supply is limited (i.e. the most important "magic shop" will have 2-3 random items available at one moment, at best). Sincerely, I've always thought that was the way most people ran it.

In any case, overabundance of magic items in a campaign is not a problem with the system, but with the DM.

 

[Quartz]

and for any item above 5000 gp in market value, if a caster creates it he loses 1 constitution point permanently.

Ouch! Part of the ethos of 3E is that spellcasters are supposed to create magic items.

As for bonuses, how about restricting them to class bonus, feat bonus, magic bonus, and circumstance bonus?

And with regard to CR, doesn't everyone give the published CRs a sanity check anyway?

I prefer rounded, more versatile, PCs, which knocks CRs down a bit anyway.

 

[delericho]

Since backwards compatibility is one of the stated goals of Pathfinder, I think they should leave them as-is for the time being.

Going forward, I would prefer to see these items eliminated or reigned in, but I think the best way to do this (and fix high level play, multiclass spellcasters, and similar systematic problems) is probably to break the "backwards compatibility" goal and redesign the whole system from the ground up. In all honesty, that's something that would be best left until Pathfinder's 2nd Edition (if there ever is such a thing).

 

[S'mon]

Are there magic shops, really? That'd be the main point. Magic items are meant to be gained during adventures, not bought in a magic wal-mart.

Free purchase of magic items up to settlement wealth limit is the recommended 3e approach per DMG. Does not have to be a literal 'shop', items may be commissioned from wizards or acquired from merchant brokers.

Personally my solution in my current 3e campaign is not to have any settlement with a gp limit over 3000 gp (large town).

 

[tomBitonti]

So ... I'd take away bonuses that have been added purely to "level up" an ability, for example, the obscenely high natural armor bonuses. They exist only to balance the numbers. I can see no other real justification for the numbers.

I'd take away many of the types of bonuses, and limit stacking.

I'd limit starting characters to 14 in a stat, not including racial bonuses.

I'd limit the number of stat bonus items that a character can have, and make them available somewhat later in the level progression.

To compensate for the number of spells, I'd introduce a "ritual casting" slot that is fewer in number but recharges more quickly than per day.