Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Points of Light, Dawn War, and Magic Item Economy (4e)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 7825328" data-attributes="member: 82106"><p>I understand your point about AD&D lacking a very 'set' progression. A lot of character power in that game is wrapped up in 'stuff' and in exactly what resources your character has acquired. This is of course why AD&D was so horribly vulnerable to power bloat (creep would be too mild). This kind of failing is not present in 4e, and that is because of what you say. Still, level is far from 'meaningless' in AD&D. Its meaning may be highly contextual, but it certainly is still true that 'name level' PCs are materially different from, and stereotypically engage in a different sort of game than level 1 PCs. Again, the meaning is less contextual in 4e, but the different sort of game part is still true. </p><p>Clearly, the reason items are seen as 'so important and cool' in AD&D and 'blah' in 4e (for some people at least) is due to this factor. An AD&D fighter gaining Gauntlets of Ogre Power is suddenly on a different scale of power. All sorts of possibilities suddenly open up for that character which are NOT guaranteed to become available to a fighter of ANY level without an item of this sort. This is, actually, a lot like how magic works in myths and legends. 4e's way is less so.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 7825328, member: 82106"] I understand your point about AD&D lacking a very 'set' progression. A lot of character power in that game is wrapped up in 'stuff' and in exactly what resources your character has acquired. This is of course why AD&D was so horribly vulnerable to power bloat (creep would be too mild). This kind of failing is not present in 4e, and that is because of what you say. Still, level is far from 'meaningless' in AD&D. Its meaning may be highly contextual, but it certainly is still true that 'name level' PCs are materially different from, and stereotypically engage in a different sort of game than level 1 PCs. Again, the meaning is less contextual in 4e, but the different sort of game part is still true. Clearly, the reason items are seen as 'so important and cool' in AD&D and 'blah' in 4e (for some people at least) is due to this factor. An AD&D fighter gaining Gauntlets of Ogre Power is suddenly on a different scale of power. All sorts of possibilities suddenly open up for that character which are NOT guaranteed to become available to a fighter of ANY level without an item of this sort. This is, actually, a lot like how magic works in myths and legends. 4e's way is less so. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Points of Light, Dawn War, and Magic Item Economy (4e)
Top