Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 7266541" data-attributes="member: 58197">The fact that they don't benefit the characters who have maxed the target stat is a selling point for me. It means there's an interesting choice now: Who, other than the specialist in that stat, should get this item? The more important the stat is to you, the more points you have likely invested naturally, and the less benefit the item provides. It's a neat tradeoff. And it opens up real options for the character who gets it. The spindly Strength 8 wizard is suddenly thinking about ways to get proficiency in Athletics.If the item just gives +4 to the stat in question, then two out of three items become no-brainers: The fighter gets the gauntlets of ogre power and the wizard gets the headband of intellect, and they don't get any new options or possibilities. They just get bigger numbers in the things they already do all the time. Dullsville.Finally, I like how it makes the item's benefit feel unnatural. It isn't augmenting your strength or intellect, it's replacing it. You are, literally, letting the headband do your thinking for you, and the gauntlets do your heavy lifting. And you're never quite as smart as a true genius, or as strong as a true athlete.(I could see an argument for the amulet of health giving a bonus instead of a flat 19, though. Since no one specializes in Con, it's fairly clear that you give the amulet to whoever has the lowest Con, so the party's overall hit point pool gets the biggest boost. If it gave a bonus instead, you'd have to debate whether you want to give those extra hit points to the fighter who takes the most heat, or to the wizard who can't take any heat.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 7266541, member: 58197"] The fact that they [I]don't[/I] benefit the characters who have maxed the target stat is a selling point for me. It means there's an interesting choice now: Who, [I]other[/I] than the specialist in that stat, should get this item? The more important the stat is to you, the more points you have likely invested naturally, and the less benefit the item provides. It's a neat tradeoff. And it opens up real options for the character who gets it. The spindly Strength 8 wizard is suddenly thinking about ways to get proficiency in Athletics. If the item just gives +4 to the stat in question, then two out of three items become no-brainers: The fighter gets the [I]gauntlets of ogre power[/I] and the wizard gets the [I]headband of intellect[/I], and they don't get any new options or possibilities. They just get bigger numbers in the things they already do all the time. Dullsville. Finally, I like how it makes the item's benefit feel unnatural. It isn't [I]augmenting[/I] your strength or intellect, it's [I]replacing[/I] it. You are, literally, letting the headband do your thinking for you, and the gauntlets do your heavy lifting. And you're never quite as smart as a true genius, or as strong as a true athlete. (I could see an argument for the [I]amulet of health[/I] giving a bonus instead of a flat 19, though. Since no one specializes in Con, it's fairly clear that you give the [I]amulet[/I] to whoever has the lowest Con, so the party's overall hit point pool gets the biggest boost. If it gave a bonus instead, you'd have to debate whether you want to give those extra hit points to the fighter who takes the most heat, or to the wizard who can't take any heat.) [/QUOTE]

Verification