Hi All,
Last week while making a wizard for a Tournament, I ran across some old information that I had purposefully tried to forget. Basically, it boils down to the fact that I sometimes feel WOTC set up 3E D&D for a bunch of munchkins. Example:
A monk can buy a silk headband that gives +6 to WIS, STR and DEX for a mere 180,000 G.P.? Take a good, hard look at that. THREE primary stats. What the heck is the purpose of ever gaining a level, when crap like this exists?? It's not an artifact, nor is it unique...it's just a good ole' magic item.
Here's another: Headband of Intellect +6: 98,000 G.P. Ummm.... okay. Let's forget for a second how absurd the cost is, and just focus on the item itself. People, there are just some things that I do NOT believe in. One of them is magic that makes you instantly smarter. Observe:
Farmer Joe (INT 8 ): Gosh darn rabbits are in my lettuce field again!
Merchant: Well, fine sir, for the measly cost of 1,000 gold, and your daughter's servitude for the next fifty years, I think I could help you. (Sells him Headband of Intellect +6)
Farmer Joe (INT 16): Wow. This is amazing. The possibilities are endless. I always wanted to be a wizard and now I can. I know all those big words that I couldn't understand before. thank you sir.
Sharrise (daughter): Daddy!
Wizard Joe (INT 16): Now, you be a good servant, Sharrise. Daddy has to go buy a set of spellbooks.
This is garbage. This is not role-playing. But this is how the rules we currently play by allow someone to act! This is a perfect example of magic out of control. FYI, to all, if I ever see an item like this in a game I'm playing, I will see you when the next campaign begins. I can be persuaded and cajoled into a lot of , but don't even try to convince me that Silk Headbands of Perfection are perfectly reasonable. I hate that happy-ass munchkin crap. There are just certain things that magic should not be allowed to do in our campaigns so that we don't turn, as one of our players put it, into a bunch of Rifts players.
3E isn't like AD&D. Items now are just generic Belts of STR + whatever. There are no Girdles of Storm Giant Strength. So, instead of just having a cool sounding magic item, you are forced to confront the fact that you are wearing something that increases your STR by +6 or +8. This is something, as you can see, that drives me insane.
I try very hard to challenge my players, and I have come to the sudden realization that they do not run around with Headbands of Intellect +6. I don't have as big of a problem with items that give slight boosts to STR or even DEX...but anything outside of that is just wrong, in my opinion. I guess I just tend to focus on the CHARACTER too much. Once you start throwing in all these items that can effectively turn a farmer into a wizard, it completely destroys the idea of earning knowledge or wisdom.
My viewpoint was reinforced recently when I was looking through some of the NPCs I've created for a high level adventure I am writing. A CR 24 epic level Fighter /' Assassin, has exactly ONE item that increases his DEX by two. That is it. He's got a pretty bad ass arsenal of weaponry and armor, etc.., but next to nothing in the way of Stat boosting items. Is this an oversight on my part? Or is it an attempt to flesh out the character more fully? And let's look at this from a realistic aspect. A high level fighter, especially one who uses two swords...wouldn't a belt of STR throw him off his game? You spend years learning your limitations; you know exactly how to step to parry a thrust; you know exactly how to slash at an opponent to just slice his belt off, etc.. If you are, all of a sudden, nearly 50% stronger...how does that affect your combat style? It should completely change it. But D&D simply tacks on some numbers and says now you can hit things better? Bah.
Melee combat is an art form. Artificial augmentation would seem to do more to throw off a high level fighter than aid him. And even if the adjustment were made, what happens if the magic item is taken away? "Oh crap..umm...I forgot how to do this the hard way!"
And argue all you want, but it sure seems to me that a Monk would rather renounce his teachings that wear an item that increased his WIS score. In a class where discipline is everything, how could a character be more aware just because of a ring he's wearing?!
Another example: A major NPC in my campaign is the Chosen representative of Azuth. As such, and considering he is the ruler of a small country, you'd think he would have an INT of 30+ because of all the insane magic 3E allows him to wear. Nope. INT of 24, and three points of that is God-granted. An INT score of 24 would make you smarter than 99% of the people who have ever lived, right? Why would anyone ever need to be any smarter? Now consider something else: is a 10th level character with a 20 INT, who has earned his INT through leveling and experience, more likely to be more responsible with his power or does the Appalachian yokel who suddenly got smart? Does this guy really comprehend what's going to happen when he unleashes that fireball in the middle of a town festival?
Now, to everything there is an exception, even to this rant. While I cannot stand the thought of items that crank your stats up, what I don't mind are items like a "Manual of Fitness +2". You read this book that shows you how to pump up, you spend a couple months following what it says in the book, you gain some STR. Cool. Because even though it's a magic item, you still have to earn the stat increase and there is a role-playing aspect that helps explain that. Even a "Libram of INT +4" might be feasible. If you sit down and read through a dusty old tome for two or three months, chances are you are going to be smarter for it.
I guess the bottom line for me is that I don't have many problems with amazing weapons or even armor. You wanna swing a lightsaber? Fine. But don't expect to be swinging that thing while wearing a Belt of STR +4, a Headband of WIS +6 and Gloves of DEX +8.
In fact, out group is on the verge of instituting a house rule concerning this. Maybe something like: "A character can only wear one Statistic-enhancing item at a time, with a maximum of +4 in enchantment." What would some of you think of that? I just don't want the focus taken off of the CHARACTER. "My sword is better than yours!" is a hell of a lot better than "My artificial INT is higher than yours!"
Well, take a look at all of the above and have at thee... Thank you for your time and I'm sure this will get me flamed by someone!
*tosses soap box at next person*
Last week while making a wizard for a Tournament, I ran across some old information that I had purposefully tried to forget. Basically, it boils down to the fact that I sometimes feel WOTC set up 3E D&D for a bunch of munchkins. Example:
A monk can buy a silk headband that gives +6 to WIS, STR and DEX for a mere 180,000 G.P.? Take a good, hard look at that. THREE primary stats. What the heck is the purpose of ever gaining a level, when crap like this exists?? It's not an artifact, nor is it unique...it's just a good ole' magic item.
Here's another: Headband of Intellect +6: 98,000 G.P. Ummm.... okay. Let's forget for a second how absurd the cost is, and just focus on the item itself. People, there are just some things that I do NOT believe in. One of them is magic that makes you instantly smarter. Observe:
Farmer Joe (INT 8 ): Gosh darn rabbits are in my lettuce field again!
Merchant: Well, fine sir, for the measly cost of 1,000 gold, and your daughter's servitude for the next fifty years, I think I could help you. (Sells him Headband of Intellect +6)
Farmer Joe (INT 16): Wow. This is amazing. The possibilities are endless. I always wanted to be a wizard and now I can. I know all those big words that I couldn't understand before. thank you sir.
Sharrise (daughter): Daddy!
Wizard Joe (INT 16): Now, you be a good servant, Sharrise. Daddy has to go buy a set of spellbooks.
This is garbage. This is not role-playing. But this is how the rules we currently play by allow someone to act! This is a perfect example of magic out of control. FYI, to all, if I ever see an item like this in a game I'm playing, I will see you when the next campaign begins. I can be persuaded and cajoled into a lot of , but don't even try to convince me that Silk Headbands of Perfection are perfectly reasonable. I hate that happy-ass munchkin crap. There are just certain things that magic should not be allowed to do in our campaigns so that we don't turn, as one of our players put it, into a bunch of Rifts players.
3E isn't like AD&D. Items now are just generic Belts of STR + whatever. There are no Girdles of Storm Giant Strength. So, instead of just having a cool sounding magic item, you are forced to confront the fact that you are wearing something that increases your STR by +6 or +8. This is something, as you can see, that drives me insane.
I try very hard to challenge my players, and I have come to the sudden realization that they do not run around with Headbands of Intellect +6. I don't have as big of a problem with items that give slight boosts to STR or even DEX...but anything outside of that is just wrong, in my opinion. I guess I just tend to focus on the CHARACTER too much. Once you start throwing in all these items that can effectively turn a farmer into a wizard, it completely destroys the idea of earning knowledge or wisdom.
My viewpoint was reinforced recently when I was looking through some of the NPCs I've created for a high level adventure I am writing. A CR 24 epic level Fighter /' Assassin, has exactly ONE item that increases his DEX by two. That is it. He's got a pretty bad ass arsenal of weaponry and armor, etc.., but next to nothing in the way of Stat boosting items. Is this an oversight on my part? Or is it an attempt to flesh out the character more fully? And let's look at this from a realistic aspect. A high level fighter, especially one who uses two swords...wouldn't a belt of STR throw him off his game? You spend years learning your limitations; you know exactly how to step to parry a thrust; you know exactly how to slash at an opponent to just slice his belt off, etc.. If you are, all of a sudden, nearly 50% stronger...how does that affect your combat style? It should completely change it. But D&D simply tacks on some numbers and says now you can hit things better? Bah.
Melee combat is an art form. Artificial augmentation would seem to do more to throw off a high level fighter than aid him. And even if the adjustment were made, what happens if the magic item is taken away? "Oh crap..umm...I forgot how to do this the hard way!"
And argue all you want, but it sure seems to me that a Monk would rather renounce his teachings that wear an item that increased his WIS score. In a class where discipline is everything, how could a character be more aware just because of a ring he's wearing?!
Another example: A major NPC in my campaign is the Chosen representative of Azuth. As such, and considering he is the ruler of a small country, you'd think he would have an INT of 30+ because of all the insane magic 3E allows him to wear. Nope. INT of 24, and three points of that is God-granted. An INT score of 24 would make you smarter than 99% of the people who have ever lived, right? Why would anyone ever need to be any smarter? Now consider something else: is a 10th level character with a 20 INT, who has earned his INT through leveling and experience, more likely to be more responsible with his power or does the Appalachian yokel who suddenly got smart? Does this guy really comprehend what's going to happen when he unleashes that fireball in the middle of a town festival?
Now, to everything there is an exception, even to this rant. While I cannot stand the thought of items that crank your stats up, what I don't mind are items like a "Manual of Fitness +2". You read this book that shows you how to pump up, you spend a couple months following what it says in the book, you gain some STR. Cool. Because even though it's a magic item, you still have to earn the stat increase and there is a role-playing aspect that helps explain that. Even a "Libram of INT +4" might be feasible. If you sit down and read through a dusty old tome for two or three months, chances are you are going to be smarter for it.
I guess the bottom line for me is that I don't have many problems with amazing weapons or even armor. You wanna swing a lightsaber? Fine. But don't expect to be swinging that thing while wearing a Belt of STR +4, a Headband of WIS +6 and Gloves of DEX +8.
In fact, out group is on the verge of instituting a house rule concerning this. Maybe something like: "A character can only wear one Statistic-enhancing item at a time, with a maximum of +4 in enchantment." What would some of you think of that? I just don't want the focus taken off of the CHARACTER. "My sword is better than yours!" is a hell of a lot better than "My artificial INT is higher than yours!"
Well, take a look at all of the above and have at thee... Thank you for your time and I'm sure this will get me flamed by someone!
*tosses soap box at next person*
Last edited:
