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Message: <blockquote data-quote="airwalkrr" data-source="post: 5845699" data-attributes="member: 12460">The point has been brought up (or at least implied) that 4e had the design goal or expectation that a 1st level character fighting a 1st-level monster would have roughly the same chance to hit as a 30th level character fighting a 30th level monster. This would keep the playing field level for characters facing "appropriate" monsters. As has been pointed out, after heroic tier, it was the experience of many that the design goal was not being accomplished very well and required a lot of work on the part of the DM to keep things on an even footing. Various "patches" to the game were eventually seen as necessary by a large number of players (I hesitate to say a majority, but I can make an educated guess that it was) to keep things on the level.This, more than anything else is the primary reason I am advocating the elimination of character wealth guidelines. The truth of the matter is the WBL chart is a means to ensure players have the right bonus to hit and the right level of defense. It really does not take into account players who take utility items over +X to hit. Any seasoned player knows that the first item you try to acquire is the highest +X to hit and +X to defense in the game. Everything after that is an afterthought. The work involved in keeping the math balanced can end up being both a "magic item tax" and a "feat tax" to keep the game balanced and is needless work for both the DM and the players. If only we were to get rid of this idea that certain items are "needed" to compete at high levels and base the game almost exclusively on character ability vs. monster ability I think it would be a welcome change to the vast majority.And just to be clear here, I am not necessarily advocating for the complete removal of +X items to the game. We can keep them so long as their availability is tempered by a judicious DM. However, I am saying that we really need to dispense with the notion that at any given level, these items are intrinsically necessary to a character. If a DM decides that he wants to give out an item with a bonus to hit, defense, or ability scores, that should be his prerogative and a way of giving the players an edge, not a necessary element to balance the game.What I ultimately want is a game that works just as well at any given level whether you have a certain level of wealth or not, and that the presence of valuable items, magic or not, are tangible means of the DM rewarding players. Magic items should go back to being useful and treasured, not expected and necessary.</blockquote>

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