D&D 5E Scared Cow: magic Weapon & Armor plusses

[Blue]

That is exactly what magic weapons in the hands of martial characters are supposed to do. I said it before and I'll say it again, let them have their mechanical bonus and add your cool features on top of it.

Say I created a "Demigod" class that was very overpowered. Saying "Well, that's what Demigod's do" doesn't mean it's okay, because it's still not balanced.

The point is the balance vs. other magic items. It doesn't matter that that is what magic weapons "do", it's the comparison of power of magic weapons to other magic items in how much they affect a session that makes them more powerful then other magic items of equivalent rarity. It's a small adjustment, but very frequent.

 

[Corwin]

Scared Cows? Poor little ladies!

Anyway, when I'm DM I shy away from including vanilla plus items. I don't mind them having pluses, but they have to have more than just that.

 

[TwoSix]

Say I created a "Demigod" class that was very overpowered. Saying "Well, that's what Demigod's do" doesn't mean it's okay, because it's still not balanced.

It would be OK if balance wasn't really my concern. Heck, I could very easily say that a Demigod class that isn't overpowered is not OK, because it isn't offering me what the class name says it should!

There's no problem dropping +X weapons from the game. That doesn't mean you can't give items that give bonuses, just make them a little more varied and interesting than +X.

 

[Lanefan]

I think there is nothing in D&D so dull as "a +1 sword." Nothing.

::shrug:: Maybe it's just me, but I never met a magic sword of any type that I didn't like.

Lan-"if your magic sword is too boring, superfluous to your needs, or has been supplanted by something better, feel free to put it in a box and send it to me COD care of the Fallen Flagon Pub, High St., ..."-efan

 

[Yunru]

Say I created a "Demigod" class that was very overpowered. Saying "Well, that's what Demigod's do" doesn't mean it's okay, because it's still not balanced.

I think you mean "Wizard".

 

[Gadget]

I think 3.x and after more than proved the problem some have with +x weapons and armor. They're really not necessary in 5e, and they can interact badly with Bounded Accuracy. IMHO, it really is more interesting to just make weapons 'magical' and and interesting features.

 

[Kalshane]

As a DM, I really like the fact that in 5E I can create magical weapons and armor that don't have any plusses at all. I haven't done anything with armor yet, but I'm having fun adding magical weapons that do interesting things and count as "magical" for DR purposes, but don't threaten bounded accuracy.

 

[merwins]

As others have mentioned, I've entirely shied away from "mundane" magical weapons. My players must ask anytime they want to purchase potions and scrolls. Some places have them, most don't .

When I'm in a pinch, I give out unusual items from the DMG. But no simple items, no basic + weapons. It's become a bit of a joke to them, since every weapon seems to come with some extreme negative consequence or price. And many of my player's past experience is anchored in "conventional" D&D, with "I swing my magic sword to do hit more often and do more damage." So it's pretty new to them.

Consequently, and oddly, they are rejecting most of the magic, which has it's own flavor, but is also a bit of a shame.

Hilarious+*cough cough*: the dunce of the party gets demi-godlike localized insights and delivers them to a massively powerful malevolent creature in exchange for adventure leads and some minor treasure.

Hilarious + *neener neener*: They pass up a hugely powerful magic item because of the potential negative impact, and an NPC figures out they're hiding something (Natural 20 Insight) and runs out to investigate, and discovers and grabs it. Returns with a sheepish (but righteous) attitude.

Sad: Party hoards treasure (without using it) because of the cost, and as a result, a young NPC will likely never see his father again, since his soul is trapped in the item -- and the PCs know it. This story isn't done yet, so there's a slim chance it will be resolved.

One of my more extreme items, not yet shared with PCs, is Yladrin's Hammer: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...hero!&p=7067032&highlight=yladrin#post7067032

But that's on the upper end of crazy. Most stuff is way more mild.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I think 3.x and after more than proved the problem some have with +x weapons and armor. They're really not necessary in 5e, and they can interact badly with Bounded Accuracy. IMHO, it really is more interesting to just make weapons 'magical' and and interesting features.

The problem with +x armor in 3E was that attack bonus improved much faster than AC, so you needed to throw everything you had at AC if you wanted it to do anything. In 5E, attack bonus only improves slightly faster than AC, but you still need +x armor (and especially a +x shield) if you want to close that gap.

 

[Gadget]

The problem with +x armor in 3E was that attack bonus improved much faster than AC, so you needed to throw everything you had at AC if you wanted it to do anything. In 5E, attack bonus only improves slightly faster than AC, but you still need +x armor (and especially a +x shield) if you want to close that gap.

I disagree. The problem with +x armor in 5e is that Bounded Accuracy assumes steadily increasing HP & damage, with more moderate increases in attacks & especially AC. While +x weapons throw this out of wack with player's easily hitting higher ACs (which don't go all that high in the Monster Manual anyway, by and large), +x Armor makes it that much easier to optimize AC into the the stratosphere, making it difficult for monsters to hit players. If attack bonus (for monsters) does scale faster than AC (for PCs) in 5e, Player HP increase, along with various tactics and abilities the proliferate as levels increase more than make up for it, imho. ymmv.