Andor
First Post
One of the common critisicisms leveled at D&D is that at higher levels the character becomes less important than the characters equipment. Unfortunately at higher levels most characters are dependant on thier equipment to be effective.
Running counter to this trend are classes that can operate well 'out of the box'. In the PHB that's pretty much limited to the Monk, and to a lesser extent the Druid and Sorcerer depending on feat selection.
OTOH there have been a wealth of more self sufficient character in later books. All the Psionic classes are less item dependant than their PHB counterparts. The Incarnum classes likewise. The complete books characters tend to be pretty item dependant however. And then both the binder and shadowcaster from Tome of Magic are pretty self sufficient too, although oddly the true namer deperately needs items simply to remain as effective as he was at first level...
And then of course we have the vow of poverty which allows any character to forgo items in exchange for some very specific benefits and paladin+ class restrictions on behavior.
So how do poeple feel about all this? Would you rather have a self sufficient character? Does it drive you nuts as a GM that you can't effectively have pirates/guards/whoever defang the characters by taking their stuff? Or do you want to run a low magic-items campaign with the more self-sufficient classes? What are the upsides and downsides to self sufficient class design.
Running counter to this trend are classes that can operate well 'out of the box'. In the PHB that's pretty much limited to the Monk, and to a lesser extent the Druid and Sorcerer depending on feat selection.
OTOH there have been a wealth of more self sufficient character in later books. All the Psionic classes are less item dependant than their PHB counterparts. The Incarnum classes likewise. The complete books characters tend to be pretty item dependant however. And then both the binder and shadowcaster from Tome of Magic are pretty self sufficient too, although oddly the true namer deperately needs items simply to remain as effective as he was at first level...
And then of course we have the vow of poverty which allows any character to forgo items in exchange for some very specific benefits and paladin+ class restrictions on behavior.
So how do poeple feel about all this? Would you rather have a self sufficient character? Does it drive you nuts as a GM that you can't effectively have pirates/guards/whoever defang the characters by taking their stuff? Or do you want to run a low magic-items campaign with the more self-sufficient classes? What are the upsides and downsides to self sufficient class design.
