Level Up (A5E) Spending gold

[CapnZapp]

Ideally this would be done very carefully and sparingly so that magic items don't just become the dull, default currency of the game like they did in 3.X Edition.

Just by not including magic pricing in the DMG, 5E achieved this. They could easily have included it in a follow-up supplement - no supplemental rule ever becomes the default.

Since Level Up already is a supplementary product by its very nature (despite being designed as a stand-alone game) it could totally be the product that finally brings back utility-based magic item pricing to D&D. It would not have the power to force magic shoppes into your campaign - only non-optional rules of the PHB, DMG and MM has that kind of power.

It's the same as with psionics. Either include it in the core three books or see it relegated to the sidelines, where it isn't referenced by official adventures, campaign material and later class design. While I want psionics as core, I can live with utility-based pricing as a supplement, just as long as it's there (even after five long years with 5E it still isn't).

 

[Derren]

Its not really something Levelup can fix but imo there should be 4 levels of equipment.
shoddy->normal->masterwork->magic which all should be used instead of being glossed over with magic the only possible upgrade. Meaning it should take to level 5 until you are having normal equipment and a masterwork one should be a rare prize at level 8.

Then for an advanced rulebook you can bring in materials like bronze, iron, steel and of course various superior fantasy materials.

Not sure if it is needed, but maybe it should also be expected that the players change the type of equipment and not its variable. So instead of starting with plate armor or getting it very early the PC should work his way up the heavy armor chain.
The same way a ranger would start with a basic shortbow and only later would be able to get a composite one, etc.

 

[akr71]

Good call. Bring back Masterwork weapons and armor, for a matching price tag.
It would be rad if there was an expanded list of rare materials to make our equipment out of, too. Mithral, silver, and adamantine are a great start...how about darkwood, bronzewood, emberite, spider silk, gossamer, chitin, dragon hide, gorgon plate, etc.

There is a whole lot more to explore than just the AC too. Different construction materials can add different properties (and eat up GP).

 

[ThatGuySteve]

I like the idea of mundane masterwork equipment granting properties rather than a +1. I'd like to think a dwarven masterwork weapon was different to elven weapon.

Shoddy equipment would also be great for starting out characters, you've just got what ever you mustered out of the malitia with.

I homebrewed a system for a 4E Darksun game for loads of different materials. Each granted a different minor property and had a fragility score. If you rolled the fragility score or less on an attack roll you drew a card to see what happened. Results ranges from weapon betting damages or broken, rewiring time to repair, to landing a hit but the weapon getting lodged in the target, to landing a critical hit but taking half damage yourself from shattering crystal shards. The players had a lot of fun carving up defeated monsters to craft new equipment after each fight. Rules also applied to implements, so that casters didn't miss out, and unarmed attacks. I had one character smash every weapon he had during a fight and finally saying a fist at a fire elemental, rolled a 1, drew a bad card and failed to save against weapon destruction...

 

[battlebaby]

Mutant Year Zero has these projects you can work on to improve your Ark (safe haven) development stats (food, culture, etc). I like the idea to build or develop something: be change one or aspects of a city or nation. Money can be used towards that.
You can have some keywords: Cosmopolitan, Magical, etc, of a place Court, Barracks, etc that you can add to a city by investing money as a downtime activity.

 

[Stalker0]

The obvious solution is to follow in Paizo's footsteps (who takes magic item pricing very seriously) and publish an Magic Item Compendium-like supplement that gives us robust item pricing to readd back the fun and wonderful minigame of how to spend your gold on character power ups!

im going to reinforce the notion of the mini game as it’s important. There is a good chunk of people that enjoy aspects of dnd outside of the “table”.

im playing with some first time players in a PF1, and they are loving the buying of magic items. They have a message thread going on all week talking about what they want to buy, and others will comment with ideas, etc.

I think removing thst was a big loss. Now in the spirit of 5es original “dial” concept, dms can of course disallow magic item buying, or perhaps the book offers short lists of items that are “more mundane”, which dms could allow in case they are worried about game breaking item use.

so I absolutely think this should be brought back

 

[Zaukrie]

im going to reinforce the notion of the mini game as it’s important. There is a good chunk of people that enjoy aspects of dnd outside of the “table”.

im playing with some first time players in a PF1, and they are loving the buying of magic items. They have a message thread going on all week talking about what they want to buy, and others will comment with ideas, etc.

I think removing thst was a big loss. Now in the spirit of 5es original “dial” concept, dms can of course disallow magic item buying, or perhaps the book offers short lists of items that are “more mundane”, which dms could allow in case they are worried about game breaking item use.

so I absolutely think this should be brought back

And yet, my players have no interest in this at all. So I don't know that it is "important".....

 

[Phoebasss]

I think one way to make gold matter more at higher levels without introducing a magic mart is to introduce higher-tier mundane gear. If we decouple +X bonuses from magic and make them a property of (mundane) quality, we could reintroduce the function of money as an upgrade path, without making magic items too commonplace.

So much this! Magic gear should be interesting. A +1 sword of it does 1 more damage should be a function of quality, not magic. Though this does also require dealing with the problem 5e has with giving every monster over CR5 resistance to everything martial classes can do without a magic weapon.

 

[Undrave]

Good call. Bring back Masterwork weapons and armor, for a matching price tag.
It would be rad if there was an expanded list of rare materials to make our equipment out of, too. Mithral, silver, and adamantine are a great start...how about darkwood, bronzewood, emberite, spider silk, gossamer, chitin, dragon hide, gorgon plate, etc.

Maybe getting decked out in quality armour and clothing gives you a bonus to CHA checks.

 

[akr71]

Regarding equipment level & quality, what are folks' opinions on enchantment mechanisms, similar to Skyrim or Diablo.

Spending gold & time to give a blade fire damage, or armor fire resistance - that sort of thing. You could swap the enchantment at different points if you know that you'll need certain protections.

Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with it. I love the idea of being able to customize my equipment, but I find the min/max aspect tedious and it leads to hoarding armor & weapons, just in case.

However, it is a good way to get players to spend gold.