Quasqueton
First Post
After the first year of my D&D gaming "career", the magic items as found in the DMG (AD&D1, AD&D2, or D&D3) have not been really all that awe-inspiring. [Not counting artifacts/relics that were to regular magic items what the gods were to regular monsters.]
I mean, to any experienced D&D Player, a +2 sword is not special. A cloak of elvenkind is not amazing. A girdle/belt of giant strength is not awesome. They are tools of the adventuring trade. Sure, a +2 sword is better than a non-magical sword, and a cloak of elvenkind makes hiding easier, and a belt of giant strength makes for better damage on the monsters you fight. But they haven't been "mysterious and wonderous" items for many, many years. And once known and familiar, a DM cannot get the knowledge and feeling out of a Player's head no matter how hard he tries.
The items that did/do impress me and other Players were/are those that were unique or created by the DM. Magic items with properties/abilities beyond/different from what the stock items in the book had. They didn't even have to be particularly powerful; just different, unique, interesting.
I remember reading in awe about 7(?) magic swords of the Forgotten Realms in an old Dragon magazine -- Ilbratha, Susk, Albruin, etc. I made several similar magic items for my campaign world, with histories and abilities not found in the books. And the items were always identifyable (by sight) as something unusual and special.
I mean, a stock +2 sword can look like just about any other mundane, but masterwork, sword. If it glows, that is evidence of its magical enhancement. To a PC, a stock +2 sword isn't really all that great, even when the DM *wants* it to be special. No matter how rare a DM makes magic items in his world, and no matter how much he plays up the "rare, mystical, and wonderous" description of it, Players feel the same way about a +2 sword in his campaign as they do in any monty haul campaign. It is a +2 sword -- it adds 2 to attack and damage rolls; it can harm monsters with DR X/magic; etc. They've seen this same sword in other games and campaigns throughout their D&D career. Even if you give the sword a name and history, it is still just a stock +2 sword.
But a +1 sword that talks, and/or senses the presence of enemies nearby, and/or can change its metallurgical composition (become silvered, adamantine, cold iron, etc.) is different, unique, neat, and cool. Add in a physical description that makes the sword look interesting, identifiable, and unique, and you've got a magic item that the Players will show awe over. A frostbrand made of ice as hard as steel, and steams in warm air. A cloak that makes shadows around it visibly move and shift even when not being used to hide.
Even simple and semi-useless powers can make a magic item interesting enough to be special to jaded Players. Plate armor that can change color to match the wearer's mood. A statue of a jester that changes poses everytime you look away from it. An ioun stone that giggles or gasps or shouts "hooray" to your spoken words.
This is why I allow PCs to buy and sell stock magic items in my campaign. I'm not going to pretend that my experienced Players are awed by gauntlets of ogre power, or are impressed by a flaming sword. Just like they aren't going to be shocked and surprised when the big, burly warrior they are fighting suddenly roars and goes all beserk. They know what a barbarian's rage is, it would be silly of me to think it would shake them.
But if the enemy draws a sword that starts singing battle chants and gives its wielder and allies a bonus like a bard's song, they'll go, "Whoa, that's unsual. I want that sword."
Quasqueton
I mean, to any experienced D&D Player, a +2 sword is not special. A cloak of elvenkind is not amazing. A girdle/belt of giant strength is not awesome. They are tools of the adventuring trade. Sure, a +2 sword is better than a non-magical sword, and a cloak of elvenkind makes hiding easier, and a belt of giant strength makes for better damage on the monsters you fight. But they haven't been "mysterious and wonderous" items for many, many years. And once known and familiar, a DM cannot get the knowledge and feeling out of a Player's head no matter how hard he tries.
The items that did/do impress me and other Players were/are those that were unique or created by the DM. Magic items with properties/abilities beyond/different from what the stock items in the book had. They didn't even have to be particularly powerful; just different, unique, interesting.
I remember reading in awe about 7(?) magic swords of the Forgotten Realms in an old Dragon magazine -- Ilbratha, Susk, Albruin, etc. I made several similar magic items for my campaign world, with histories and abilities not found in the books. And the items were always identifyable (by sight) as something unusual and special.
I mean, a stock +2 sword can look like just about any other mundane, but masterwork, sword. If it glows, that is evidence of its magical enhancement. To a PC, a stock +2 sword isn't really all that great, even when the DM *wants* it to be special. No matter how rare a DM makes magic items in his world, and no matter how much he plays up the "rare, mystical, and wonderous" description of it, Players feel the same way about a +2 sword in his campaign as they do in any monty haul campaign. It is a +2 sword -- it adds 2 to attack and damage rolls; it can harm monsters with DR X/magic; etc. They've seen this same sword in other games and campaigns throughout their D&D career. Even if you give the sword a name and history, it is still just a stock +2 sword.
But a +1 sword that talks, and/or senses the presence of enemies nearby, and/or can change its metallurgical composition (become silvered, adamantine, cold iron, etc.) is different, unique, neat, and cool. Add in a physical description that makes the sword look interesting, identifiable, and unique, and you've got a magic item that the Players will show awe over. A frostbrand made of ice as hard as steel, and steams in warm air. A cloak that makes shadows around it visibly move and shift even when not being used to hide.
Even simple and semi-useless powers can make a magic item interesting enough to be special to jaded Players. Plate armor that can change color to match the wearer's mood. A statue of a jester that changes poses everytime you look away from it. An ioun stone that giggles or gasps or shouts "hooray" to your spoken words.
This is why I allow PCs to buy and sell stock magic items in my campaign. I'm not going to pretend that my experienced Players are awed by gauntlets of ogre power, or are impressed by a flaming sword. Just like they aren't going to be shocked and surprised when the big, burly warrior they are fighting suddenly roars and goes all beserk. They know what a barbarian's rage is, it would be silly of me to think it would shake them.
But if the enemy draws a sword that starts singing battle chants and gives its wielder and allies a bonus like a bard's song, they'll go, "Whoa, that's unsual. I want that sword."
Quasqueton
but some players desire more closure than that.
