D&D General The limiting drawback of character customization

[Mistwell]

Every time you create an ability for a specific class or a specific feat, you are limiting the ability of others to try and do that same kind of thing without having taken that ability or feat.

So before a player could say "I try to mimic the speech of that guard we met earlier to this other guard" and a DM might say, "OK make a Charisma (Deception) check against his Wisdom (Insight) check to see if he can tell it's a fake" However, once you make the Actor feat, which has that exact language as an aspect of the feat, a DM is far less likely to allow you to try that or at least try it in that way. Because what was the point of spending a highly limited resource like a feat slot to get that ability if anyone could just try it without the feat in the same way?

And this applies to most "customization" options in the game. The more "options" provided to "customize" characters, the less free choice people have to try something on the fly which isn't an option they chose.

Which is why people who play OD&D say it's the game with the most ability to freely play. It lacks the restraints that come with customization options in a massive tome of rules, which has the unintended consequence of limiting those without those options.

 

[Shiroiken]

Yah. I thank 5e for this - bounded accuracy means that a character doesn't need to find particular weapons or equipment to be effective. So, such things can either be included as dramatically appropriate, rather than as needed by level.

In my first 5E campaign, I had a player with a GWM PAM Paladin that was really badass. Once we started getting higher level, he asked if they were ever going to find a magic glaive, since many party members had magic weapons already (even the sorcerer had a dagger +1). I responded that I randomly rolled the magic weapon and armor from the old 1E DMG table, and that his odds of getting a polearm was about 2%. Less than thrilled, he asked about downtime rules for creating magic items, and we worked things out so that he (eventually) was able to craft one for himself.

It wasn't necessary, since with Improved Smite and periodically using smite, he was able to deal magical damage, but having a magical weapon made things much easier for him towards the end of the campaign. Because he was using an odd weapon choice (which he got a ton of benefit for) it took much longer for him to get a magic one. Had we not being playing as long of a campaign (levels 3-18) he probably wouldn't have gotten one. To me this was a decent balancing factor to PAM, and the same logic applies to any form of specialization.

 

[the Jester]

The common answer seems to be “as the DM, just change the magic item type to what the PC wants”. I get it, but that never sat right with me. It counters the living world concept. I.e., the world and everything in it doesn’t cater or change to player desires, but acts independently.

so do you as a DM change items to be what the player wants, or do you keep them as is and the players decide what to do with them, sell them, use them, etc?

Leave 'em as is. In fact, I roll almost all the treasure I give out randomly. I've even gone so far as to give all monsters in the MM individual treasure types, and I've made 1e-style random magic item charts that include the hundreds of items I have converted.

The thing about using random treasure is that you're defeating the purpose if you don't stick to the rolls. So I've had low-level pcs get armor of etherealness, and gone with it.

 

[Yaarel]

Players can take an item to town and get it tailored to suit their taste. A magical hammer can transfer to a longsword. And so on. They can even do it themselves if they have a high Arcana necessary equipment.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I don’t know to which day you’re referring, but in AD&D 1E, a fighter starts proficient in only four weapons, adding one every four levels, if I remember correctly, so by 10th-level, that’s still only six weapons. If you found a magic weapon that wasn’t one of those six, for example, you were SOL until you gained a few levels and had another proficiency slot open up.

Edit: Ninja’d by @Tony Vargas !

well, for us old people, back in the day means OD&D and basic, where there aren’t any weapon proficiency rules

 

[ccs]

so do you as a DM change items to be what the player wants,

Nope.

• If I'm running a module you'll find whatever's listed. Assuming you find it. If you miss it, it won't magically shift in front of you. Not even if it's a plot device.
• If I'm rolling things randomly, then that's what you'll find. Sometimes this has led to some really wild twists &/or what would set others screeching about "OVERPOWERED! BROKEN! BUT BALANCE!". If I couldn't handle that possibility I wouldn't be rolling the dice.
• If I'm purpose building an NPC? Then NPC will be geared to best suite them, not the PCs.
• If I'm placing something for plot purposes....

or do you keep them as is and the players decide what to do with them, sell them, use them, etc?

This.
Look, I did MY job. I put treasure into the game. What exactly the players do with it is what generates more story.

If a player wants their character to acquire something specific? Great. Sounds like thy're selecting their own next quest.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Nope.

• If I'm running a module you'll find whatever's listed. Assuming you find it. If you miss it, it won't magically shift in front of you. Not even if it's a plot device.
• If I'm rolling things randomly, then that's what you'll find. Sometimes this has led to some really wild twists &/or what would set others screeching about "OVERPOWERED! BROKEN! BUT BALANCE!". If I couldn't handle that possibility I wouldn't be rolling the dice.
• If I'm purpose building an NPC? Then NPC will be geared to best suite them, not the PCs.
• If I'm placing something for plot purposes....

This.
Look, I did MY job. I put treasure into the game. What exactly the players do with it is what generates more story.

If a player wants their character to acquire something specific? Great. Sounds like thy're selecting their own next quest.

heh. I was running ToEE in 1e, and the Paladin wanted a holy sword. But of course. So how did I handle it? His god gave him a quest to retrieve Blackrazor from white plume mountain, take it to an ancient white dragons lair and have it breathe on it, and immediately smash it to pieces with whelm. Then take the pieces and find a lost temple of his god (another complete adventure module) and have it reforged into a holy sword.

That’s how I roll

 

[Hriston]

well, for us old people, back in the day means OD&D and basic, where there aren’t any weapon proficiency rules

If you’re talking about the original game, sure, but considering that the Basic line ran concurrently with Advanced for 23 years, I don’t think relative age has anything to do with it.

 

[Coroc]

I even sometimes distribute treasure this way:

"Character x you "find" this on the dead mob A, Character y you "find" that in the treasure chest" etc.

Means it is "bind on pickup" treasure.

This has some reasons e.g. to provide a character with a useful magic item which would make this character well rounded, but another one would break balance if he got it.

E.g. a ring of protection for the AC 12 Mage is no prob, but I do not want to have it on the AC 20 fighter.

Sometimes the party can decide among themselves e.g. I let them find two magic gems which can enhance existing magic weapons. One deals 1 point of radiant damage each hit and can produce light, the other one is a heartseeker providing 1d10 extra damage on a crit. None of these would make any char out of balance so they get to chose who gets what..