Upgrading Magic Items

[Doctor Proctor]

This has made itself very apparent in my game. Three of the my five players all have come up with a backstory or attachment to their weapon.

Trying to figure a way to keep the game math right, adjust treasure parcels, and allow them a way to upgrade the weapon (houserule for the world - no Enchant Item), has been a challenge. Getting ready for the group to come across someone who is able to reveal to them that their weapons are more powerful than they previous thought - but for a price (equal to More Powerful Version value - Less Powerful Version value).

Ta da!

Do you by chance have a copy of the DMG 2? If not, you should try to get a hold of one, as there's an excellent section on alternative rewards.

For example, say you have a Fighter with a Longsword that's been passed down in his family for 7 generations and he wants to use it for the life of the character...that's fine, and the DMG 2 gives some simple rules for upgrading it.

In a nutshell, rather than granting a standard parcel you might say "As you plunge your sword into the heart of the dragon it glows with an inner light and you can feel drawing energy from the beast." (in game terms, it gained a +1 and got the flaming property...essentially, you granted the player a magic item that's a +N Flaming Longsword).

Another route would be to treat some of the weapons as a sort of artifact/lesser artifact. Basically, let them keep them throughout the game but periodically (as they accomplish heroic deeds or perform tasks meant to "unlock" dormant abilities) the weapons will increase in power and gain new abilities.