Wealth, power magic and....indecision.

[alsih2o]

My party is currently at 5th level. Wilderness rogue, Druid, Barbarian, and Fighter.

Notice the complate lack of a Mage or Cleric.

I have been giving out magic items and such (No +weapons so far) but I am beginning to worry. Their wealth by level is WAY high, but mostly due to a few items (Glove of storing, portable hole, immovable rod).

At what level do oyu start with the +weapons, and do you feel a party with no mage and no cleric (albeit, a druid is present) needs more "Wealth" stuff?

 

[Berandor]

They need other "wealth stuff". But not more.

As for +weapons, I might start handing them out early, but rarely. I'd also say you could buy a +1 sword from a town smith or something, especially since I nixed the caster requirement for Craft Magic Arms and Armor.

 

[Woas]

I don't start giving out magic weapons and armor until they are (Modifier x 4) level. Usually.. it also depends on particular campaign specifics.

So... normally it ends up something like: +1 at level 4; +2 at level 8; +3 and level 12; +4 and level 16; +5 at level 20.

Other magical gear is free game starting at level 1. This stuff, from both a players and DMs point of view, is for the most part more important and useful than +weapons and armor.

I can only do one thing with a +1 sword. But think of all the things that could be done with a rope of climbing or a chime of opening. As a player, I'd take both of them over a +1 sword any day. Heck, probably just one of them over a +1 sword, or whatever weapon it happends to be.

 

[diaglo]

no + weapons in the campaign at all. everything has a name and background.

so normally they aren't found or inherited until name level.

nothing before then.

 

[Berandor]

What is "name level"?

 

[Piratecat]

Usually 10th; it's a holdover from the old level titles.

Clay, don't worry about your "high" wealth levels. Some items are inherently more unbalancing to a game than others, and none of the three you listed are generally a problem. I'd much rather give my group "expensive" items that can be used creatively than another wand of destructo-blasting.

In your shoes, I wouldn't fret about giving items to duplicate the wizard, but I would provide more plentiful potions and healing than in a regular campaign. . . probably by adding an in-town sidekick who gives some for free every time the group is in town, as a thank you for the group saving him.

 

[Doc_Souark]

Yes it's me, I got tired of lurking

On the other wealth options, would your game allow one of the PCs to have a holding ? Not a keep of course, but say the fighter was rewarded or inherited a small bit of land to farm. I like the inheritence myself, he has to keep it up himself or hire a sharecropper(tenet) to take care of it while on adventures, and his new neighber could be a fledgling Mage who could be an emergency NPC.

 

[Crothian]

I woulkdn't worry about it either. I find the players do better with certain types of character missing from the group. As for when to give out plus weapons, well, I usually have the group come across their first magic item at low levels but I like to make a it a weapon no one knows how to use.

 

[Amaroq]

Faced with a similar situation, my group apprehended a neutral character who was a 'bad guy' in one of our early adventures; when we took her back to 'face justice', she was found guilty and sentenced to death, whereupon one of the party members decided to try and redeem her, and brokered a deal whereby she 'earned' her freedom by aiding the party in a quest - held to it by a geas cast by the sentencing court.

It was a very flavorful means of justifying a loyal NPC for a few sessions... and I definitely hope she makes another appearance later in the world-line!

As others have posted, I wouldn't worry so much about 'wealth' for this party, but I would definitely worry about healing and counter-magic: a source of potions, possibly; a wand of curing perhaps; things like a ring of free movement which could free somebody up from webs and entangles; the like: I'd basically be looking for magic items which could prevent a TPK if the group encounters certain dangers.

And then, of course, throw those dangers at them so the recipient of the item gets a chance to shine! Another thing to watch for - without magic weapons or spell-casters, any creature which requires magic to be wounded is nearly impervious to your group: ignore their CR - its functionally infinite, unless there's some means provided for the group to injure it.