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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jimlock" data-source="post: 5544895" data-attributes="member: 6674931">Hmm... I'll try to explain what IMO is the key problem with this matter:Players are always looking for an edge, meaning that they are always trying to improve and power up their characters, which is only natural. At the same time, what makes RPGs special is the "freedom of choice", and the "multitude of possibilities". Within this freedom and open-endedness lies the possibility that any character or NPC can, at some point, gain a significant advantage over a number of situations, be that through strategical thinking, a magical item or whatever have you...And while D&D is much like Oblivion in terms of "leveling-up", for players usually face baddies according to their ECL, it is in the purview of the DM to mix things up so as to dissolve this sense of "leveling up"....Sometimes he can create some easy encounters so that his players can revel in how they've evolved over time, and sometimes he can create encounters and villains that are far beyond their reach, reminding his players that they are no gods....Sometimes the players might even have some ideas that can get them straight to "step 3", without passing through steps 1 & 2. Even if the DM has taken a week to prepare the encounters for steps 1 & 2, he should be open-minded enough so as to leave his ego behind and lead his players into step 3, if indeed they deserve it.In my experience, handling the game in such ways, has always helped the players "experience" the freedom and diversity of the world they play in.To get to the point, a powerful magical item that has somehow fallen to the hands of a player(s), is yet another tool for the DM to strengthen the open-endedness of his game. In such cases, players tend to think "Hey if i can do this/get this, it means that everything is possible!"Still a DM is no god, and with all in his mind, he can easily become a victim of his own actions/intentions. And as much as he wants his world to feel free, certain powers and magical items given at the wrong time and at the wrong player(s), can create problems that can only be resolved by removing the power/item from the players.So IMO, the actual problem lies on the fact that: the very act of removing the item (no matter how) is a killer for the sense of freedom and open-endedness a DM strives to establish.On the other hand, a player should know when the game gets broken. Even if he realizes that the item's removal is a "forced" one, he should not let that ruin his sense of freedom, taken that his DM provides other means for experiencing this freedom.To conclude, i'd advice any DM to remove/downgrade such problematic powers/items through his game/story, and not off game. The more it does not look like a "forced" action, the more a game's sense of freedom is salvaged. As I said, even if the player manages to see through the cover story, he should know how to take the hint. Again: If the game has other means of providing a sense of open-endness, this should not be a problem.</blockquote>

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