What does a DM owe his players?/ Are the rules written in stone?

[Hussar]

That said, I never allow PCs to have just whatever they want for the same reason the OP doesn't. Synergy is too easy in 3e and too prone to abuse. Although I am good about making sure the PCs are at an appropriate wealth level, I tightly control what items I allow into my game, i.e. those purchasable in magic shops and found in treasure. I don't mind including items that I know one character will really like, but I don't play the synergy game. It makes the game unfun in my opinion when your character is so optimized you only fail saves or miss your opponent on a 1

This was a larger issue in earlier editions IMO. In 3e, where DC's are scalable, AC increases by CR and creatures are more than capable of wiping out PC's in a single round in melee combat, it's actually extremely difficult to synergise your magic items to make your characters that extreme. The fact that similar bonuses don't stack pretty much nerfs that option. There simply aren't enough bonus types and body slots to do it.

Really, trust the rules. They actually do work.

 

[Sammael]

I generally allow the PCs to purchase equipment worth 70% of the value listed for their starting level character (with no item worth more than 50% of the sum), and then give them one or more items unique to their character that they would have picked up during previous adventures. Such items generally account for the remaining 30% of the value, and sometimes even exceed it (if I feel the item does not have a great synergy with the character in question).

 

[FireLance]

What are your thoughts?

The way I see it, the only thing a DM owes his players is a fun game. Everything else is subject to his discretion.

That said, there are several things that can go wrong with the approach of not giving a 10th-level character who has just joined your game an appropriate amount of magic items.

1. Some players do not enjoy running characters with low levels of wealth or magic (it's a playing style thing), which means that the fun factor for them takes an immediate dip.

2. This is made worse if there is disparity in the party, so that characters who have been played longer have more gear than those who have recently joined. Even if the new players accept the DM's explanations why this should be the case, their characters are not going to be as competent and will not be able to contribute as much to the game as the others, and the fun factor for the new players may dip further.

3. Especially for the first session, you should ensure that the game is fun for the new players if you want them to come back. Of course, if you have no interest in bringing new players into your game, this may not be a concern.

One statement that I disagree with strongly is the following:

I did not just give them the items I felt they would need or should have because I feel that by earning the items as part of the adventure, it would add to the character of the item, and give them some back story. "Oh yeah, I got this sword from the DM" is not as cool as "I got this sword from a bunch of trolls!"

Why is "earning" an item in-game give it more character than an item that a character starts with? Do players lack the imagination and creativity necessary to come up with a compelling story of how their characters obtained the items they currently possess? Wouldn't something like, "This is the sword forged by my great-grandfather, which he wielded in the Redshire war. This is the sword enchanted by my grandmother and given as a wedding gift to my grandfather. This is the sword that pierced the dark heart of Golraang the glabrezu in my father's hands, and it has thirsted for the blood of fiends ever since." be cooler than "I got this sword from a bunch of trolls"?

 

[Drowbane]

...I did not just give them the items I felt they would need or should have because I feel that by earning the items as part of the adventure, it would add to the character of the item, and give them some back story. "Oh yeah, I got this sword from the DM" is not as cool as "I got this sword from a bunch of trolls!"

I dunno... DM handing out random magic items through adventuring = Players cherry-picking items to suit thier level as far as coolness goes. I don't know about you folks, but I can't begin to relate the number of times the party divvies up loot and the majority of it gets sold so people can get what they want anyways (ick, bad english... need sleep).

Now actively adventuring for the Sword of Wicked Coolness (For me, the most favored item gained in any D&D would be "Drowbane"... which I helped the DM design and he put me and the party through Hell, sections of Avernus mainly, to get it) and gaining three+ levels in the process... that beats out both random and cherry picked both.

 

[shilsen]

The way I see it, the only thing a DM owes his players is a fun game. Everything else is subject to his discretion.

What he said.

Something which the DM doesn't necessarily owe his players, but which I think is really helpful to running a good game is a clear explanation of what changes he's making to the standard ruleset, why he's doing so, and in general, what assumptions he's working under (and again, why he's doing so).

I do many things in my game that are very different from the core rules. For example, I've completely dropped the standard XP awarding system and simply award a fixed amount each session. And I do that irrespective of what happened in the session, so PCs make the same amount whether most of the session was roleplaying, combat, or some combination thereof. I also have slower level progression than usual. I've explained in detail to my players why this is so, and they're fine with it, primarily (I think) because we still have a very fun game. And I think they'd have been a lot less amenable if I hadn't explained what assumptions I was bringing to the table and why.

The OP has a huge number of assumptions in his opening post, many of which I would personally consider unwarranted. Such assumptions need to be made explicit to players if one expects them to work.

 

[Keifer113]

The way I see it, the only thing a DM owes his players is a fun game. Everything else is subject to his discretion.

"?

That has never been a problem. I've been the store DM at the FLGS for a couple of years, and been offered the same job elsewhere. I had 3 games going with an average of 10 players a game for over a year before I had work conflicts that forced me to end the campaigns.

I find that players for the most part don't create histories of their items. They tailor the items they buy to fit their character. Now, granted, the items they have won and earned for the most part fit their character. But none of them are overpowered or overtailored.

The players have always known how I run and what kind of world I run, so expectations should not have been a problem.

 

[Keifer113]

I dunno... DM handing out random magic items through adventuring = Players cherry-picking items to suit thier level as far as coolness goes. I don't know about you folks, but I can't begin to relate the number of times the party divvies up loot and the majority of it gets sold so people can get what they want anyways (ick, bad english... need sleep).

Now actively adventuring for the Sword of Wicked Coolness (For me, the most favored item gained in any D&D would be "Drowbane"... which I helped the DM design and he put me and the party through Hell, sections of Avernus mainly, to get it) and gaining three+ levels in the process... that beats out both random and cherry picked both.

Who said magic items would be randomly handed out? MOst DM's I know usually place cool magic items with other items that the party may need later on. And not all worlds have magic shops on the corner where items can be sold and bought. Wizards and clerics have tons of other things to do then churn out magic items for adventurers.

 

[Odhanan]

What are your thoughts?

That your priority #1 is to make the game entertaining for everyone around the table. If the players getting the DMG amount of magical items is a big deal for them, swallow your ego and comply - you could end up having a much better time than nitpicking all the way through the campaign and have the topic come back over and over and over again. You're the DM. You can always challenge them and thus keep the level of interest up with events and other components of the game.

 

[Storm Raven]

true I should have made a backstory as to why they had no items. I prefer a low magic world because it makes having magic items more wonderous. That being said, only the greatest of heroes have magic items. I don't like the magic shop on the corner and everyone has a +5 Vorpal. That doesn't mean I am stingy with items, just that I like magic to be special.

Magic items in D&D (or most RPGs) will never be wondrous or special. Magic itself in most RPGs will never be special. As long as magic and magic items are in the hands of PCs, these game elements will not be special. DMs who try to make campaigns in which they are are like people who try to teach pigs to talk. It only frustrates you and annoys the pig.

 

[Umbran]

The players have always known how I run and what kind of world I run, so expectations should not have been a problem.

Should not have been, but apparently were.

It has been said above that the DM owes the players a fun game. I think that's a little too simple a statement - because sometimes the DM and players have vastly different ideas as to what makes a game fun. And giving all the players in the group a fun game at once may not be a tractable problem.

I think a DM owes the players a goodly effort. And that implies owing them all the things that go into a goodly effort. My guess is that #1 on that list is two-way communication: You have to tell the players what they ought to know, and listen to them if they have objections.