D&D (2024) What should be the Optimization and Magic Item Assumption of PCs be?

[UngeheuerLich]

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This gets into anther thing: Futureproofing.

Builds get stronger with time and releases. So 1DND should be built that the bog strandard PHB are the standard and very strong. So when the minmaxer and munchin builds come later, monsters and traps are built to face power already.

I think it should be easy to actually balance for non-optimzed and no-magic builds and just have som level adjustment formula for items.
Every average +1 on your partie's weaponry and armor increases the power level of your party by 1.

Won't be an exact formula, but there will never be.

 

[Minigiant]

I think it should be easy to actually balance for non-optimzed and no-magic builds and just have som level adjustment formula for items.
Every average +1 on your partie's weaponry and armor increases the power level of your party by 1.

Won't be an exact formula, but there will never be.

Probably +1 armor, +1 cloak, and +2 damage increases level by 2.

AC and Defenses is the big one.

 

[Pauln6]

I find this weird as 4e is the edition with the most flexible ability scores per class of the gate in D&D history. And it supposed classic primary scores and new nontraditional ones.

But like everything 4e, it was so different that you had to set back and not be attached to 100% purity. And 4e didn't explain that to its detriment..

Your 2e shadow rogue could be easily made a Dex/Cha rogue/warlock in 4e. Dex/Cha Rogue was in the PHB. Charisma Warklock was in the PHB and the Dark Pact was in the FR book. You might have had to run an infernal warlock multiclass until dark pact was released later.

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This gets into anther thing: Futureproofing.

Builds get stronger with time and releases. So 1DND should be built that the bog strandard PHB are the standard and very strong. So when the minmaxer and munchin builds come later, monsters and traps are built to face power already.

I really enjoyed my warlock assassin hybrid/rogue multiclass in 4e once a few splat bppks were out and she had more shadowy flavour than my current version, which has a custom warlock patron, but she needed more adjustment than the 5e version did. I much prefer bounded accuracy to the level treadmill though.

I think 5e could do with more 4e flavour such as a set of core manoeuvres that each subclass can layer riders onto either as a bonus action or when spending inspiration. But as far as AC attack bonus items go, I could live without anything over +1.

 

[James Gasik]

Sadly, there's just no way to future-proof D&D. The following things will happen:

*The design space will expand over time to fill new books with shiny new options for players. This will inevitably lead to players able to do things they couldn't in the PHB. While not necessarily power creep per se (though I'm sure we'll see it), you can rest assured that players will be able to do things that weren't taken into account for basic encounter design.

*Few DM-facing books will be made, as those don't sell well, so updates to encounter design will happen infrequently, as we will get less new Monster books as compared to player options.

*As part of point 1, new campaign settings will have slightly different base assumptions from one another, and content made primarily for those settings, while still compatible with the base game and other settings, won't do so seamlessly.

*A few years down the road, either in response to player feedback, sales drooping, sunspots, or mental influence by a Demilich, the design team will reevaluate the core philosophy, and commit to a new standard of design, without really addressing how this affects older material, especially in the core, so as to keep the core books "evergreen" as long as possible.

*Inevitably, this will lead to a half-edition or full-edition change, again either in response to player feedback, sales drooping, sunspots, or Vecna.

 

[Blue]

And 1DND characters are (or will be) getting stronger races origins and classes along with a better feat system.

So should One D&D even use the same PC assumptions as 5e?

5e's CR is broken anyway and most of the monsters don't follow the guidelines.

In one of the videos they mentioned that they will be revamping the encounter calculations.

As a side note, since they said it's backwards compatible therefore the math should be same for combat and skills. So expect that later passes will remove any power creep.

 

[ClusterFluster]

The whole problem with magic items is that characters tend to collect too many.

What if most magic items follow the whims of fate?

• Once they've fulfilled a purpose with that character, accomplishing a task so many times or fulfilling a quest for example, the magic item tricks the character into letting it get irrecoverably lost at the nearest opportunity, to find another worthy adventurer in centuries time, or more.
• Cursed items cease to be magical upon breaking the curse, as now that the item's true nature has been discovered, the mischievous spirit within would not risk suffering the fate of being destroyed within its host material.
• Some magic items may give off a sickly radiation that makes it impractical beyond a certain time limit, simply because the awesome energies contained within are so potent.

Following these suggestions, you can use items in your world that are slightly imbalanced on a power basis, but can't be kept permanently.
That doesn't have to be true with all magical items, your more common ones won't be all that fleeting in your character's lifespan.

 

[Minigiant]

The whole problem with magic items is that characters tend to collect too many.

What if most magic items follow the whims of fate?

• Once they've fulfilled a purpose with that character, accomplishing a task so many times or fulfilling a quest for example, the magic item tricks the character into letting it get irrecoverably lost at the nearest opportunity, to find another worthy adventurer in centuries time, or more.
• Cursed items cease to be magical upon breaking the curse, as now that the item's true nature has been discovered, the mischievous spirit within would not risk suffering the fate of being destroyed within its host material.
• Some magic items may give off a sickly radiation that makes it impractical beyond a certain time limit, simply because the awesome energies contained within are so potent.

Following these suggestions, you can use items in your world that are slightly imbalanced on a power basis, but can't be kept permanently.
That doesn't have to be true with all magical items, your more common ones won't be all that fleeting in your character's lifespan.

4e handled this well be letting you drain generic magic items of their power to make magic dust. Then use the dust to make another magic item.

This keps your party's magic items low as they'll dust a bunch of redundant magic items just to get one.

 

[Stalker0]

4e handled this well be letting you drain generic magic items of their power to make magic dust. Then use the dust to make another magic item.

This keps your party's magic items low as they'll dust a bunch of redundant magic items just to get one.

Yep it was a good idea. If only 4e wasnt bogged down with some of the most the boring and bland items to ever hit a dnd book.

I will never forget the time I gave each of mu players “any 12th level magic item you want from the book, no strings no exceptions”. I expected them to come to the next session just bursting with excitement. Instead, most of them had forgotten to even look…they were so blah with 4e items they just didn’t care.

That was the moment that killed 4e for me. I actually respect a lot of what 4e tried to do, but I will never forgive it for destroying my players sense of wonder with magic items.

 

[Scott Christian]

I would personally prefer they get rid of CR. Let the DM learn and infer which creatures are the correct opponents.

As for magic items, coolness and quirkiness in my opinion, should be the only factors. Forego any +.

 

[Minigiant]

I would personally prefer they get rid of CR. Let the DM learn and infer which creatures are the correct opponents.

As for magic items, coolness and quirkiness in my opinion, should be the only factors. Forego any +.

That would never work. There are too many variables.