lichmaster
Hero
It's definitely an improvement over the standard 5e, as there are costs, crafting recipes, and at least an idea of what kind of wealth per level is reasonable for a generic campaign. But I don't really use the rarity system much. Or at least, I don't necessarily conform to the same standardsWell, we agree on these points at least! But I wonder whether you think A5E's crafting system overcomes these issues then.
This IMO is a problem that isn't related to the ruleset, but to the players' expectations and how you manage them.So maybe this is something specific to my table, but I did attempt something similar to this at some point. I said they couldn't go find materials for any item wily-nily, that some items might not be available in the general area that they are in, and that getting it might be a whole endaevour that acts as a side adventure.
And they... did not like that. Notably, they said it felt like I was arbitrarily limiting their choices by having the authority to say that the items I don't like don't have collectable materials in the area. Sure, perhaps with a group of complete newcomers to D&D, I can introduce recipes slowly, and they might not have any item expectations. But once players gain some degree of experience, they'll know (form cultural osmosis) what a Bag of Holding is. Or that their sword could be a +2 sword. And they start asking about how to get that item. Thing is, as a near-forever DM, I would be in such a position. I know a good portion of the magic item list. When I'm a player, I might start thinking how an item would be really cool for my concept. But if I had no way of obtaining it because the DM didn't want to have the recipe appear in the next treasure trove, I'd be a bit miffed. So crafting theoretically allowing every kind of item, but in truth being limited to DM's whims through recipes/materials within adventuring distance doesn't feel like a good solution to me. I'd much prefer being upfront and saying "Look, you won't get every single Major item you want. But I'll add signature, iconic items, one per character, that you can craft. You can even upgrade it over time. But that's it."
The sentence you used "limiting their choices" is a symptom of a problem IMO. Magic items are NOT part of their choices, especially when there's room for abuse and there have been previous examples of this (which is a different issue btw)
Players are not entitled to treasure, or magic items. They are a form of reward that of course is entirely dependent on the DM. I know what kind of items my players would like, of course, and I'll be more than happy to make them find the recipes they'll need to craft those items, if they put in the work. But they don't have access to every item on T&T just because it's written there. There are campaign/settings/adventure limitations that we agree beforehand. If I want to let them freely craft whatever is written on T&T, it's a stipulation valid for that campaign only, in another campaign they know it won't necessarily be the same, and understand it's for the benefit of the game, not because I like to be stingy for no reason.
Yes, but I don't think this is written explicitly anywhereI think healing potions are almost always left out of this equation, precisely because they're too commonly used to be on the same level as other items.