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Message: <blockquote data-quote="StreamOfTheSky" data-source="post: 5189577" data-attributes="member: 35909">3E had feats to create items.  3E had pricing guidelines.  While for use-activated spell magic items they weren't particularly solid, for wands, scrolls, weapons, and armor they were.  The creation process was coherent and defined.  No...I said if you don't like the standard progression of magic items in a campaign, use DM fiat.  If you're fine with it, the DM doesn't really have to do much of anything.  In older editions of D&D, DM fiat was required no matter what, because the rules for magic item creation, etc... were undefined or poorly defined.  Changing things you don't like is different than needing to invent things at all.Like I said, I don't mind flight or invisibility, or any of the other gamechanger spells.  The game's set up for the PCs to get access to that stuff after a while, and works fine so long as the DM doesn't delude himself into thinking a standard pit trap is going to be a serious obstacle for a high level party.  If you want a standard pit trap (as opposed to one with a column of antimagic field above it, magically enhanced spider webs to ensnare people flying over it, an NPC at the bottom needing rescue from a monster that lurks there, or some other feature to make it a hassle for flying PCs) to be a hassle to be a challenge for a party with access to mid/high level spells and items, then yeah, you need to tweak the game.An inexperienced DM in any edition can end up with vastly unbalanced PC parties or encounters.  Do you think otherwise?  How's a 4E party do at level 10 with no magic items at all and no change to the monsters used?  How's a 1E party lavished with many times more magic item treasure than the suggested wealth by level (oh wait...did 1E even have any sort of guideline like that?  My bad...) says they should have fare?Okay...if you think playing a pixie PC is overpowered (I don't, one or two good hits and you're dead for most levels, I don't like to be that vulnerable)...how about because a spellcaster can use invisibility from level 3+?  Again, if you're using typical wealth and not completely saving up every penny you own for this one item liek a lunatic, AND it's easily obtained from a store when you do have the money...you're getting it at what?  Level 8?  9?  By which time a spellcaster can cast it many times per day if he wanted to anyway?  And you could have had so much other stuff instead of the ring.  But hey, now in combat, you can get off one sneak attack every two rounds, awesome!  I guess a caster could sit back and buff or summon...but they could do that just by casting Invisibility anyway...  Out of combat for sneaking, it still lasts only a few minutes per use and needs a spoken command word to reactivate.  There's still plenty of means to at least alert others to your precense if not your exact location.  And a dedicated sneak rogue by that level could probably scout just as well as you anyway.I also think it's the latter.  What would class balance be like in a completely urban political intrigue type game with almost no combat, if you made no changes to the rules aside from campaign setting, for example?  I don't see warriors and druids being particularly useful.</blockquote>

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