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Worlds of Design: When There's Too Many Magic Items
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<blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 7768906" data-attributes="member: 6704184"><p>I think that can better be solved with magic items that do some minor by interesting thing, like light up when orcs are near, and use the 5e style "immune/resistent to damage from non-magical weapons" in place of "needs bonus of X or higher to deal damage to this thing". </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I solved the 4e problem by using inherent bonuses, and telling players that +x doesn't exist, and your weapons and armor and such get better the longer you use them. </p><p></p><p>I think 5e does a great job of balancing minor and legendary magic items. </p><p></p><p>For my games, I find that the rich and powerful of the region/world/planes solve this problem for me, if I"m running a game where you can't just go to a shop to unload stuff you can't use/don't need/whatever. </p><p></p><p>A nice Bow of Warning is quite valuable to a scout, and so the local lord whose land is near dangerous woods might pay a solid 200-300 gold for it, if you know how to haggle a bit, because he wants to start exploring those woods and see if they can be made safe for hunting and for his vassals to forage and stuff in. </p><p></p><p>That Temperate Armor of The Aegis Rune you crafted 7 levels ago, that you'd like to get ingredients to replace with something more substantial? The one that makes you comfortable in any weather and bends the eye of enemies toward you and away from your allies? Perfect for the great captain that the king wants to reward for his bravery and loyalty with a Knighthood and a sick set of magical armor! </p><p></p><p>Once the party has a reputation for such things, a wider array of people want to do business with them, and make trades. Not always for exactly what they want, and sometimes I'll just stat up some oddball items that made sense idiosyncratically for the person who made it, and see if they bite. </p><p></p><p>If my game is meant to be genuinely low magic/rare magic items, then there just aren't enough magic items available to make any of this matter. In games where the master craftsfolk of the world work in magic items, there is an economy for them. </p><p></p><p>IMO, it's good that 5e allows for both by not prescribing either.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="doctorbadwolf, post: 7768906, member: 6704184"] I think that can better be solved with magic items that do some minor by interesting thing, like light up when orcs are near, and use the 5e style "immune/resistent to damage from non-magical weapons" in place of "needs bonus of X or higher to deal damage to this thing". I solved the 4e problem by using inherent bonuses, and telling players that +x doesn't exist, and your weapons and armor and such get better the longer you use them. I think 5e does a great job of balancing minor and legendary magic items. For my games, I find that the rich and powerful of the region/world/planes solve this problem for me, if I"m running a game where you can't just go to a shop to unload stuff you can't use/don't need/whatever. A nice Bow of Warning is quite valuable to a scout, and so the local lord whose land is near dangerous woods might pay a solid 200-300 gold for it, if you know how to haggle a bit, because he wants to start exploring those woods and see if they can be made safe for hunting and for his vassals to forage and stuff in. That Temperate Armor of The Aegis Rune you crafted 7 levels ago, that you'd like to get ingredients to replace with something more substantial? The one that makes you comfortable in any weather and bends the eye of enemies toward you and away from your allies? Perfect for the great captain that the king wants to reward for his bravery and loyalty with a Knighthood and a sick set of magical armor! Once the party has a reputation for such things, a wider array of people want to do business with them, and make trades. Not always for exactly what they want, and sometimes I'll just stat up some oddball items that made sense idiosyncratically for the person who made it, and see if they bite. If my game is meant to be genuinely low magic/rare magic items, then there just aren't enough magic items available to make any of this matter. In games where the master craftsfolk of the world work in magic items, there is an economy for them. IMO, it's good that 5e allows for both by not prescribing either. [/QUOTE]
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