D&D 5E Would you let your player choose their magic items they get?

[jmartkdr2]

I am very interested in the whole "quest for the item" bit. My problem is that this would either cause me to have to either bring the whole team along just for one person to get their one thing. Or use up everyone else's time going through the whole epic quest solo.

I guess I should mention out-of-session play also isn't practical in my specific situation.

I have always wondered about the "quest for the item" thing too, because when I'm planning out campaigns I usually don't have advanced knowledge of which character(s) will want which item(s) at which point(s) throughout so I'm not baking-in any opportunities for these item quests to fill.

Which means my perspective on them is one of suspicion that perhaps they aren't actually happening all that often because players feel like they'd be choosing between achieving their actual goals in the campaign or getting an item they might like to have, or they aren't actually "side" quests at all because the campaign plan is so loose or not-yet-made that it's either these quests happen or the party has even more downtime on their hands before the next campaign event.

When I've seen it happen, it's usually been 1 quest per pc, so it's actually a series of 4-5 quests taken in whichever order. The items are also usually tied to the greater plots (if any) and customized to both fit the narrative and the character (so it becomes the old king's glaive instead of the old king's sword, for example.)

So not really a side quest in the crpg sense of the term, and arguably not that much different form simply dropping the item into a normal treasure horde, but there's more foreshadowing and often more agency about when to go do it.

 

[Flamestrike]

It depends on the setting, and the assumed level of magic.

In most published settings, magic items are relatively common (Faerun, Greyhawk, Eberron, Mystara etc). Heck in Eberron, there is an establised guild and class (Cannith, the artificer) who only exist to make them. There would be zero wrong with a PC approaching House Cannith and ordering a magic item.

House Cannith might require payment in something other than gold of course!

As a general rule, PCs should be able to hunt down a magic item (depending on the item, and if the DM wants the item to be found). Where possible, it should be the basis for a quest or a series of quests, or have a cost and challenge attached, rather than a flat 'nope'.

 

[Lanefan]

I have always wondered about the "quest for the item" thing too, because when I'm planning out campaigns I usually don't have advanced knowledge of which character(s) will want which item(s) at which point(s) throughout so I'm not baking-in any opportunities for these item quests to fill.

Ditto, but I've got tons of published modules here so if I need a quest adventure* in a hurry (which would almost always be the case) I just haul out one of those, file the edges a bit, drop the item in there, and away we go.

* - or any other type of adventure, for all that, if they suddenly left-turn on me and decide to do something totally unexpected.

Which means my perspective on them is one of suspicion that perhaps they aren't actually happening all that often because players feel like they'd be choosing between achieving their actual goals in the campaign or getting an item they might like to have

That's a possibility for sure, yes; and a choice I don't at all mind forcing them to make now and then.

or they aren't actually "side" quests at all because the campaign plan is so loose or not-yet-made that it's either these quests happen or the party has even more downtime on their hands before the next campaign event.

Or it's the type of campaign that doesn't really have a "campaign plan" and they party just wanders or sandboxes from one adventure to the next. In these cases, nothing is a 'side quest' because there's no 'main quest'.

 

[Coroc]

Basically the title.


Also, players: would you be upset that the DM chooses the magic items rather than allow you to choose and introduce them because you asked?

Personally, I like to control the rate magic items appear and which ones appear when. I wouldn't care if my DM didn't give a magic item. It is part of their responsibilities after all.

I also control who of the player gets it sometimes. I rule 0 that player character X finds item Z on the dead orc and he likes it so much that he does not even consider to give it to player character Y "My precious ...)

Edit, I once let them chose as a quest reward wither a +1 armor or a +1 weapon of their choice, so nothing of the table.

But it really depends on the setting also, with Eberron or maybe FR there might be magic shops, with Greyhawk rather no, for DS, DL or Ravenloft absolutely no. I dunno much about Ravnica but from what I read it would not be out of place to have a magic item shop in this setting.

 

[DammitVictor]

My characters can give me a wishlist, and I'll give them whatever the Hell I feel like.

But if the items are level-appropriate, why would I not prefer to give them the items they want, in times and places of my choosing? This makes it more exciting when I give them any magic item, helps their characters fit the players' image of them, and makes it easier for me to decide how to place treasure.

 

[S'mon]

And I'm not so impressed with the 5E solution of making them LESS often fit any those criteria I mentioned above. Magic item economy in previous editions was messy. So be it. That's why we have DM's to simply cut through the crap and introduce into the campaign what the DM perceives to be wanted and needed. RULES don't "know" what that level of need/desire is required for any given game and then impose just the right controls to standardize it for ALL games. My experience with this in 5E games is limited but at the moment I feel it'd be better to just leave it up to the DM to assess things and decide on what gets introduced and why.

I think I disagree with that. The 4e solution of easy items & strict class balance worked; the 5e solution of not needing items works too. But with 3e I spent years failing to create decent class balance no matter what I tried within the given framework - easy crafting meant casters crafted more for themselves; handing out powerful weapons & armour and they got sold - for cash to make (mostly) more caster items ! I know now the system was just totally 'off'; eg weapon plusses and other warrior-boost needed to be much much cheaper while wands and other caster items needed to be much more expensive, just to begin to make a dent in class imbalance.

 

[S'mon]

Recently, I've used the magic item purchasing chart from XGE to allow the purchase of a +1 shortbow and +1 battle axe. This has been necessary due to the characters' not having the right weapons to overcome resistances and the very quick nature of leveling in the adventure we're playing (which has been converted from 3.5).
It seems to work pretty well.

I typically allow purchase of +1 weapons, but if Resistance is the only issue I suggest letting them purchase +0 Common magic weapons such as the Moontouched Blade in XGE. A permanent Common is typically 100gp to craft, so around 200gp purchase price is reasonable IMO.

 

[S'mon]

My characters can give me a wishlist, and I'll give them whatever the Hell I feel like.

But if the items are level-appropriate, why would I not prefer to give them the items they want, in times and places of my choosing? This makes it more exciting when I give them any magic item, helps their characters fit the players' image of them, and makes it easier for me to decide how to place treasure.

For me the Wishlist is horribly immersion-breaking, and indeed comes from an era when WoTC had lost sight of immersion as a goal of play. As a player I'd hate being asked to provide one OOC, and I'd get a squicky feeling in my tummy when something from my list turned up. OTOH I'm happy to provide an IC character background which includes mention of stuff like "his father's ancestral Flameblade, lost when he fell at the Battle of Gedden" - having that then turn up in world (probably in the hands of the BBEG) would be great.

 

[Olrox17]

For me the Wishlist is horribly immersion-breaking, and indeed comes from an era when WoTC had lost sight of immersion as a goal of play. As a player I'd hate being asked to provide one OOC, and I'd get a squicky feeling in my tummy when something from my list turned up. OTOH I'm happy to provide an IC character background which includes mention of stuff like "his father's ancestral Flameblade, lost when he fell at the Battle of Gedden" - having that then turn up in world (probably in the hands of the BBEG) would be great.

I can tolerate wishlists if the DM explicitly asks for them to reduce its own workload.

I personally never used them, not even in 4e where they were kind of standard, but I was okay with other DMs asking me, as a player, for a wishlist.

 

[Vael]

I am a fan of wishlists. I'm a fan of anything that drives player involvement and gets them to think more about their character.

As a DM, it gives me hooks and ways to get characters involved and engaged. A player in my Waterdeep Heist campaign asked about getting Illusionist's Bracers, a Ravnica item. Now, my initial thought was "hell to the no", and it probably still is, as I do view it as an over powered item and inappropriate for this adventure. But I might pepper in some rumours of it, I might craft a rebalanced, lower-tier version of the item. So even though I'm probably saying no, I'm thinking about ways to say yes, and that fuels my creativity and engagement as well as the player's.

As a player, I view it as a part of answering the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years (iow. levels)?". I don't build characters assuming that I'll get certain items, but they are a part of me figuring out what I want to do with my character. Maybe I want to be a knight worthy of wielding "Excalibur-but-not-quite" ... then I'm making a character with the assumption that !Excalibur is in the game and I'll have the opportunity at some point to quest for it.