oxybe
2009-08-03, 03:11 PM
as the title states, i'm looking for advice. so to start, some background:
i love magic items, but too much is too much and not enough is bleh.
one thing i like about 4th ed is that you are less dependent on magic items overall, compared to 3rd ed. a weapon/implement, an armor and a neck thing, and you're done and golden. the rest is gravy.
the issue i have, however (and this came up in 3rd, and i'm sure it will in 4th once we start climbing up in levels) is how, overtime, you collect a lot of useless weapons & armor and whatnot that no one will ever use.
and this is magical stuff, not your footman's mass-produced longsword or hand-crafted ornate blade, but a +X magic sword of ass-whupping... where X is 2 less then the party average, and thus vendor trash.
to use an actual quote from our 3rd ed party (we're level 15) "you can only have so many pairs until they stop being interesting or magical". we stopped caring after our 7th pair of +1's i believe.
alternatively, i remember in pre-3rd where a group of 3rd or 4th level pcs might have a small handful of magic items amongs all of them, most being potions of cure wounds.
and getting a +1 weapon didn't really make much difference other then bypassing the defense of some monsters (this monster can only be harmed by magic weapons/you need a +X or better weapon to harm it/ect...). no real magic them. it made your to hit better, but other then the fightery types, it didn't matter much.
so i came up with an idea that i would like to know if something similar was tested by others:
[B]Inherent Magical Bonuses
at level 3, 8, 13, 18, 23 & 28 the characters gain a "+1 inherent" bonus. nothing can raise or lower this bonus, which is added to attack rolls, damage & all defenses.
note that for extra crit damage dice, you require a "magical" weapon.
i've seen this idea tossed around a bit (or something similar) and wanted to know if people have been successful at this.
Magic Item Strength based on Character
instead of a "+X flaming longsword", or "+Y armor of awesomesauce", you have just a "Flaming Longsword" and "Armor of Awesomesauce". the exact strength of the weapon/armor will vary depending on the character's inherent bonus.
this means that a "Flaming longsword" in the hands of a 1st level character has no real bonuses (other then the standard turns all your damage into [fire] property), acts as a +1 flaming longsword in the hands of a level 5 character, a +4 in the hands of the level 18, ect...
this allows for characters to have their father's ancestral weapon throughout the game without having to worry about having to "upgrade" it or lug it around as it becomes less useful compared to the gear you can find/buy.
Plot Powers/Attunement
one thing i've heard over time is that magic weapons are now "mundane" and less "magical". now, while a sword that ignites into fire is magical as is, after selling your 10th one to help pay for upgrading your current one... well the magic looses it's luster.
one thing that came to mind was to borrow concepts from the artifact rules. by making the item "happier" you can unlock extra abilities or new ones. to use our flaming sword for an example:
-dipping it in a long-active volcano
-having it blessed by a fire efreet in the City of Brass
-slaying powerful water elementals
-using it to burn down a temple that opposes the Sun god
-ect...
now the power itself could be anything, really:
-dipping in volcano = causing a pillar of fire to rise at a given point
-blessing by the efreet = sheaths the owner in fire, harming the enemies around him
-kill water elementals = bonus damage against cold or water-based enemies
-burn down temple = causing a wall of fire to ignite an area
-ect...
whatever is thematically appropriate for the player, GM & story.
any thoughts on the subject?
i love magic items, but too much is too much and not enough is bleh.
one thing i like about 4th ed is that you are less dependent on magic items overall, compared to 3rd ed. a weapon/implement, an armor and a neck thing, and you're done and golden. the rest is gravy.
the issue i have, however (and this came up in 3rd, and i'm sure it will in 4th once we start climbing up in levels) is how, overtime, you collect a lot of useless weapons & armor and whatnot that no one will ever use.
and this is magical stuff, not your footman's mass-produced longsword or hand-crafted ornate blade, but a +X magic sword of ass-whupping... where X is 2 less then the party average, and thus vendor trash.
to use an actual quote from our 3rd ed party (we're level 15) "you can only have so many pairs until they stop being interesting or magical". we stopped caring after our 7th pair of +1's i believe.
alternatively, i remember in pre-3rd where a group of 3rd or 4th level pcs might have a small handful of magic items amongs all of them, most being potions of cure wounds.
and getting a +1 weapon didn't really make much difference other then bypassing the defense of some monsters (this monster can only be harmed by magic weapons/you need a +X or better weapon to harm it/ect...). no real magic them. it made your to hit better, but other then the fightery types, it didn't matter much.
so i came up with an idea that i would like to know if something similar was tested by others:
[B]Inherent Magical Bonuses
at level 3, 8, 13, 18, 23 & 28 the characters gain a "+1 inherent" bonus. nothing can raise or lower this bonus, which is added to attack rolls, damage & all defenses.
note that for extra crit damage dice, you require a "magical" weapon.
i've seen this idea tossed around a bit (or something similar) and wanted to know if people have been successful at this.
Magic Item Strength based on Character
instead of a "+X flaming longsword", or "+Y armor of awesomesauce", you have just a "Flaming Longsword" and "Armor of Awesomesauce". the exact strength of the weapon/armor will vary depending on the character's inherent bonus.
this means that a "Flaming longsword" in the hands of a 1st level character has no real bonuses (other then the standard turns all your damage into [fire] property), acts as a +1 flaming longsword in the hands of a level 5 character, a +4 in the hands of the level 18, ect...
this allows for characters to have their father's ancestral weapon throughout the game without having to worry about having to "upgrade" it or lug it around as it becomes less useful compared to the gear you can find/buy.
Plot Powers/Attunement
one thing i've heard over time is that magic weapons are now "mundane" and less "magical". now, while a sword that ignites into fire is magical as is, after selling your 10th one to help pay for upgrading your current one... well the magic looses it's luster.
one thing that came to mind was to borrow concepts from the artifact rules. by making the item "happier" you can unlock extra abilities or new ones. to use our flaming sword for an example:
-dipping it in a long-active volcano
-having it blessed by a fire efreet in the City of Brass
-slaying powerful water elementals
-using it to burn down a temple that opposes the Sun god
-ect...
now the power itself could be anything, really:
-dipping in volcano = causing a pillar of fire to rise at a given point
-blessing by the efreet = sheaths the owner in fire, harming the enemies around him
-kill water elementals = bonus damage against cold or water-based enemies
-burn down temple = causing a wall of fire to ignite an area
-ect...
whatever is thematically appropriate for the player, GM & story.
any thoughts on the subject?