Ring of Evasion and similar (3.5)

[Notreallyhere77]

Hello, fellow playgrounders. I'm a long-time lurker (4 or 5 years now), first time poster (just registered today), and I have a query for you.

Yes, I realize there was another thread about the ring of evasion a few weeks ago. This is not about that.

I have had characters of mine use the ring of evasion to success, and I have DM'd for players using the same ring to great effect. But I noticed there are few if any other magic items that grant the use of a class feature, and by having the ring in my games, I not only demean the class feature, but makes some characters (I'm looking at you, paladin, with your divine grace) very, very, powerful. So what I want to know is this:

Should I ban the use of the Ring of Evasion in my games, and make them rely on the use of class features or cover for the same effect, or can I give my fighter/barbarian BBEG the following magic items based on the spirit of its creation:

Ring of Evasion
Ring of Mettle
Shirt of Lay on Hands
Gauntlets of Smite Good
Belt of Animal Companion
Bracers of Sneak Attack
Amulet of Undead Rebuking
Boots of Skirmish
Cloak of Bardic Lore
Armor of Wild Shaping
and Hat of I-Also-Cast-Spells-as-a-Warmage-15

Or do the rules for making magic items only cover Evasion?

Also, if you know of any class features I should use instead of the ones given, I'd like to optimize this guy as much as possible. My players tend to make the most powerful characters they can with every splatbook I don't ban outright, and if that's what they like, who am I to deny them their fun?

[Lysander]

Remember though, classes that grant evasion also have good reflex saves. If you have evasion from a ring but subpar reflex saves, evasion won't do you any good when you fail, which will be often. You're essentially paying 25k to make your infrequent successes better. Meanwhile a rogue can ignore fireballs all day. Yeah, it's still good for some classes but it's not universal.

[DragoonWraith]

Evasion's not a unique class feature; several of the ones in your list are. I'd restrict it to things that are not unique - Mettle's good, but the rest, meh. But things for Uncanny Dodge, Trapsense, etc. might be pretty cool.

[Notreallyhere77]

True. But What about the Ranger who gets it five levels earlier than his class gives it to him? I mean, rogue and monk get it early enough for a 2-level dip, but he normally has to wait for it.

Edit: @Dragoonwraith
I see your point and I like your attitude. How many classes get animal companions though. I know of 2 in core, and I thought I saw another in a splatbook (though perhaps not).

[DragoonWraith]

Yeah, and more than one class gets a Familiar and more than one class gets Turn Undead (or at least Rebuke Undead), etc., but they're still pretty defining features for those classes, as opposed to Evasion which is just one of many little things that the Rogue has going for them. An item that grants an Animal Companion would be less like Ring of Evasion, and more like Ring of Sneak-Attack-like-a-Rogue-of-my-level, which kind of leaves the Rogue player going "So... why did I bother with Rogue levels again?"

[Notreallyhere77]

Thank you. Oh, and for those of you just joining us, the last magic item was mostly a joke. Only major artifacts grant spellcasting ability of that magnitude (although one could conceivably make an item that uses Imbue with spell ability to similar effect...).

[Forged Fury]

Honestly, I've never been a fan of "Class Feature as Magic Item". I tend to follow my own formula when distributing and adjudicating designed magic items:

Class Feature
Feats
Skills
Spells

Moving from top to bottom represents an increase in the level of appropriateness, at least in my judgement. Class features are one of the few things that truly differentiate the classes, so I hate giving them out as magic items.

With that said, I would say that Mettle is the most appropriate of the items listed, since it works with a similar mechanic to Evasion. It also should cost more, IMO, as Mettle is generally superior to Evasion.

The other features you mention are largely dependent on class level, whereas Evasion and Mettle are all-in-one mechanics regardless of class level. You could conceivably make Least, Lesser, Greater versions of magic items that provide variable effects (Least gloves of Sneak Attack provide +2d6 SA damage, Lesser provide +4d6, Greater provide +6d6). One of the issues you would have to figure out is whether they would stack with a character's innate ability (which could make them must have items by someone that already posses the ability).

Personally, I would avoid any and all Class Feature magic items, going so far as to remove the Ring of Evasion from play.

[DragoonWraith]

Actually, Evasion's generally better than Mettle. Yes, Mettle works on both Fort and Will saves, while Evasion's Ref-only, but there are far more Ref-halves spells than there are Fort-partial or Will-partial spells. Evasion will come up pretty often; Mettle will come up very rarely.

[Chipp Zanuff]

Remember though, classes that grant evasion also have good reflex saves. If you have evasion from a ring but subpar reflex saves, evasion won't do you any good when you fail, which will be often. You're essentially paying 25k to make your infrequent successes better. Meanwhile a rogue can ignore fireballs all day. Yeah, it's still good for some classes but it's not universal.

Still beats dipping. In general, if a magic item can give it to you, its better than taking levels.