Magic weapons, armor and the Monster Manual

[Shinken]

A friend of mine told me the variant drow from the Monster Manual all have magical weapons (+2) and armor (+3).
I thought 5e was supposed to cap at +3, but if a generic drow priestess gets +3 armor...
Does anyone know of any other case of something similar happening?

[Steel Mirror]

The "variant drow" that your friend referred to aren't actually given as statblocks, but as a sidebar for a DM who wants to pump up the level of opposition. So no, the standard statblocks do not include magical weapons or armor, but the MM does give quick stat adjustments that allow a DM to run a much higher magic prevalence among the drow than standard 5E distributions. I don't know of it happening anywhere else, but I imagine that any DM could easily adjust other statblocks in the MM the same way if he wanted magical gear to be common in his world.

[Sidmen]

Yeah, I'm glad Steel Mirror found the sidebar. I was about to be very confused: the basic priestess only wears a suit of mundane scale mail.

The basic stat blocks are all calculated using completely mundane equipment.

[Jeraa]

On the plus side, even if you do use that sidebar and give drow magical gear, it stats they lose the enhancement bonuses after 1 hour in sunlight. So its not like the party will get fabulous gear just by killing a few random drow.

Well, they could. It just looses all its power once they reenter the sunlight.

[Steel Mirror]

On the plus side, even if you do use that sidebar and give drow magical gear, it stats they lose the enhancement bonuses after 1 hour in sunlight. So its not like the party will get fabulous gear just by killing a few random drow.

Well, they could. It just looses all its power once they reenter the sunlight.Which actually sounds pretty cool for giving the party an early magical weapon. It's a drow sword, so you must keep it away from the sun at all times. It remains wrapped up in a dark black cloth deep inside the rogue's pack by day, but at night he pulls it out and stalks the darkness, magical blade in hand, seeking whom he may assassinate.

I know that the drow had identical weapons in earlier editions (in fact I think those might have actually been destroyed by sunlight, not just disenchanted), but for some reason my imagination only got engaged just now. Might have to do it in my campaign!

[Shinken]

You misunderstand. I'm not questioning if magic items are rare or not in 5e - I'm questioning if they are capped at +3 (like I've been seeing people saying) or +5 (like it was before - or at least ever since Supplement 1 came out).

[Draken]

You misunderstand. I'm not questioning if magic items are rare or not in 5e - I'm questioning if they are capped at +3 (like I've been seeing people saying) or +5 (like it was before - or at least ever since Supplement 1 came out).

Everything indicates that they will cap at +3. There is no way of knowing until the DMG is out, but I wouldn't bet against a +3 cap on enhancement bonuses.

[Jeraa]

You misunderstand. I'm not questioning if magic items are rare or not in 5e - I'm questioning if they are capped at +3 (like I've been seeing people saying) or +5 (like it was before - or at least ever since Supplement 1 came out).

I can only find references to weapons that have a +3 enhancement bonus or less. Plus, the Magic Weapon spell caps at +3. Its entirely possible there are no more +4 or higher enhancements.

Which is completely fine with me. I've always preferred more special abilities (like flaming, frost, defending, etc.) over additional +'s. It makes a more flavorful weapon.

[Shinken]

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks everyone.

[infinitetech]

don't forget tho, DMs like me are always the final word on such things in game, there could always be a quest, rare ingredient, or legendary item... now where did i put that nagging little sentient +50 1d1 returning throwing star of infinite spectral piercing... hmmm.... was it in the chest or in that automatic dwarven trap laun^rolls a 2 on spot... ...rolls a 20 on attack^... ...^tpk has occured, res party?^ ... ... ...woops ^tp rage quit #3^ ... what i warned them about glass cannons but nooo...

[MeeposFire]

This is actually how Drow were before. In AD&D they all had adamantite weapons and armor that effectively had an enhancement bonus of +1 or greater. It gave Drow very nice stats for their level. The fact that they go away after being exposed to sun light was also true back then.

Githyanki tended to have this benefit too though not as common in terms of having high end equipment (though their highest end equipment could be even more powerful say their +5 silver swords).

[Cambrian]

You misunderstand. I'm not questioning if magic items are rare or not in 5e - I'm questioning if they are capped at +3 (like I've been seeing people saying) or +5 (like it was before - or at least ever since Supplement 1 came out).They cap out at +3 from my understanding. As a DM you could make a +10 if you wanted, but it's a terrible idea. +3 is supposed to be artifact level powerful (with other effects of course).


Githyanki tended to have this benefit too though not as common in terms of having high end equipment (though their highest end equipment could be even more powerful say their +5 silver swords).Githyanki Knights in 5e have Silver Greatswords that are +3 while they wield them. So there are checks and balances in place as there was in old editions.

[infinitetech]

id say+1 is average first enchanting, +2 is the work of your average mage, +3 is a master's fast craft or a journeymans "work peice" aka what they use to prove they are ready for worly training, if a master gets lucky or spends a very long time on the item it may go to a 4, 5 is pretty much a god made item of the casual type, 6 is a thought through god craft, 7 takes a normal gods full effort, andthing above that would be a deity or stronger being of the correct aspected craft to make and probably alot of time, one exchange that can be done is add a + 1 while removing one dice roll lvl, or the reverse, seems to work most of the time, aka a 1d12 hammer becomes either a +1 1d10 or a -1 2d6 for no change in value really

[infinitetech]

This is actually how Drow were before. In AD&D they all had adamantite weapons and armor that effectively had an enhancement bonus of +1 or greater. It gave Drow very nice stats for their level. The fact that they go away after being exposed to sun light was also true back then.

Githyanki tended to have this benefit too though not as common in terms of having high end equipment (though their highest end equipment could be even more powerful say their +5 silver swords).


quickest tpk of a shifter group ever, never forget old school weakness damage, yikes

[Sidmen]

id say+1 is average first enchanting, +2 is the work of your average mage, +3 is a master's fast craft or a journeymans "work peice" aka what they use to prove they are ready for worly training, if a master gets lucky or spends a very long time on the item it may go to a 4, 5 is pretty much a god made item of the casual type, 6 is a thought through god craft, 7 takes a normal gods full effort, andthing above that would be a deity or stronger being of the correct aspected craft to make and probably alot of time, one exchange that can be done is add a + 1 while removing one dice roll lvl, or the reverse, seems to work most of the time, aka a 1d12 hammer becomes either a +1 1d10 or a -1 2d6 for no change in value really

This is explicitly not how enchantments are scaled in 5th edition.

If you want a scale similar to yours: +1 is a major effort by an enchanter or craftsman, something that they can't do willy nilly. +2 is a remarkable piece made by a master of the art of making enchantments. +3 is an artifact of legend - likely godsblessed or made by a figure of legend - Merlin might've been able to find or make a +3 weapon but none of his lesser counterparts.

There simply isn't anything higher than a +3 without ignoring the system's intended balance. Sure, you might find a weapon that is "treated as s +5 vs. dragons" or whatever, but you shouldn't ever find a plain old +5 weapon.

[Baveboi]

quickest tpk of a shifter group ever, never forget old school weakness damage, yikes

If you are facing a group armed with Silver Swords you are already dead. They are, for all purposes, +5 Vorpal blades. It was insanely hardcore facing the elite guard of the Githyanki Lich-Queen in AD&D. Every 10 or so attacks someone would instantly drop.

[Beleriphon]

I suspect we might see some +5 weapon variants in the DMG, stuff like The Holy Avenger (not A, THE Holy Avenger) being a +5 weapon in the hands of a particular type of character, or The Staff of the Magi. Things that are legenardy artifacts in and of themselves.


If you are facing a group armed with Silver Swords you are already dead. They are, for all purposes, +5 Vorpal blades. It was insanely hardcore facing the elite guard of the Githyanki Lich-Queen in AD&D. Every 10 or so attacks someone would instantly drop.

Didn't they instantly kill characters on the Astral as well due to the Silver Cord? So they Githyanki didn't even need to attack characters and hope for a crit, they could just go after the cords.

[Baveboi]

Didn't they instantly kill characters on the Astral as well due to the Silver Cord? So they Githyanki didn't even need to attack characters and hope for a crit, they could just go after the cords.

Yes, that is exactly it. But the plot of the adventure at that time was that the Lich-Queen couldn't be killed as long as she was in her throne room (her phylactery was her connection to the city, or some such), so the plan was to lure her out into the material plane. The Elite Guard came first. They didn't need a crit to sever the Silver Cord, it was a 5% chance per hit that the player would suffer an unsavable Dead condition.

Eventually the adventurers either manage to kill her or fail, which mostly entails "die trying". Very few games of AD&D were as hard as that one. Perhaps modded BG2 on Hardcore with the ironmode self-imposed rule.

[infinitetech]

*sigh* i miss AD&D sometimes, especially my uncles old gen one dice of insane luck aka those first gen d20s