Not quite understanding magic items for a new character...

[Das_Uberboat]

So, in our last game, the Barbarian i was playing was frozen by a White Dragon. Needless, to say, he died, and now I need to create a new level 3 PC.

My question is, however, do I get any magic items when creating a character of this level?

I have seen it said that when you create a character of any level other than 1, you start out with a magic item of your level, your level +1, and your level -1. However, i cannot seem to find this anywhere in any of the handbooks, and I need to be able to prove it to my DM just in case he won't believe my +1 Bloodcut armor, my +1 Frost Greataxe, and my Bracers of Mighty Striking already being on my character.

Is this actually a rule?

Edit: Also, what about starting gold? I know level 1 PC's get 100 gold to start with, but what would a level 3 character get gold-wise?

[Burley]

It is true, but for the life of me, I can't find a proof, either. I'll keep looking and update if I find anything.

[Trunamer]

DMG, page 143.

The guidelines say you get one [your level +1] item, a [your level] item, a [your level -1] item, gold equal in value to a [your level -1] item, and whatever mundane items you want.

However, I've been told that until 4th level or so, these guidelines actually give you more stuff than a typical grown-from-1st character has. So your DM might be justified in not following the guideline to a T.

[Geoff]

Edit: Also, what about starting gold? I know level 1 PC's get 100 gold to start with, but what would a level 3 character get gold-wise? You get gold equal to the value of a level-1 item. So for a 3rd level character, that'd be the value of a level 2 item or 520 gp, IIRC.

[masteraleph]

DMG, page 143.

The guidelines say you get one [your level +1] item, a [your level] item, a [your level -1] item, gold equal in value to a [your level -1] item, and whatever mundane items you want.

However, I've been told that until 4th level or so, these guidelines actually give you more stuff than a typical grown-from-1st character has. So your DM might be justified in not following the guideline to a T.

The main issue with doing it at a low level is 1 item vs. many. In theory, a level 3 character (starting level 3 that is) might have 2, or less commonly 1, items. But those items could also be more powerful than the ones you get, since a level 2 character could get a level 6 item in the course of adventuring.

The other issue occurs at high levels- the standard starting treasure, including gold, ends up being substantially lower than what you'd have from leveling up to that level, even considering the items that would become obsolete/be replaced.

[Burley]

I think the bottom line here is: Your current equipment load out is valid and you've got a way to back it up. However, if you're previous character had an ostentatiously higher level item, ask your DM. Never hurts to ask.:smallwink:

[dariathalon]

Actually, I'd say the bottom line is, no matter what, ask your dm. The rules about magic items for creating characters past level 1 don't work out well at low levels. And if the DM is using something like the inherent bonus system or something like that, they may not really suit what he expects from higher level characters either. A player that comes to me saying "I get to have this stuff, and here is my proof," would bother me as a dm. A player that says comes to me saying "I've created this character according to the rules in the phb and dmg, is it acceptable for this campaign?", that would be fine. Though it is good have sources for the rules you used.

[Tegu8788]

What Dariathalon said. Check with your DM, first if you can. The guidelines are you get three magic items, one your level -1, one at your level, and one your level +1, and gold equal to a magic item one level lower than you. I've seen posted that that might be in addition to the 100 gold the first level gets, but I have no source for that. But again, those are the guidelines. DM has final say, always.