How many/how strong magic items do you give to your players? (5e)

[Alerad]

Just a fast question about magic items.

My players all reached level 4 last session. Until then they only had 2 items and I added few more not to let other players feel left behind.

We currently have halfling fighter, dwarven wizard and two assassins (human and wood elf). Items in their possession are:
Elven shortsword +1, which can also glow green once a day for a minute gaining Paralyse ability equal to the Ghoul's in terms of strength.
Glasstaff's staff. It's official item but I have the feeling it's slightly OP.

New:
Ring of acid resistance. I can still change it to another ring, they will identify it during the rest in between sessions.
Glove of Shocking Grasp. Lets you use the cantrip, one of the assassins has it and she has high Int too.
Elven cloak of the night butterflies. They haven't discovered its function yet, neither have I. I was thinking of when damage drops you to 0 or less hp you can drop to 1 instead and teleport 30 feet. Kind of the butterflies engulf you and Misty Step you through Feywild in response of danger. Once per day. Do you have ideas of other cool uses?

Also magic scrolls.

I found healing potions to be of little use, my players are better off doing stuff on their turn rather than healing 2d4+2 hp. Even the fighter's second wind has better average and it's only a bonus action. I'm thinking of switching to more Dark Souls style, where 1 gulp heals 1d4+1 and you can take as many gulps in one action as you want (up to 10 maybe).


How are your sessions? Do you give a lot of magic items? Do you stick with the official ones or make your own?

[dropbear8mybaby]

For 5e I like to use random and I believe someone did a breakdown of how that pans out over 20 levels although I can't remember where that was or who did it.

If I'm starting at higher than 1st-level, I'll usually go by the trend of only common items (so potions) before 5th, one uncommon (per PC) between 5th-10th, one rare (per PC) between 11th-15th, one legendary (per PC) between 16th-20th.

I'll also usually give a gold amount and a downtime day amount and say that if you have the capability, you can use those to craft items. Alternatively, you can buy a recipe for the same price as the item category sale price and have someone else make it for you for that price again.

[PoeticDwarf]

I give till level five 1-5 uncommon magic items in the whole party, I begin with level 5 with the first +1 weapons. Around level 7-8 with rare items. When they reach level 7 there are in the whole party 6-10 magic items. Wit level 13 I begin with very rare, and level 17 with legendary. When they reach level 13 there are about 12 items and when they reach level 17 there are maybe 15-16.

[Ketiara]

In the game im in we are lvl 14 and we have 1 uncommon item each the rest is common.

[ImSAMazing]

I give till level five 1-5 uncommon magic items in the whole party, I begin with level 5 with the first +1 weapons. Around level 7-8 with rare items. When they reach level 7 there are in the whole party 6-10 magic items. Wit level 13 I begin with very rare, and level 17 with legendary. When they reach level 13 there are about 12 items and when they reach level 17 there are maybe 15-16.
+1 weapon is uncommon.



In the game im in we are lvl 14 and we have 1 uncommon item each the rest is common.
Your GM is cheap mate m8

[AmbientRaven]

I like lower magic settings. My players have 1-2 items each at 10th level.

[Raphite1]

Your characters already seem to have some very powerful magic items for their level. Check out the table on p. 38 of the DMG... in a standard campaign, even a level 16 character (a "Master of the Realm" in the tier descriptions) may only have two uncommon magic items.

[cZak]

Players are about to start the Black Fens portion of Red Hand o Doom.
Good mix'd party all 7th level; dwarf fighter, warlock, cleric, bard, paladin (all 1/2 elves).

I've given NO magic items...
Boss fights are challenging, but they've come out on top most scenarios.

Seems to me most magic items seem 'too much.' Worried, by past systems/ experience, that they'll require a lot more modification on my part to make adversaries more challenging.
I've been using straight Monster Manual critter stats (hobgoblins, hell hounds, etc...) and they've kept encounters challenging & fun. HUGE time saver on my part for prep work; I don't have to add class levels or special items to keep encounters relevant to the parties' level.

I've been thinking of intro'n some minor stuff (potions, one shot, etc...) stuff for flavor. But I hate the book keeping required.
I'm pretty sure I will NOT intro magic armors or things that boost AC.

[charcoalninja]

I haven't been running a campaign where magical loot really makes much sense. So since my last few games have been city crime fighting focused, the players tend to not have much magic but lots of cash. So I only hand out magical gear that their opponents are actually using so they take whatever was being used against them. If they want something more specific they'll have to have it commissioned or make it themselves. Now if they want to look for the lost sword of unlimited badassery then I'll make them a more itemy focused adventure.

But I tend to prefer stronger magical items. +1 weapons are lame. Who wants to find Harrower, the sword of slightly sharper sharpness +1... A +1 to hit and damage is lame, so what I do in my 5E game is magic items give +2 / +4 / +6 for their enhancement bonuses and they're 4E weapons.

In the starter set for example I replaced Talon a +1 longsword of oo slightly better fighting with
Talon +2 Bloodcutter
Which gives +2 to hit and damage, +2d6 damage on a crit(not multiplied) and the wielder can take damage equal to the weapon's enhancement bonus to gain double the amount to their next damage roll.

Now that's a weapon. When the player wields Talon they'll FEEL it. It's their special sword after all! So what if the players are stronger, I can just add another guy to the fight if need be.

[CNagy]

I'm basically the opposite. Sometimes my party gets named weapons that have history but no mechanical bonuses and maybe minor rp/out of combat effects. I prefer the example of Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser--epic badasses who routinely lose/ruin/break their equipment, and just get a new one and give it the same name as their previous weapon. I've played gear-heavy games, and didn't like feeling like a vehicle for a collection of loot. "Oh my god, that's the sword of Killsstuff!" Nah. "Oh my god, that's Butch R. Slaughters, and his sword Killsstuff!" Characters take top billing, loot gets a secondary mention, if that. :smallbiggrin:

[LaserFace]

I give my players a decent number of magic items, but beyond potions, scrolls and other little things I don't give out real loot unless I've had time to write out descriptions or history about the item in question. It tends to keep consistent of the quasi-low-magic world I set up.

The party found their first +1 weapon at level 3, and I wrote up a small history of the character it belonged to. Other items get some of the who-made-this treatment outlined in the DMG. They're now just at level 5 and have found maybe one or two other +1 weapons in the hands of powerful npcs. But, just about each has at least one wondrous item capable of casting a low-level spell or two, although they're more for utility than combat.

[dropbear8mybaby]

+1 weapons are lame.

I just got a +1 battleaxe last night for my dwarf. I'm ecstatic.

Here's a +1 quarterstaff, possibly the most boring item you could get for a character short of a +1 club, that I made up for a player in one of my campaigns:


Neal's Burning Wood

Weapon (quarterstaff), uncommon
This wooden quarterstaff grants the wielder a +1 to attack and damage rolls.

Traits
This item is a well crafted oaken stave with a claw-like appendage at one end. It’s construction included subtle carvings of leaves, vines & stars that speak to it’s elven design origins. Due to the magic imbued within it, it is half the weight of a normal stave.

Perhaps it is this weight which keeps it from ever sinking and grants advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks to swim.

History
The construction of this item by Neal of the Burning Woods was as part of an initiation into a position of high office. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse during the process and a forest fire was started. The Giedans decided to demote Neal but he managed to keep the staff anyway.

It’s possible that some malevolent spirit entered the staff during its creation as it incites, nay, demands that its wielder feeds it humanoid blood at least once every twenty-four hours.

He has a blood rag that he wipes it down with, almost obsessively. How boring is that?

[HoarsHalberd]

Neal's Burning Wood

Sounds like Neal needs to see a cleric and stop frequenting brothels...

[dropbear8mybaby]

Sounds like Neal needs to see a cleric and stop frequenting brothels...

Why else do you think he keeps rubbing his staff with a bloody rag?

[charcoalninja]

I just got a +1 battleaxe last night for my dwarf. I'm ecstatic.

Here's a +1 quarterstaff, possibly the most boring item you could get for a character short of a +1 club, that I made up for a player in one of my campaigns:



He has a blood rag that he wipes it down with, almost obsessively. How boring is that?

Definitely nice. You've given it a simple mechanic beyond it's super boring +1 to hit and damage. The backstory is great, for sure! I just like my magic weapons to be mechanically significant.

[Mr.Moron]

I just got a +1 battleaxe last night for my dwarf. I'm ecstatic.

Here's a +1 quarterstaff, possibly the most boring item you could get for a character short of a +1 club, that I made up for a player in one of my campaigns:



He has a blood rag that he wipes it down with, almost obsessively. How boring is that?

I can't speak for anyone else but I tend to find +X items to be boring because they don't really change anything in terms of game play dynamics. They introduce no options, no new decisions, no tactics, no new pros or cons to weigh and no new mechanics. It's the same old d20 roll it was before, to get the same old damage die just with a +1 tagged on there.

It's just a bump to the numbers. Nothing is substantively changed, the benefit is small, incremental, passive and just kind of there. It has no effect on how the player or character plays the game, it's just this barely-there thing in the background.

Contrast some other possible item designs:

A weapon that provides a huge bonus but has some small chance of going catastrophically wrong.
A weapon that provides a bigger bonus but requires you engineer specific situations to turn it on.
A weapon that causes some hindrance at first, but builds up in strength in cycles for an overall moderate-to-strong bonus.
A weapon that is extremely powerful but can only be used a limited and uncertain number of times before being destroy permanently.
A weapon that grants new special ability that's only really useful under specific circumstances but circumstances that come up often to be a consideration.
A weapon that makes enemy's more vulnerable to an ally's abilities, or grants situational bonuses to other players.

Design like these could add elements of risk management, generate anticipation, reward patience, enhance teamwork or create very high tension moments. All things a static +X bonus can't, be it +1 or +20.

[Flashy]

I can't speak for anyone else but I tend to find +X items to be boring because they don't really change anything in terms of game play dynamics. They introduce no options, no new decisions, no tactics, no new pros or cons to weigh and no new mechanics. It's the same old d20 roll it was before, to get the same old damage die just with a +1 tagged on there.

I cannot agree with this more entirely. My all time favorite magic item was a quarterstaff that could store a single 1st level spell, and whenever it rolled an 8 on the damage dice allowed you to roll a further d8 (on and on into hypothetical infinity). It did literally nothing else, but it was such fun. I'd much rather have a simple item with crazy powers than any number of +3 weapons.

[jkat718]

Some threads you may find helpful:

Deconstructing 5e: Typical Wealth by Level (EN World) (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?402507-Deconstructing-5e-Typical-Wealth-by-Level)
Analysis of "Typical" Magic Item Distribution (EN World) (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?395770-Analysis-of-quot-Typical-quot-Magic-Item-Distribution)
Magic Item Math of 5e (Wizards of the Coast) (http://community.wizards.com/forum/product-and-general-dd-discussions/threads/4200116)

[dropbear8mybaby]

I can't speak for anyone else but I tend to find +X items to be boring because they don't really change anything in terms of game play dynamics. They introduce no options, no new decisions, no tactics, no new pros or cons to weigh and no new mechanics. It's the same old d20 roll it was before, to get the same old damage die just with a +1 tagged on there.

It's just a bump to the numbers. Nothing is substantively changed, the benefit is small, incremental, passive and just kind of there. It has no effect on how the player or character plays the game, it's just this barely-there thing in the background.

Whilst I understand the sentiment, I think you're missing out on the point I was making with my post. That one item, through co-operation with the player, basing things on his history (he crafted the item as a cleric of nature and came up with the "...of the Burning Woods" thing), and through random quirk generation (p. 142-143 DMG), and a little imagination, has given the player a storied item, engaged them in the setting, and given them quirky roleplaying aspects to take advantage of at the table. That one item created a lot of laughs and fun due to the name and the player's rubbing it every day with a bloody rag.

Now whilst not all items I put together like that are silly like that one, the player likes having silly things so I made it quirky for him and he took advantage of it and roleplayed it at the table. So it's not just a +1 item, it has contributed to the enjoyment of the game for everyone at the table.

[Logosloki]

It depends on the setting and tone of the campaign. Typically speaking the latest I give out say an uncommon weapon is level 6 (in line with monks). By then though the party will have received some magical consumables, a magical nick-nack and some pieces of non-magical but lore/aesthetic items. I like to talk up any item regardless.

Short sword? Nah, it's an arming blade whose previous owner (now sadly deceased) was a favoured bailiff. The pommel is missing (is actually in a chest elsewhere, it is a silver wolf head that was chopped off). It lacks a crossguard (11th century norse blade) but the point where the blade and hilt meet has rune inscriptions naming the lord on one side and a house god's name on the other with the words 'duty to' on both.

Returning the blade to the lord named on the guard would give the players the gratitude of the lord and five days downtime at the manor and her grounds (as long as they behave).

[ImSAMazing]

Playing a low magic campaign, my plauers are lvl 4 and each of them got a Deck of Many Things and a Legendary item of their choice.

[Alerad]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!


I can't speak for anyone else but I tend to find +X items to be boring because they don't really change anything in terms of game play dynamics.


I'm on the same opinion, that's why I added one extra ability to my shortsword +1. Initially I thought I can design a magic weapon for each member of the party in this fashion, but then decided to go for different items. Having The magic sword in the party does make it kind of special, so I decided to go for items different than weapons for the other players.

Do you allow crafting magic items? Does 500gp and 20 days of arcane research work well for a mundane +1 weapon?

Edit: By mundane I mean regular magic weapon +1 with no extra abilities.

[Gurka]

My setting isn't exactly low magic, but magic is still rare enough and a big enough deal that there's really not much out there in terms of consumable magic items. Most everything I give my players are durable.

That said, I'm pretty open handed with magic items, but most magic items they find are minor in terms of power. Items created by [fill in the blank Wizard] to fulfill a very specific purpose.

In my setting, it's much easier to use magic to break down and destroy than to build up or create (in the same way that it takes far more time and energy to build a house of cards, than to knock it down), and crafting a spell that will remain bound to an item for any length of time is a prime example of the difficulty of creating through magic. Such consumable magical items as there are, tend to have an extremely limited duration before they "expire", even if unused.

Many such items in my setting, are simply focuses used for specific spells, in lieu of material, verbal, or somatic components. It still requires the caster to expend a spell slot of the appropriate level, but it allows the casting of a specific spell without the components, or even having the spell prepared (or known!). Sort of like a magic-macro.

I also use a lot of "Alchemically Prepared" items, as tools, talismans, weapons and armor. They don't offer any +X bonuses, but instead have a specific property that makes them well suited to a given task, environment, or foe. Things like plate armor that floats (or at least doesn't sink), a Shield that absorbs some portion of incoming magical energy (reduced damage and moderately diminished non-damage effects), or a Sword that is toxic (functioning as perpetually poisoned) would all be powerful examples. Other, less combat oriented examples include things like objects that remain (and radiate) a constant temperature (useful for heating, great for cooling!), objects that dampen noise within a radius, water bottles that make make water safe to eat (biologically inert anyway), or non-heat conducting tongs.

[JNAProductions]

Playing a low high magic campaign, my plauyers are lvl 4 and each of them got a Deck of Many Things and a Legendary item of their choice.

Fixed that for ya. :P

[mephnick]

Wow, that's a lot of stuff.

My players are level 5 and have one magic bow (much weaker than that shortsword), a headband of comprehend languages and various potions/scrolls. The bow is from an NPC they really shouldn't have been able to kill, but they're pretty resourceful.

[EvanescentHero]

My players are about to hit level five, and they each have a couple things. Every character has a custom magic weapon that will grow and improve as they do. These weapons merely add extra options to their class features so far, not numerical bonuses. I've also given them a couple scrolls and potions. Finally, everyone has a rare item, except one character who has two uncommon ones:

The warlock has a robe of useful items and a grey bag of tricks.
The paladin has a necklace of prayer beads.
The barbarian has a horn of blasting. (I'll probably tweak the chance of it exploding. Twenty percent seems too high to me.)
The ranger has a cape of the mountebank.
The rogue has a cloak of the bat.

I know it's a fair bit for level five, but about half of my players are new and I want them to have cool stuff to play with. I agree that weapons and items that merely grant numerical bonuses can be boring, which is why I picked everything here (except the cape of the mountebank, which was just an incredibly lucky treasure roll for them and the ranger decided to keep).

From here on out, I'll probably scale back the amount of stuff they get, mostly rolling for loot, though I certainly intend to use some of the gems I've found among this forum's thread of mostly useless items. In addition, the campaign will involve a group of important artifacts, but those will be coming later on.

[MaxWilson]

How are your sessions? Do you give a lot of magic items? Do you stick with the official ones or make your own?

I give out few, but powerful and early. E.g. by the second session of the campaign they had a Wand of Web, a Lifedrinker sword, and a Robe of the Archmagi, all looted off an archmage's corpse. Since then I've given out a handful of other items including a gem which gives you a burrow speed while making loud clanging sounds, and allows you to bless crops. I've also given the characters access to a biomodification machine which performed xixchil surgery to give you e.g. +2 Strength at a cost of -10% lifespan, or natural AC 15 (black chitin over your whole body) at the price of 2 Constitution plus looking like a bug-man.

Almost all of the items I give out have names and minor properties. The monk never refers to "my Staff of Flame," he refers to it by name as "Flauntiir" and while it is handy in combat, the fact that it makes him ubergreedy for treasure has actually had a larger impact on the campaign than the fact that it can create Walls of Fire. It comes up more frequently at any rate, and the player really enjoys hamming it up on that score.

So I don't mind powerful items per se, but I hate shopping lists and Christmas trees and the expectation of magic items. I just dropped Blackrazor into my campaign last session (or rather, a map to a tomb in wildspace filled with undead, at the center of which is Blackrazor) but I have only given out two other magic weapons (Sword of Lifestealing at campaign start, and a gith-made shortsword which adds 1d6 psychic damage). I want magic items to be rare and significant.

P.S. I do tend to give out a fair amount of gold and poison though. Gold and XP are my go-to rewards for good work by the players. They spend the gold on spell research mostly, or on fueling the bio-modification machine, or just hoard it for their space colony.

[DragonBaneDM]

I'm playing in Eberron, so I'm aiming to give 4 magic items out per level. This includes potions and magical ammunition. I've only given out two magic weapons so far, it's mostly been stuff like Immovable Rods and Scrolls thus far.

[PoeticDwarf]

+1 weapon is uncommon.


I know, I'm not stupid. But I wait with the +1 weapon, first I give just some potions and one (or two) items you can always use, but I just prefer no magic weapons (or a +0 magic weapon, even if they don't exsist) before level 5.

[EggKookoo]

I cannot agree with this more entirely. My all time favorite magic item was a quarterstaff that could store a single 1st level spell, and whenever it rolled an 8 on the damage dice allowed you to roll a further d8 (on and on into hypothetical infinity). It did literally nothing else, but it was such fun. I'd much rather have a simple item with crazy powers than any number of +3 weapons.

Agreed. I only include the + bonus because 1) I'm concerned it needs it at the level the item comes into play, 2) it's a handy way of identifying the rarity of the item, and 3) the players kind of expect it out of habit.

To me, it's those other features that make an item interesting.

[Daishain]

(or a +0 magic weapon, even if they don't exsist)
sure they exist, just because the DMG didn't bother listing them... Just as an example, eternal flame enchantment on the blade of a sword. It would technically be a magic weapon, even if it does nothing other than double as a light source when drawn.

[EvilAnagram]

I only give out 2-3 strong magical weapons out per character by late-game. Each requires considerable effort to get.

[Ramshack]

I'm being pretty liberal with my campaign. They are level 5 and each player has at least a +1 weapon and one other uncommon item. I also regularly give potions and scrolls out. However I typically make my style of encounter progressions more of an endurance test with several encounters back to back so giving out lots of scrolls and potions to help keep them going is important.