Rewarding pc with magic items

[Doomwhispo]

Hi guys. I was just wondering how many magical.items do you give the party in the course of an adventure.
For example. A lvl 5 party are they all gone have +1 weapons by now? And at lvl 10 +2 OR +3 by now? How do you go about deciding how much is enough? Or too much? Is there something I can use as a guideline?

I'm asking about items that actually make them stronger in combat. Items like bag of holding and flyng carpet I'm just giving randomly and im not worried about that

[ad_hoc]

Hi guys. I was just wondering how many magical.items do you give the party in the course of an adventure.
For example. A lvl 5 party are they all gone have +1 weapons by now? And at lvl 10 +2 OR +3 by now? How do you go about deciding how much is enough? Or too much? Is there something I can use as a guideline?

I'm asking about items that actually make them stronger in combat. Items like bag of holding and flyng carpet I'm just giving randomly and im not worried about that

The game is designed so that they don't need any magic items.

I like to roll for treasure, using the tables in the DMG. By level 5 the party might have a magic weapon between them, but they might not.

It sounds like you like a more Monty Haul style campaign. Just be aware that CR assumes no magic items.

Also keep in mind that the game is designed to be equal parts combat, exploration, and social interaction. Magic items that help them overcome exploration and social interaction challenges are important and you should think about the balance of those items as well.

[JellyPooga]

I think levels 5, 10 and 15 are good bechmarks to use. I wouldn't say everyone has to have a magical weapon by level 5, but if each character has one permanent and/or regularly used magic item of some description by that point, two by level 10 and three by 15, then I think you're on track. Any more than that is generous, less is stingy. This isn't counting items that are used infrequently (e.g. Dimensional Shackles), are significantly weak for the parties level (e.g. a Driftglobe or Goggles of Night at level 10) or have limited uses (e.g. potions, scrolls and so forth).

[NecroDancer]

I wouldn't give PCs magic items before level 5

[JellyPooga]

I wouldn't give PCs magic items before level 5

It all depends on playstyle and how long your players go between levels, but I usually start giving minor items like Driftglobes and minor utility wands (e.g. Detect Magic) around level 3. I didn't actually give them a +1 weapon until they were near lvl.6.

[Baptor]

It all depends on playstyle and how long your players go between levels, but I usually start giving minor items like Driftglobes and minor utility wands (e.g. Detect Magic) around level 3. I didn't actually give them a +1 weapon until they were near lvl.6.

Since magic items aren't needed anymore, I roll the tables and let the chips fall where they may. It's a blast.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I think levels 5, 10 and 15 are good bechmarks to use.

I agree. It's a fair approximation to say that a hero's identity evolves at about those levels, so it makes sense that the next phase of their life would be associated with a new/different magic item.


I like to roll for treasure, using the tables in the DMG.

Me too! You can always fudge slightly if you're not happy; sometimes that feeling you get when you roll a 67 and you think "ohh, I wish I'd rolled a 76" is a hint that your subconscious knew what was right all along.

[Gastronomie]

For example. A lvl 5 party are they all gone have +1 weapons by now? And at lvl 10 +2 OR +3 by now? How do you go about deciding how much is enough? Or too much? Is there something I can use as a guideline?

I'm asking about items that actually make them stronger in combat.It seems like you're afraid of power creep, which is a sign of a DM knowing what he's doing.

This is just my personal way of thinking, but I generally don't like giving out items that are bland "+1s" or "+2s" or whatever. They're both bland and also easily get overpowered.

I prefer giving them unique, often situational, but still useful effects. Anything as simple as a "flamberge" (re-fluffed rapier) that bestows disadvantage on concentration saves made with its damage can be a delightful new item for a character, if the DM creates enough background for said flamberge (a rival NPC using it has his main weapon before being defeated by the party, for instance). Or a drow dagger that paralyzes enemies with a save when it rolls a crit.

[CursedRhubarb]

It depends on what you want to throw at them for challenges and what items you give them. My current game is relatively high on magic items compared to normal. Lvl 4 group of all dwarves. Battlrager barbarian, evocation wizard, GOO lock (me), and sometimes a cleric.
DM is relatively new to DMing so gave each a magic item to start. Barbarian got a ring of animal friendship, wizard a ring of free action (has not gotten to use it at all yet), I got glamored armor. Since then we've the occasional scroll and potions have been healing potions, or plot items. A +1 weapon for the barbarian and cleric and I got a Dagger of Venom (love this thing. Don't get in melee often but it saves my bacon when I do)

Despite the amount of magic we continue to survive, though we usually look like we stepped into a blender by the end of game. And have all been at 0hp at one point or another because our dice hate us.

Series of 6 traps only a DC 10 Dex to dodge or 1d10 dmg from pendulum blades, I've a +5 to get past and 5 rolls are 4 or less. Survive that with 6hp left, trip another so the ceiling starts to fall, fail the lockpick DC by 1 to exit the hall so barbarian breaks the door down...and we're trapped in a room with an undead beholder. 🤕😨😭

[dj543210]

Spellbooks make great treasure too. As a wizard I always get extra excited when I get a new spell, even if I'll probably never use it.

[WereRabbitz]

Sometimes magic weapons can help offset smaller groups so CR's don't get too hard if you have 2 or 3 people.

Also don't be afraid to use expiring magical weapons.

I've handed out weapons in the past that only last for 24hrs through a big encounter before they fade away.

[CursedRhubarb]

Consumables are great and if the party manages to hold on to a consumable plot item you wanted used in a certain area don't be afraid to toss something at them that will require it and hint that they may want to check their inventory. (At lvl 3 we held on to a fire elemental gem the DM had wanted us to use on a zombie horde but we funneled them in a doorway and didn't need it...so he threw a flesh golem, clerics, and cultists at us. Elemental held off the golem while we took the clerics and we had no magic weapons at this time so the golem was terrifying as a CR 5 monster with goons vs 4 lvl 3 PCs)

[Baptor]

Consumables are great and if the party manages to hold on to a consumable plot item you wanted used in a certain area don't be afraid to toss something at them that will require it and hint that they may want to check their inventory. (At lvl 3 we held on to a fire elemental gem the DM had wanted us to use on a zombie horde but we funneled them in a doorway and didn't need it...so he threw a flesh golem, clerics, and cultists at us. Elemental held off the golem while we took the clerics and we had no magic weapons at this time so the golem was terrifying as a CR 5 monster with goons vs 4 lvl 3 PCs)

This is true, although I have a funny story about a time when this totally failed. I have truncated this story and simplified some details to make it short.

I placed a scroll of teleport in a treasure haul for the party's wizard. He copied it into his spellbook (and had it prepared). Later on, they were in a "Mines of Moria" type dungeon and came across a broken bridge over a massive chasm. No one could make it across. So I am like, "The chasm is too vast to jump or to get a rope across." Nothing. "You can clearly see the other side, however." Nothing. "Clear enough to describe it with pinpoint accuracy." Nothing. "You can use magical means to get across, you are sure a spell would work here." At this, the wizard decides not to teleport, but to pull out an incomplete Infernal Contract he'd saved and forced his apprentice to sign it. In exchange for the poor sot's soul, the devil teleported them across the pit. The wizard seemed pretty proud of himself until I said, "That was very clever. Too bad about your apprentice. If only you actually knew teleport." When he realized it, his expression was priceless.

[CursedRhubarb]

When he realized it, his expression was priceless.

I've had a few of those moments XD

Had a riddle puzzle. Solve or trap kinda thing and completely over thought it. Turned out to be a super simple answer. In my defense though the riddle didn't quite fit into a D&D setting.

[Xanadros]

My PC's kept bugging me about magic items after we ran Phandelver (pretty decent magic item economy for a 4 level adventure) - so after a tournament they won they met a shady dealer named "Jeb." Jeb sold them ****ty magic items for lots of money, and they're still finding out how they break. It encouraged them to enjoy the gameplay and not the loot.

[Ninja_Prawn]

This is true, although I have a funny story about a time when this totally failed. I have truncated this story and simplified some details to make it short.

I placed a scroll of teleport in a treasure haul for the party's wizard. He copied it into his spellbook (and had it prepared). Later on, they were in a "Mines of Moria" type dungeon and came across a broken bridge over a massive chasm. No one could make it across. So I am like, "The chasm is too vast to jump or to get a rope across." Nothing. "You can clearly see the other side, however." Nothing. "Clear enough to describe it with pinpoint accuracy." Nothing. "You can use magical means to get across, you are sure a spell would work here." At this, the wizard decides not to teleport, but to pull out an incomplete Infernal Contract he'd saved and forced his apprentice to sign it. In exchange for the poor sot's soul, the devil teleported them across the pit. The wizard seemed pretty proud of himself until I said, "That was very clever. Too bad about your apprentice. If only you actually knew teleport." When he realized it, his expression was priceless.

There's a lesson here: show them the lock before you give them the key.

Aside: wouldn't Arcane Gate have been a more appropriate spell for that situation? It's a level lower and better-tailored to the situation (and you wouldn't have had to give away a powerful tool like Teleport).

[Contrast]

It seems like you're afraid of power creep, which is a sign of a DM knowing what he's doing.

This is just my personal way of thinking, but I generally don't like giving out items that are bland "+1s" or "+2s" or whatever. They're both bland and also easily get overpowered.

I prefer giving them unique, often situational, but still useful effects. Anything as simple as a "flamberge" (re-fluffed rapier) that bestows disadvantage on concentration saves made with its damage can be a delightful new item for a character, if the DM creates enough background for said flamberge (a rival NPC using it has his main weapon before being defeated by the party, for instance). Or a drow dagger that paralyzes enemies with a save when it rolls a crit.

This. The math already accounts so you don't need to give out a Longsword +1. So if you want to give out loot feel free to get more inventive with it (Swift, a longsword which lets you Dash as a bonus action provided you are charging into melee!). Don't be afraid to give out minor items either (an amulet that summons a delicious meal for 6 once a day! A ring that provides telescopic or magnification when looked through!).

Its worth noting there isn't neccesarily a lot for characters to spend their gold in in 5E given the lack of assumed magic item availability. So maybe worth coming up with some interesting non-combat item related money sinks (guild membership levels cost increasing amounts but with benefits unlocking at higher levels, bribes/gifts to gain membership of the aristocracy and associated privledges such as estate ownership, etc.).

Edit - also if you are going to give out magic items, try and make sure they're spread out evenly. Nothing worse than finally getting some awesome loot but it being best suited for the person who already has several items (though the attunement rules should control this to a certain extent).

[Zevox]

In my group we've tended toward giving out a fair number of them. I believe our first +1 weapons were acquired by our Rogue at level 3 or 4, during the modified Mines of Phandelver adventure we opened with. By the end of that adventure pretty much everyone in the group had at least one magic item, and a couple had more than one - my Warlock had picked up a Cloak of Resistance and the Spider Staff used by the adventure's villain, for instance. We're now up to level 9, and most have picked up another item or two in that time. Several of the group are already at the 3 attunement items limit - and that's not even getting into the magic items that are more of a group-shared non-combat thing, like the two bags of holding and the Alchemist's Jug, or all the healing potions we've found over time.

Though on the flip side, a lot of us are now changing characters in between campaigns, and we're each starting with only 1 magic item we choose (and the DM approves, of course) of rare or lower rarity. But I fully expect we'll pick up more in due time. Our DMs like giving out fun toys for us to do cool things with too much not to.

We have yet to find any weapons over +1, though, or any magic armor at all.
Edit: Actually, I have to correct myself there. We did find one weapon over +1, a +3 magic whip. But that was deliberately given out to a character who wasn't built all that great and kind of needed the help to contribute more in combat. Plus, it's a whip, so it's not doing a lot from the damage dice anyway.

[Zozma]

A lot of it depends on how long the game goes, I think. I'm running a module and I've made it pretty clear that we'll probably retire the characters when the adventure ends, so I'm very liberal with rewarding magic items. At level 5 one player's already maxed out on attunement, and everyone has at least one item apiece.

Most of the items are also custom and come with built-in disadvantages. For example: A magic cloak that allows the class druid to shapeshift into a giant bat but only revert when she kills and eats a sizable living creature, a glass shield for a fighter that can shatter and deal damage as a reaction but won't return until the start of his next turn, and the eye of a fey that must be transplanted, resulting in permenant HP loss and disadvantage on conversation skills while giving the warlock access to a number of spell-like abilities.

As mentioned, +X weapons are a touch boring. Your players will probably want them, but will learn to more greatly appreciate items that challenge their creativity.

[JellyPooga]

Oh, an important point about handing out magic items (if you don't generate them randomly, that is); speaking as a player, please don't ever do the "you find a chest/hoard/treasure vault/whatever and it just so happens to have one item for each player. Wink. Why look at that, there's a weapon for the fighter, a wand for the wizard, a shield for the cleric and a [misc] for the rogue...wow what a coincidence". :smallannoyed: It's so false and forced and it just breaks all suspension of disbelief by reminding everyone that yup, we're playing a game ("Did you just say wink? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0106.html)"). You can do the "Galadriels Gifts" scene, where some benefactor has thoughtfully provided an item for each player; that's fine, but don't have some random band of brigands conveniently have a collection of magic items tailored to the party.

[Baptor]

There's a lesson here: show them the lock before you give them the key.

Aside: wouldn't Arcane Gate have been a more appropriate spell for that situation? It's a level lower and better-tailored to the situation (and you wouldn't have had to give away a powerful tool like Teleport).

I almost altered my story just to avoid this question. Yeah I know a lesser spell would've worked but I actually wanted him to have teleport, not just to clear the chasm but as a permanent reward. After they escaped this dungeon they would need to travel the world for the rest of the campaign.

Anyways the party has never let that wizard live it down. :P

[Temperjoke]

I almost altered my story just to avoid this question. Yeah I know a lesser spell would've worked but I actually wanted him to have teleport, not just to clear the chasm but as a permanent reward. After they escaped this dungeon they would need to travel the world for the rest of the campaign.

Anyways the party has never let that wizard live it down. :P

Did the apprentice come back as a BBEG with new demonic powers? :D Cause I could totally see a demon doing that in revenge for being summoned for something as trivial as traveling across a chasm.

On Topic EDIT: I've always been a bigger fan of quirky magic items, ones that are the perfect item for situational uses, as opposed to the straight +1 stuff. They just seem more interesting and add more to a character than an interchangeable weapon/armor.

[BW022]

Hi guys. I was just wondering how many magical.items do you give the party in the course of an adventure.
For example. A lvl 5 party are they all gone have +1 weapons by now? And at lvl 10 +2 OR +3 by now? How do you go about deciding how much is enough? Or too much? Is there something I can use as a guideline?

I'm asking about items that actually make them stronger in combat. Items like bag of holding and flyng carpet I'm just giving randomly and im not worried about that

There are lots of discussions and thoughts on magical items -- their effects on game play, wealth, progression, etc. If you played other versions of the game, you typically realize how magic can change balance, gameplay, perceptions of characters vs. items, etc. There are also lots of campaign types and settings which can make magic anything from utterly rare to nearly mundane (say Ebberron).

For weapons...

These actually have a significant impact on play for martial based characters. A +1 weapon, can result in 30% more damage over time. A +1 to hit can mean hitting 25% more often and doing 20% more damage per attack. These are often nearly equal to 4 levels of game play -- since you need a +2 stat bump or a proficiency bonus increase to equal that. For spell casters, rogues, and others... the effect is less since they don't typically have multiple weapon attacks, are casting spells most rounds, and most of their damage comes from non-weapon sources (hex, hunter's mark, sneak attack, etc.)

5E is also specifically one in which magical weapons are not needed. Most spell casters have ways of dealing types of magical damage (fire, cold, lightning, force, radiant, etc.) which bypasses the need for magical weapons -- and tends to do more damage over time than a weapon attack.

In "normal" magic level campaigns (say Forgotten Realms)... typically your martial type characters should start getting a magical weapon around 4th or 5th. This may not be their ideal weapon, but typically a hammer, longsword, shortsword, etc. It isn't necessary for everyone to get a magical weapon -- casters and rogues might get other items more suited to them. A cloak of elvenkind might be worth more to a rogue than a +1 hand crossbow.

Finally... I'll mention that you can't completely dismiss the value of non-weapon/armor items. Even in 5E campaigns which do not have magic shops, it hard to avoid players gaining magical items via trade given enough resources. If you have three bags of holding and two +1 suits of leather armour... it is hard to say (even time and a large city) that you wouldn't be able to trade all those for say a +1 longsword. Given enough wealth, parties could hire agents to visit every wizard's tower, thieves guild, temple, etc. in 500 miles and put forward offers.

[Socratov]

When i started playing with a group I was writtne into a story where the party already had some magic items and vast amounts of more loot. At first (coming from 3.5) I was wary about this but soon discovered that magic items have little to no effect on gameplay. (the party even had to pay a tax every time they entered the city due to magic items, well the party except for me that is). So afterwards I asked the DM wether or not I could (as a long time archer and bard) could make a bow (from the exotic materials of Xorn tongues and Minotaur Horn) that fired arrows of vicious mocking for my lvl 9 valor bard. The DM agreed that I could make a magic bow that could fire arrows of mocking by knocking literal insults on the bow to fire. I thought that with the whole crafting system as detailed in 3.5 to have fallen away, that making your own tailored magic items is a lot cooler then just getting items that do some cool stuff but aren't exactly what you want. (unless that item is exactly what you want). In my case my bow would solve 3 problems: 1- ammunition. On a dungeon crwal you can shoot your way through 20 arrows easily. And the fact that I was carrying 60 and got halfway very quickly through one tower of mazes and a vampire's mansion, not even half way the adventure before returning to town. So to be free of ammo is a great deal. 2- resistances. Bypassing resistances at lvl 9 becomes a real challenge (the fact that my arrows were divided into groups of 20 for slashing, bludgeoning and 'regular' piercding helped a lot but not enough), So having a magic bow fire psychic arrows is a great thing. Oh and keep carrying arrows beucsae if psychic won't work, reguar arrows will probably do the job. 3- vicious mockery was for me the final reason too finally makethe jump from 3.5 (with lots of cool options) to 5e. I think the idea that as a player you get to freely insult each an anything you encounter in the world to be a definite plus to play. Sure, the damage is not that impressive, but in terms of flavour for me it's a bard staple. So, teh ability to fire off arrows that do regular arrow damage, in the form oh psychic damage generating insults is my dream weapon for play.

Sure, the bow has drawbacks: it can't be used while hiding or using stealth. Using it literally requires yuou to scream obscenities at your foes. But that's an offer I'm willing to make. So while using stealth I can't use the bow, so what, I'll have other things to do.

Other cools tuf could be to create a bow of cantrips which can use a bow's statistics to fire off cantrips: fire arrwos for firebolt/produce flame, shock arrows for shocking grasp, etc. it gains the damage die of the bow or cantrip, whichever is better, but only 1 die (so an EB is 1d10 at any lvl, but can be used for any iterative attack), it gains dex damage, dex to hit, the bow's range, etc. That woudl be a really cool bow to have for a gish and a reason to gather more interative attacks and more cantrips: a kind of swiss army bow. This could also be done as a melee weapon.

These kind of weapons are versatile, but without ever giving a numerical burst of power like the +1/+2/+3 weapon. They also tend to get more flavour then the +X items.

[Sigreid]

It's a style thing really. Magic items let your party do more, so you do have to account for that. My group is often happier with a non-weapon item than a weapon (I personally love decanters of endless water for no logical reason).

Our current campaign is relatively low magic item, and actually I'm starting to wonder whether that benefits the enjoyment of the game at all.

[Zanthy1]

Oh magic items, how I suffer from thee. I made the mistake in an older campaign of showering my PCs with magic items. They loved it, until they realized that not all items are created equally. When we had a character who was essentially soloing encounters, it just lost the fun for the rest. I've tried to focus more on low magic campaigns, and I rarely give an item that merely boosts a stat or roll. If I'm going to give something, I want it to do something cool.

[Baptor]

Did the apprentice come back as a BBEG with new demonic powers? :D Cause I could totally see a demon doing that in revenge for being summoned for something as trivial as traveling across a chasm.

On Topic EDIT: I've always been a bigger fan of quirky magic items, ones that are the perfect item for situational uses, as opposed to the straight +1 stuff. They just seem more interesting and add more to a character than an interchangeable weapon/armor.

Actually, that player quit a few months later. I took his character sheet and brought him back later as a villain. It appears he took a fancy to trafficking souls with devils and became quite a nasty person. When he next appeared he was one of Tiamat's favorites in her war against Cormyr (my campaign).

[Temperjoke]

Actually, that player quit a few months later. I took his character sheet and brought him back later as a villain. It appears he took a fancy to trafficking souls with devils and became quite a nasty person. When he next appeared he was one of Tiamat's favorites in her war against Cormyr (my campaign).

Fitting ending. :D

[Plaguescarred]

My players found their first magic item midway through level 2 and each party members had at least one by level 5. We're good with that pace it sounds about right for us.