Afgncaap5
2017-01-07, 01:46 PM
If you're running a game, and a player wants to make a magic item that doesn't have an effect that matches a spell they have, what's your take on making it work? Like... if the Elixir of Hiding wasn't already in the SRD and DMG, would you allow a player to say "So, could I use my Invisibility spell to make a potion for my Rogue friend that'd give a bonus to hiding for an hour if it's not also making him invisible?"
There are other examples in the core magic items as well. I've got mixed feelings on it. On the one hand, it makes sense to me for an invisibility spell to be shifted to reduce "invisible" to "blends in really well" and make the time go from five minutes to an hour. On the other hand, I also know I've had players ask me things like if they could justify immortality in a character's backstory if they had an amulet that granted a permanent vitality effect.
Hmm. ...though thinking about it now, I might've granted that if the amulet hadn't also given the spell effect of Vitality.
On the other hand, I can see an argument for not allowing custom magic items that don't replicate the effect of spells, with SRD and DMG items that break that rule being a sort of "understood formula" by the community of magic users, effectively being figured out through some process that's not lost exactly, but not viable for using in creating new things.
There are other examples in the core magic items as well. I've got mixed feelings on it. On the one hand, it makes sense to me for an invisibility spell to be shifted to reduce "invisible" to "blends in really well" and make the time go from five minutes to an hour. On the other hand, I also know I've had players ask me things like if they could justify immortality in a character's backstory if they had an amulet that granted a permanent vitality effect.
Hmm. ...though thinking about it now, I might've granted that if the amulet hadn't also given the spell effect of Vitality.
On the other hand, I can see an argument for not allowing custom magic items that don't replicate the effect of spells, with SRD and DMG items that break that rule being a sort of "understood formula" by the community of magic users, effectively being figured out through some process that's not lost exactly, but not viable for using in creating new things.