Magical Goodies: How Prevalent Should They Be?

[DnDegenerates]

Hey DnDers,

As I am somewhat torn on this topic, it is my hope that you'll all be able to help me with your preferences and d&d experiences.

Just how common are magical items in your ideal d&d campaign?

In 5e they are said to be more uncommon internally. However, this is very dependant upon the DMs discretion.

Even adventurers league, designed to be balanced, gives out an average of one magical item per 2 or 4 hour adventure. Albeit a bit unpredictable. I've seen a level 1 ranger who had bracers of archery find winged boots, but there was also a level 9 barbarian with only a flute which could summon a rat swarm and a +1 mace.

Personally, I feel I've felt both ends of the spectrum. I had a dungeon master who took great joy in creating magical items for their home game. So much that eventually we all had acquired weapons, armor, wands, etc. which seemed to be personally tailored to making our characters amazing at their jobs. Sometimes I felt we were like magical Chuck Norris fighting an hp balloon.

I've also had the pleasure of a game where finding something simple like a +1 sword that allows you to understand draconic, or a comb that allows you to change your hair color being a rare occasion. Which made us treasure these items or trinkets even more.

I feel like there's got to be a sweet spot somewhere along that line. Where players should occasionally get a magical item that is a bit more special than your typical dmg uncommon/rare item without breaking the game. A perfectly timed distribution which helps players appreciate all of the items and trinkets they find for their unique appearance and interesting history as much as what potential stat boost it may or may not give them.

I'm designing my first Homebrew world, having used grey hawk or forgotten realms for every previous game I've ran. It'd help a lot to hear how you all prefer magical items to exist in your games.

Thanks in advance,

- Dungeons & Degenerates

[KorvinStarmast]

Crawford has already made a tweet based on the text in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, that in a regular campaign from levels 1-20, he'd expect to see a combination of consumable and permanent magic items to equal 100 ... and there's a table in XGtE showing the spread.

[Emay Ecks]

This one is entirely up to you and the setting/tone of your game.

I've run a game in a high magic setting where weaker magic items were readily available, but rarer magic items were incredibly difficult to find. This proved to be a fun balance to me because players would get frequent magic items (usually 1-2 per quest) and could purchase additional ones from shops (I would say the shop has 4 magic items and what they were, and players could choose to buy one or more of them). I did use a lot of custom lower powered magic items (+1 axe, but only at night or a staff that could cast knock once a day, but was cursed to always do so on the first lock you walked within 10 feet of) but I enjoy generating them. Players had a ton of fun with a ton of situational items under their belt, and used them for very creative solutions. When players wanted a more powerful magic item, their characters had to research it and investigate rumors and legends and venture to the bottom of some horrid dungeon to acquire it. One of the major drawbacks to this though was why doesn't everyone have a magic item? If they can be easily acquired, why doesn't every town have one they use for protection/farming/whatever? Why would bandits feel confident enough to rob anyone without a magic stockpile of their own?

I'm doing a game now where magic items exist but are incredibly uncommon. Most of the magic items in existence are being hoarded by the various magic colleges in the realm. Players can expect to find one maybe once every 2-3 quests, and usually they are higher impact. Magic items can't be found in stores, and aren't expected in every pile of loot. It's a lot of fun for me because the party tends to be forced to use their existing resources more carefully, and usually are much more cautious when approaching any particular scenario.

I've also played in a game where the dm handed out higher powered magic items like candy. I had a lvl 7 druid with 24 AC, a magic staff, eversmoking bottle, broom of flying, and a Silver Raven Figurine of Wonderous Power. The rest of my party had similar arsenals at their disposal. The dm eventually gave up on the game because we were taking on encounters that should have been trouble for a 12th level party and starting to question why our enemies even bothered.

[Vogie]

I think it's much more a setting-specific thing. A setting with following Greek or Norse Mythos for example would have a ton, while post apocalyptic wastelands would have less. If the Evil Forest is filled with decked out elves, there will be plenty, but if it's filled with goblins throwing rocks, significantly less so. At the same time, if there seems to be no magic items for miles, then a metric ton tucked inside the dragon hoard/pharaoh's tomb/Cache of the Knight's Templar, that also makes perfect narrative sense.

I personally prefer the more amusing & niche magic items over the "strict upgrade" magic items, because then the items still tend to stick around after they're no longer strictly needed. I also like to use the magic items be very region-specific, using them as an aspect of worldbuilding and storytelling. You may not have anyone who cares about, say, sling builds, but if you head into the Great Grass Sea, you're going to find a ton of sling-specific weapons, plains-related gear, and stuff that those people care about.