How do you decide what magic items to give out?

[Wasp]

For the DMs here:

How do you decide what magic items to give out? (How) do you make sure they are useful without them feeling like a suspiciously perfect fit? Do you give out items that pushes players to change their strategies? When players want a particular magic item for their character - can their acquire it?

And bonus question for players:

What was the most fun you had with a magic item? And what was the best experience you had acquiring/finding a magic item?

[Mastikator]

IMO Make them useful for the enemies to have, if they also happen to be useful for the players then that's just a happy little coincidence. :smallwink:

I like consumable magic items, a potion of storm giant strength is much easier to hand out than a belt of hill giant strength because they'll use it once during a boss battle, feel awesome and then it's gone. The issue with hoarding magic consumables is that they're not benefiting from them if they don't use them. But that's their problem, not mine.
A trick is to give an enemy two magic potions of the same kind, one that they use, and one that gets looted by the party.

Can players acquire a particular magic item? That depends entirely on the item in question.

-

As a player I like items that enable me to roleplay the character I envisioned, aka items that highlight that or remove obstacles from that. But magic items that do weird things, that you can use for shenanigans are always fun.

[tokek]

As a DM I'm pretty relaxed about giving out consumable items like potions and scrolls and now spell tattoos. I like them as loot drops, have a situational item on an enemy and if the situation for them to use it does not come up its a loot drop. Permanent magic items I'm a little more careful with and the more powerful ones I like to theme to the campaign, it can be a form of foreshadowing of what the campaign is about if players are paying close attention.

As a player the most enjoyable magic item I've had in this edition was a humble Masquerade Tattoo. We were playing Dragon Heist in which people wearing specific tattoos are a significant feature, so my character had a tattoo he could change on demand to pass for a gang member. Once per day disguise self is also very nice on a class that would otherwise not have that sort of option.

[da newt]

I like to hand out interesting items over +1 whatevers when possible / appropriate, but I try to mostly make loot drops random (I'll roll twice and pick the one I prefer).

If a PC or Player shows interest in a specific item, I'll build a side quest to track it down or discover how to create X once they achieve an appropriate level.

The most fun I've had was with a hat of disguise - super simple item, but so many shenanigans.

I do tend to give out less magic items than many published campaigns - I think there is some loot inflation. The notion that players can expect to get a +3 weapon of choice, belt of giant ST, +3 plate armor, and +3 shield by lvl 13 rubs me wrong.

[J-H]

In one of my campaigns, I'm just stringing together a bunch of dungeons from the DM's Guild. I go by the loot they have there, and occasionally add some more stuff in or tweak the loot. The rogue needed darkvision, so I snuck in a cloak that granted it in the next module. They can also order Uncommon items from town, but with a 2 week waiting period.

In the other (Castle Dracula, now Against the Idol of the Sun), there is quite a bit of loot. It's a mix:
-Random loot rolled on DMG tables, distributed appropriately around the level (CD) or around the entire map
-Custom items placed where it would make sense for them to be (a petrified Nalfeshnee had the Maul of Extreme Pain, the enemy forces have about a dozen magic items scattered randomly across their patrols, enemy high priests have 1-2 each, etc.).

For these, there's been no loot customization to specific players... but I have made sure that there are some dex weapons, some big weapons, a few shields, some wondrous items, etc.

[Unoriginal]

For the DMs here:

How do you decide what magic items to give out? (How) do you make sure they are useful without them feeling like a suspiciously perfect fit? Do you give out items that pushes players to change their strategies? When players want a particular magic item for their character - can their acquire it?

Magic items are part of the world, I don't base them on if they fit the PCs or not.

I think that making the magic item have narrative significance generally make them interesting. As in, magic items help establish things about NPCs, events or places. Ex: a grumpy gruff veteran isn't happy about their Bag of Tricks' lack of reliability and the impression of silliness it gives, but they feel they can't continue their career without something to give them an edge and the Bag is all they have. A Centaur chief uses a Frostbrand rapier, gifted to him by the winter fairy who lives nearby. A young wizard wears their grandmother's Hat of Wizardry, as she inspired them to study, and potentially indicating to the PCs it's an angle they can use to convince the wizard to let them read said grandmother's research... or foreshadowing how disrespecting their grandma will make it way harder to access the documents.

Of course, it's possible for both PCs and NPCs to seek specific magic items based on what they want or need, but that requires work and generally effort. And as such, it helps establish other things about NPCs, events or places. Ex: the NPC the group met 3 level ago is very interested in acquiring a Broom of Flying, what does that tells about this NPC and their goal? How far will they go to get the Broom?

[tokek]

So to give a bit more detail on my general thinking

Easily accessible:

Consumable items from lower tiers of play (so healing potion when in tier 2)
Permanent items from two tiers down (e.g Uncommon item when in tier 3)

So long as the character has connections/allies and is willing to pay a suitable price or perform a suitable favour they can mostly get what they want. Mostly. We all know some items don't match their rarity in actual value and I know that too.

Fairly easily accessible:

Items appropriate to a lower tier of play (e.g. Uncommon items in tier 2 play)
Consumable items appropriate to the tier of play

These will show up in loot fairly frequently, for a linked series of encounters (e.g. a level of a dungeon taking more than one session) there will probably be about as many of these as there are characters. Also if characters have nurtured links with NPCs or organisations they might just be able to negotiate swaps for equivalent items more suited to their personal needs.

Scarce but available:

Permanent items appropriate to a tier of play - not tailored to the character
Consumable items for the next tier of play up - not tailored to the character

These will crop up sometimes in loot at probably a rate where a character can reasonably expect to get one every two levels or so. So in a party of 4 I would have something like 2 of these in a timespan in which I expect them to level up once. Half of which will be permanent items. So if all goes well there would be for example one Rare item per character while they progress from 5th to 9th level, if they find them all.

Special items rarely found:

Anything above tier level which I feel would help drive the story or add to the whole theme of the thing.
Tailored items to characters - these are handled a bit like epic boons but at all levels. Significant rewards for significant achievements and awarded by NPCs


And then there are magic shops. Which are hard to find, sometimes highly risky to deal with and have only the stock they have. The rules for those are more fun if individual to the shop in question, I happen to really like most of the magic shop examples in Minsc and Boo and would use those with pleasure.

[PhoenixPhyre]

My current online game mostly uses randomly rolled treasure, but with the (up front and open) statement that permanent magic items will be rare and difficult and often cursed or not super useful (they found a trident that deals 1d6 poison on a hit because a monster was using it. No STR-types in the party). Consumables are pretty abundant and I've added a few formulae as well. The other thing I'm doing is adding "boons"--scaling, permanent abilities gained for clearing certain situations. Right now they can only have one, so if they get a new one they'd have to choose which one they want.

The two so far are

Zephyr Burst (10x15 line of magic slashing damage, Dex for half, usable X/day)
<something air related> (X/day fly up to half your speed without provoking as a reaction).

[Sigreid]

Weighted random. Meaning most items are random, but if I notice the usability is slanting too far to one or two players I'll put my thumb on the scale to make sure something usable by those who have been being left out get something they can use. If the players want something specific, they have to research it.

[SharkForce]

random. there are "magic shops" which will buy/sell/trade, although their stock is limited to whatever they have on hand at the moment, and the shops themselves aren't found just anywhere... major cities and places where adventurers tend to gather or where there is a local enchanter.

inventory tends to change fairly quickly in places where magic items are being bought and sold, less so when it is a lone enchanter making stuff and selling it, and most places prefer to stock lower tier items and consumables.

I also tend to have a lot more minor magic items that are not designed for adventuring... cloaks enchanted to repel water, boots that stay shiny even in the worst conditions, mugs that chill the liquids poured into them, braziers that burn fuel without making smoke, that sort of thing. because really, what would a typical enchanter likely rather have... a +5 sword that they're not particularly good with, or a bathtub that fills instantly with water of the desired temperature when a command word is spoken? and for that matter, which of those are you likely to be able to sell to a rich noble or merchant?

(this doesn't mean these things have no adventuring applications, just that they aren't made specifically to aid in murder-hoboing your way across the countryside. A rich adventurer might be more than happy to have a carriage with magical suspension that can travel cross-country, and might even use it as a mobile source of cover when attacked or as a tent at night, for example, and might even add extra armour or have the carriage custom-built with arrow slits, but the person who invented that magical suspension probably intended it for rich nobles to impress their rivals with, or possibly for wealthy merchants to transport fragile goods).

[Demonslayer666]

I usually roll randomly based on the CR of the encounter. I like using donjon's treasure generator and roll up a hoard for challenging fights. I reroll until I get something descent because sometimes it won't include a magic item.

When running published adventures, I will give out what they recommend, and sometimes add in a bit more.

I also allow my players to buy and sell magic items from time to time, but magic items shops are not something you find on any corner. They have to be searched for, usually in a large city, or a powerful contact may arrange for a vendor to show up.

Crafting magic items is allowed, but it will involve questing.

I also accept wish lists from players, but I warn them ahead of time that it's not guaranteed.

[Chronos]

Quoth Mastikator:

IMO Make them useful for the enemies to have, if they also happen to be useful for the players then that's just a happy little coincidence.
Partly this, to be sure. But sometimes there's room for "reward that's just a reward", and sometimes I'll tweak enemies so that an item that's useful for them is also useful for the party.

Examples of the first category: In the latest adventure I ran, one faction of enemies had a couple of ships, that had to rendezvous regularly at some secret location, and the party managed to raid one of the ships. In the captain's quarters, they found a magical sextant, that could be used by anyone with proficiency in water vehicles or navigation tools, and which would give your location to within 1000'. None of the party had the relevant proficiencies, so they couldn't use it, but it would still be worth something to the right buyer (and I did in fact have one potential "right buyer" in mind).

Another faction of enemies had a need to coordinate things between them at a distance, so I gave two members of that faction a pair of Sending Stones. They ended up looting one, but the other ended up in the hands of a non-hostile NPC. They actually ended up trading the sextant to that NPC (who thought it was pretty nifty) for the sending stone (this wasn't the NPC that I anticipated them selling it to). The stones weren't there because they needed them, though they did still find good use for them.

Example of the second category: In an earlier adventure, they had helped clear out a monster from a bookstore, and the bookseller (naturally) gave them a book to reward them. The module originally called for it to be a spellbook, but I thought that was a little too boring and obvious, so I instead made it a formula for crafting a magic item (which included one hard-to-come-by ingredient, so they wouldn't mass-produce it). Specifically, I made it for an Immovable Rod, because my group is the sort who enjoy coming up with clever and creative uses for things like that, and I wanted to see what they'd do with it.

Example of the third category: The dragonborn barbarian in my group was getting the blahs from not having anything interesting, and in particular not having anything that made her feel dragon-ish. So I introduced an enemy who was also a dragonborn (and incidentally, a relative that tied into the PC's backstory), with an item that improves breath weapons. The enemy used the improved breath weapon in the fight, and then afterwards the PC got an item to be more draconic.

[Darth Credence]

I asked all my players at the beginning to make a list of magic items they would absolutely love to have, and to make sure the list was longer than what they could actually use at once. I've kept that list, so I at least know some of the things they may like, and I try to get everyone one or two things that fit well for them. So that's the first cut.

The second is I plan magic items for the NPCs, based on what they would seek out. If there is a magic item that would perfectly match an NPC, that NPC will have the item, and the PCs may be able to get it for themselves.

The final cut is for my own amusement. I like it when my players get up to shenanigans, which is convenient since their party name is the Shenanigans. I browse magic items, looking for things that jump out at me as having a lot of potential for fun, or items that just have some unusual properties that I hope my players will find something fun to do with them. If there is nothing that is ideal for it, I'll homebrew. One of my players is playing a hard drinking character, so I made sure that the amulet of the drunkard was available, but I also home brewed a bottle of mushroom whiskey from a witch. If someone drinks it while drunk, it will make them sick. Wherever they got sick - or wherever they end up peeing if they didn't get sick - ends up acting as though someone just planted a bean from the bag of beans. At first, they used it just for the chaos, until it summoned a pyramid and mummy lord twice. Since then, it has been as an act of desperation, or giving a drink to an enemy and getting out of there before the inevitable results. But every time someone has drank from the bottle, something interesting has happened, enough that we all remember each and every drink.