[4e] Making magic items rare

[Tengu_temp]

4e has taken a step back from 3.x's tendency for higher level characters to glow like a Christmas tree from all the magic items they're carrying. However, some people think this is not enough, and would like to run a 4e game where magic items are truly rare and unique. There are many suggested rules for implementing such a setting, here are mine.

1. Magic items lose their enchantment properties - only the special effects remain. Magic weapons and implements don't deal extra damage on crits, unless it's an amount different than 1d6 per plus, in which case they overwrite the perk bonus. Masterwork armor does not exist. Enchant Item and Move Enchantment rituals do not exist.
2. At each level (including level 1), each character can (but doesn't have to) choose one perk they meet the level prerequesite for. Perks cannot be retrained.
3. Perks with the same name, but different ranks, do not stack - you only use your strongest one. This includes Improved Armor Use - for example, Improved Armor Use (Leather - Drowmesh) and Improved Armor Use (Leather - Feyleather) together don't give you +1 Reflex and +1 AC - you only get the benefit of one of those perks.

Perk list:

Required level 1:

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Improved Attack I
You gain +1 to attack and damage. Your critical hits deal +1d6 damage.

Improved Defense I
You gain +1 to AC.

Improved Resistance I
You gain +1 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will.

Required level 6:

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Improved Attack II
You gain +2 to attack and damage. Your critical hits deal +2d6 damage.

Improved Defense II
You gain +2 to AC.

Improved Resistance II
You gain +2 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will.

Improved Armor Use II
Choose an armor type and a masterwork armor of that type with minimum enchantment bonus no higher than +2 - when wearing that type of armor, it counts as that kind of masterwork for you. You can take this perk several times, but you must choose a different armor type each time.

Required level 11:

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Improved Attack III
You gain +3 to attack and damage. Your critical hits deal +3d6 damage.

Improved Defense III
You gain +3 to AC.

Improved Resistance III
You gain +3 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will.

Improved Armor Use III
Choose an armor type and a masterwork armor of that type with minimum enchantment bonus no higher than +3 - when wearing that type of armor, it counts as that kind of masterwork for you. You can take this perk several times, but you must choose a different armor type each time.

Required level 16:

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Improved Attack IV
You gain +4 to attack and damage. Your critical hits deal +4d6 damage.

Improved Defense IV
You gain +4 to AC.

Improved Resistance IV
You gain +4 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will.

Improved Armor Use IV
Choose an armor type and a masterwork armor of that type with minimum enchantment bonus no higher than +4 - when wearing that type of armor, it counts as that kind of masterwork for you. You can take this perk several times, but you must choose a different armor type each time.

Required level 21:

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Improved Attack V
You gain +5 to attack and damage. Your critical hits deal +5d6 damage.

Improved Defense V
You gain +5 to AC.

Improved Resistance V
You gain +5 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will.

Improved Armor Use V
Choose an armor type and a masterwork armor of that type with minimum enchantment bonus no higher than +5 - when wearing that type of armor, it counts as that kind of masterwork for you. You can take this perk several times, but you must choose a different armor type each time.

Required level 26:

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Improved Attack VI
You gain +6 to attack and damage. Your critical hits deal +6d6 damage.

Improved Defense VI
You gain +6 to AC.

Improved Resistance VI
You gain +6 to Fortitude, Reflex and Will.

Improved Armor Use VI
Choose an armor type and a masterwork armor of that type with minimum enchantment bonus no higher than +6 - when wearing that type of armor, it counts as that kind of masterwork for you. You can take this perk several times, but you must choose a different armor type each time.

[Thane of Fife]

Not a comment on the quality of the rules, but the phrase

minimum enchantment bonus no higher than +x

is really confusing. Should it say maximum instead?

[Tengu_temp]

No, it's correct that way - masterwork armor has a "minimum enchantment bonus" field. For the Improved Armor Use perk, this bonus can be no more than +x.

Well, technically it's not "enchantment" but "enhancement".

[Oracle_Hunter]

Perhaps, but wouldn't it be easier to just require each "Magic Item" created to have a specific formula that the PCs need to Adventure to find?

Still, I do like the extra customization - but how do you deal with extra damage on critical hits?

[Tengu_temp]

Well, the first thing simply means "creating magic items is plot-related". Truth to be told, you could have magic items with enhancement bonuses as well, as long as these don't stack with perk bonuses.

Good point on critical hits! I'll probably add this property to Improved Attack.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Well, the first thing simply means "creating magic items is plot-related". Truth to be told, you could have magic items with enhancement bonuses as well, as long as these don't stack with perk bonuses.

True, but one way to make magic items "truly rare and unique" is to require quests just to find them. You can keep a Master Library at some Mage's Union for the low-level stuff (PCs will need to do "favors" for the Union to get access to the formulas) but more exotic items may force you to travel either for the formula itself or for "special components" needed to make the gear.

This was kind of the point of Magic Item Creation back in 2E - I've always liked it

[Shadow_Elf]

Also, whats to stop a character from taking a low-level non-or-low scaling weapon (say, a frost weapon) as their weapon slot item, since the enhancement bonus from the Perk overrides the lower cost/power item?

What I mean is, this system makes a level 30 Paladin with a Level 28 Frost Bastard Sword only very slightly better than a level 30 Paladin with a level 3 Frost Weapon.

You could then say that weapon enhancement overrides your "Perk" enhancement, but that would mean that you aren't low-magic anymore.

I hope my point came across at least semi-understandably...

[Tengu_temp]

Also, whats to stop a character from taking a low-level non-or-low scaling weapon (say, a frost weapon) as their weapon slot item, since the enhancement bonus from the Perk overrides the lower cost/power item?

The fact that you in a setting that uses these rules, you can't cherry-pick magic items. They're rare and valuable. WBL goes to the bin.

[Yakk]

Hmm...

What if you kept Masterwork as part of the item, and the bonus dice on a critical hit.

Improved Attack: +X awesome bonus to hit
Improved Damage: +X awesome bonus to damage
Improved Defence: +X awesome bonus to AC
Improved Resists: +X awesome bonus to two resists. (note you can take this twice to cover all 3).

Change Weapon/Implement Expertise to a flat +1 to hit.

Paragon tier magic weapons/implements grant a +1 bonus to hit, and Epic a +2 bonus to hit (stealing some of the Expertise thunder).

Masterwork armor continues to exist.

Magic Amulets grant a +0/+1/+2 enhancement bonus to NADs.

Magic items keep their toys. Critical damage boost is based off of your magic item.

Grant extra utility powers at level 4, 8, 14, 18 (upgrade), 24, and 28 (upgrade). Players may sacrifice the use of a utility power for a day (you must not have used it before) to master a magic item, and gain access to the magic items special properties (including it's daily power).

So lacking a magic item, you are missing (masterwork effects) and a +2 bonus to attacks/defenses at level 30, and do less damage on a crit. And have utility powers instead of daily magic item uses. You are quite viable.

Magic items remain fun toys.

[Ninetail]

I think it would be simpler to just give all characters a stacking +1 inherent enhancement bonus to attack, damage, and defenses at level 2 or 3, and every 5 levels thereafter.

This keeps the math working the same way as in the base rules.

Then you make magic items as rare as you like, and add the stipulation that magical weapons, armor, and cloaks/amulets' enhancement bonus does not stack with the inherent enhancement bonus. However, all of the other properties work normally.

Therefore, a level 8 character wielding a standard +1 sword would have +2 to hit and damage (level), but would still cause 1d6 extra damage on a crit (magic item). If he also had a +1 amulet of health, he wouldn't gain any extra defense bonuses (because his level overwrites them), but he would get the resist 5 poison.

The rest is mostly an exercise in refluffing.

[Tengu_temp]

I think it would be simpler to just give all characters a stacking +1 inherent enhancement bonus to attack, damage, and defenses at level 2 or 3, and every 5 levels thereafter.

Simpler, yes, but the problem with this is that you're losing the AC bonus from masterwork armor, and the extra damage on a crit - while I want a system where you can go from level 1 to 30 without any magic items, with minimal loss of power in comparison to normal 4e characters.

[Ninetail]

Easy enough, then. Any time they gain the enhancement bonus, they also gain +1d6 damage to any crit.

Characters wearing light armor gain an extra +1 bonus to AC when they gain their 4th and 6th enhancement bonus. Characters wearing heavy armor gain an extra +3 at these times.

The key thing is that the characters gain the "expected" bonuses so that the system doesn't go all to hell. You just refluff the bonus. The fighter achieves Conan-like levels of skill with arms and armor. The wizard learns to weave his spells that much better, adding minor offensive and defensive enchantments to his arsenal. The warlord's uncanny grasp of tactics extends to spotting and exploiting an individual enemy's weakness in personal combat.

The other way to do this is to adjust the adversaries, so that their attack bonuses, defenses, and damage inflicted drop a bit from baseline. This way makes the campaign "feel" more low-magic to players who can't look past the numbers on the character sheets, but also requires a bit more work on the GM's part. Shouldn't take too long to draw up a cheat sheet, though.