"Design & Development: Magic Item Compendium"

[erik]

Here's a magic enhancement alternative.

Starting at level 4 and at each even level afterwards (6, 8, 10, etc.) the character receives a +2 enhancement bonus to a stat of its choosing. These bonuses may stack with each other, though no higher than 1/2 character level.

If, for some crazy reason, the player wishes to be forsaker-like, then make these bonuses extraordinary abilities instead of supernatural, but at +1 per every 2 levels. In a DnD setting I'd likely ignore any option like this, since it's just a player suicide option. In other settings it may make a more low-magic sense.

Resistance bonuses to saving throws can come at a unilateral +1 per 3 character levels and be done with that jazz.

Instead of magic sword and armor enhancements (of the +X variety), players are granted an enhancement bonus to any masterwork weapon wielded or masterwork armor worn equivalent to one quarter their base attack bonus (so 12 level fighter automatically gets +3 weapons and armor for example).

Magic weapons and armor could then begin ignoring the rule about being enchanted initially as +1 items and skip straight to the interesting abiltiies.

The other two of the "big six", rings of protection and amulets of natural armor... meh. I don't see those as part of a sextuplet of evil, as I rarely care to pick them up as well unless I am being a total armor class fiend (which is rare). I would be fine with folks taking their money to actually buy an item (though koresh help me if its a stupid amulet) that turns their skin into some visibly rocky or scaly hide which protects their innards. Likewise buying an item that projects a deflection field is a worthwhile purchase (as long as it isn't just a stupid ring trinket). Say like an animated chain that you wear that reactively deflects attacks, or a giant jug of sand carried that animates a shield around you, or a wind elemental that is bound to your body to protect you- that's flavorful crap that doesn't need to go away, and serves a purpose of letting someone be an armor class specialist, not just having enough AC to survive.

More important to me after snagging those "Big 4" are mobility enhancing items: Boots of Haste, Boots of Flying, Boots of Striding and Springing, Cloak of Arachnidia, Cloak of the Bat, Cloak of the Manta Ray, Cap of the Mountebank, Helm of Underwater Action, Wings of Flying, Carpet of Flying, and Wonderous Figurines (I'm sure I forgot a few along the way). These are mostly interesting items and not evil-bland, however.

[MrWaeseL]

The solution to all of this is to simply make gold not be equivalent to power any more. Let them trade the Helm of Underwater Action for a castle, not for a better +strength girdle.

[User3]

Yeah, let those staple things get bought not as magic items, but as arbitrary +s, with some kind of metagame currency (like XP or action points, rather than GP). That way, characters can choose to spend more on AC, or more on stats, or have every (masterwork) weapon they pick up be +1 Holy Keen Spell-Storing. Basically, everything that is a weapon/armor ability or a generic + goes here.

Make it a completely separate system from stuff like Rings of Feather Falling and Helms of Underwater Action. The DM can reward players as necessary with items that increase their options/mobility/coolness, but basic "you must have this AB to enter the dragon's cave" stuff should be automatically covered (as WBL tries to do).

[Crissa]

Sometimes, the hero is a kid with a magic sword.

Sometimes, the hero is a great warrior who can make anything deadly.

Our problem here is that D&D defined these as different, when mechanically, they are the same.

-Crissa

[Zherog]

Part 2 is up.

There's nothing earth-shaking in this one. There's three examples Andy posted of items from the DMG2 that made it into the MIC, and talk of how those items were tweaked to be less expensive and more "fun."

The next article is going to talk about the design guide given to the developers of the new items in the book. That has the potential to be an interesting read...

[NineInchNall]

The rod of grievous wounds is still not worth the expenditure of wealth or actions.

[Judging__Eagle]

Rod of Grievous Wounds:

As a touch attack you may affect your target as with an Inflict Serious Wounds spell (4d8 + 7) (DC 16 Will for Half). This effect only affects living creautres and cannot be used to heal undead.

Cost: 56,000 normally. I'd say, 30,000 gp.

It deals roughly as much damage as a +4 weapon (32k); can't be power-attacked with, but is a touch attack and there's a will save for half damage.

Hmm, maybe even 25k would be fair.

Any player buying one of these won't be buying a weapon, and it's a spell...but it's a touch attack, meaning rogues could SA with it.

Let's make it a standard action to use; you only get one a round anyway.

Really, I only see this item being used by a Wizard who needs something to take out a mook.

The cleric will have more BaB and thus attacks; the Druid will have more attacks from wild-shaping into creautres with lots of natural attacks. So that leaves this item to the Wizard.

[User3]

One of the most popular magical items for many 3.0 playing years (and early 3.5 playing years) was the Blindfold of True Darkness located in the A&EG.

It was a hideously undercosted item that granted 60' blindsight (not blindsense, mind you) with a minor drawback that could easily be worked around. All for a measly 9,000 GP.

Once 3.5 came about and DMs started getting savvy to the revised magic item creation rules, they realized how stupidly cheap the item was and slapped on their own revised cost for the Blindfold. Which, FWIC, was around 18-30K depending on the DM. Nobody used the Blindfold anymore after that.

So ....

Is a newly revised Blindfold of True Darkness in the new Compendium?

[NineInchNall]

Even your rod is a little too expensive for what it does.

By the time a Wizard could afford the extra cash to buy a rod of grievous wounds after buying the things that he really needs, he could just cast a persistent wraithstrike or somesuch and be done with it.

I mean, at level 13-15, are you really going to spend 25k on this? I'm pretty sure I could find something else to buy.

[Judging__Eagle]

Well, no, I honestly can't say that I would get one.

I dunno, 10k to 15k gp? That's Wish-able at least.

There's also no limit on uses, unlike Wraithstrike (unless you persist it, but w/e).

[NineInchNall]

Of course, wraithstrike's primary purpose is allowing the caster to Power Attack for massive amounts.

I ... I don't know what an appropriate cost would be, to tell the truth. At most levels, a character would be better off either investing in upgrading one of his existing items or saving for said upgrade, which just brings us back to the issue of the necessity of buying the damn ... necessities.

[Judging__Eagle]

Well, most .... wait, anyone can Power Attack or rather should be able to.

I dunno. Let people be able to power-attack with this, but it's no longer a touch attack?

It's at least as heavy as a light mace, but could be a heavy mace.

[dbb]

1173221544[/unixtime]]Sometimes, the hero is a kid with a magic sword.

Sometimes, the hero is a great warrior who can make anything deadly.

Our problem here is that D&D defined these as different, when mechanically, they are the same.

In fact, I'd go a little further: one of the main problems with D&D today iin general is the confusion between mechanics and special effects.

--d.

[dbb]

1173794137[/unixtime]]Well, most .... wait, anyone can Power Attack or rather should be able to.

I dunno. Let people be able to power-attack with this, but it's no longer a touch attack?

It's at least as heavy as a light mace, but could be a heavy mace.

You can't power attack with a light weapon (well, you can, but you don't get the damage bonus). Make it strike as a light weapon, problem solved.

--d.

[Judging__Eagle]

Well, I did say heavy mace. >_>

[NineInchNall]

You gotta ask yourself when 4d8+7 is level approriate damage, and then price the thing accordingly, because it's just a waste of an action if the damage isn't appropriate to the level.

Let's see, 4d8+7 averages 25, and it's got a save for half and isn't effective against nonliving creatures, so we'll say that those restrictions balance the fact that it's a touch attack. So when is a typical melee character doing 25 damage a round before attack probabilities are factored in? Um...

Barbarian 6, Strength 16, greatsword+1, in a rage. Since rage raises his attack bonus by 2, he can Power Attack for 2 and still reliably hit. He makes two attacks at +6/+1, dealing 2d6+1+7+4 (19 average) damage on each swing. With two swings he gets 32 damage over the course of the round.

How about pricing it for a level 7 character? That'd be level appropriate.

Maybe.

[Brobdingnagian]

Back along the lines of the "Big Six Fix"...

The most mechanically balanced idea I've come up with, using the previous suggestions as a basis, is...

A character wielding a masterwork weapon or natural weapon has an enhancement bonus on that weapon equal to 1/4 their BAB, rounded down. Obviously, this doesn't come into effect until 4th level. This makes martial characters reach +5, skilled characters/divine casters reach +3, and arcanists reach +2. +2 at 20th level isn't something anyone cares about, and arcanists typically don't care about attack bonus anyway.

A character has an enhancement bonus to their natural armour equal to 1/4 their total character level, rounded down. Again, not coming into effect until 4th level. Originally I though to enhance them for regular armour even if they were wearing clothing, but then I thought that was dumb, since this comes from the character themselves, so I made it natural armour.

A character has a resistance bonus to all saving throws equal to 1/4 their total character level, rounded down. Do I even need to put in the last part anymore?

At 5th level, a character gains a +2 enhancement bonus to one ability score of their choice. At 10th level, the previously enhanced ability score increases by 2, and the character gains a +2 enhancement bonus to two more ability scores of their choice. At 15th level, all previous enhancement bonuses increase by 2, and the character gains a +2 enhancement bonus to their other three ability scores. At 20th level, all enhancement bonuses increase by 2. The total progression would look like this...

5th: +2/0/0/0/0/0
10th: +4/+2/+2/0/0/0
15th: +6/+4/+4/+2/+2/+2
20th: +8/+6/+6/+4/+4/+4

Technically +8 is supposed to be epic, but twentieth level is the "Let's get epic even though we're really not" level, so I hardly see that it matters.

To finish up, further enhancement bonuses can be bought as normal, in case you want to get something you can't through level progression (I'ma wizard with a +5 greatsword! ph3ar me!), so we still have to pay the price for really cool stuff in our secondary abilities if we want it.

What do you guys think? Too broken? Not powerful enough? Too many numbers?

[Leress]

Part 3 is up
http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20070316a

[Judging__Eagle]

Fine, NiN, the item has always, and will always suck.

Only getting it for free in a wish economy makes it viable.

[NineInchNall]

Gotta love that wish economy. It certainly makes the game a little easier to play.

"Ya know, we could really use some spell foci."

"What do you need?"

"Oh, a 1,500 gp jade circlet, for star-"

BAM

"Here ya go."

"Man, and I was bummed because we'd have to waste another session haggling with townsfolk. Woohoo! Now we can get to the game!"

[Judging__Eagle]

Hell, yeah.

The only reason the Non-RoW characters I write up don't blow ass is b/c more DMs can accept the Wish economy than almost anything else Frank and K have written up.

Mostly b/c I tell them this: "Well, you know... I can't actually buy anything over 15,000 gp.

So, all of those broken +3 swords and +4 armours? You know, no one can buy them, they'll have to burn xp or go and fight ppl for them."

The fact that Magic-Wal-Mart only sells 'wooden nickels' is what keeps them happy, since you won't be popping out really expensive shit on them.

Of course, I don't tell them that my wizard wishes for staffs with less than full charges, wands with the same and nearly unlimited scrolls.

Or the fact that my martial characters pack a nice selection of +1 Bane weapons a variety of material flavours (normally people don't grab a +1 Adamantine Construct Bane longsword, but if it's free, take it, and a +1 undead bane adamantine morningstar & longsword and a bunch of other stuff).

[RandomCasualty]

1174023869[/unixtime]]
What do you guys think? Too broken? Not powerful enough? Too many numbers?

The only thing I don't like is that it all happens at the same level. So like at level 3 you've got no bonuses, and at level 4 you're looking at +1 saves, attack, damage and AC.

I'd really prefer the bonuses be spread out a bit more.

[Judging__Eagle]

1174075203[/unixtime]]

1174023869[/unixtime]]
What do you guys think? Too broken? Not powerful enough? Too many numbers?

The only thing I don't like is that it all happens at the same level. So like at level 3 you've got no bonuses, and at level 4 you're looking at +1 saves, attack, damage and AC.

I'd really prefer the bonuses be spread out a bit more.

But that is sort of what happens in normal play anyway.

At lvl 4-5 you can afford your first +2 stat item.

Which is what the system replicates.

I'd wager that throwing in the following pre-requisites:

1. You have to wear masterwork quality clothing (ie. 50 gp+) in a slot to get the +2 and it's an enhancement bonus

Also, you can't benefit from the stats if you're wearing an other item you don't get the benefit.

2. If you're not wearing clothing in the slot or you don't want the magic you get a +1 bonus as an Ex ability.

Would help tone it down a bit.

So, the heroes wear awesome clothes, since they're heroes. However, even without their clothese they're still more bad-ass than the average person.

[Brobdingnagian]

It happens all at the same level because it represents an increase in your character's abilities via experience. This is the shit that happens in the stories, and that's what we're replicating with D&D. Also, see above statement by JE.

Also, JE, be a little more clear on your wording. You have a tendency to be redundant when you type. It makes things confusing.

So...

What you're saying is they have to have a MWK item to apply the stat enhancement bonuses to, and if you don't have the item the bonuses are halved?

[Judging__Eagle]

Yeah, sort of mixing in my and Clikml's methods.

Heroes are defined as wearing amazing looking gear; and they also kick ass.

But not always b/c of their gear.

So, gear makes you a full on hero, no gear makes you still bad-ass, until you can get tools that fit the task.