Hello all,

I am looking to see if anybody has broken down magic items and assigned a number to things it does to come up with a total number which can be used to determine how powerful or weak the item is and if it should be given to a player at a given level. For example:    power # = (damage dice × X) + (value of damage type × Y) + (value for an AC bost × Z) + (value for if it gives a spell × A).....

Where these values are given to represent how powerful that attribute is. Then multiplied by a value to show how important that value is overall.

Well you could look at the Sane Magic Items price list. Supposedly the author built the "power" of each item into the cost, so something really powerful/useful is a lot more expensive than something weaker. The GP would be your "power #".

Nope, because this isn't Champions/Fantasy HERO.

Not sure how what game it is matters. This is a system to make sure that a custom home brew magic item isn't to op or if the level the players are at should have a given item. 

This isn't a way to boil down weapons to a number and that is the amount of damage it uses. That would defeat the entire fun of the game. 

Think it wouldn’t be that helpful.  idea of homebrew is that you’re making something new and therefore very well might not be part of an existing chart.

Exactly that is why I am looking for some kind of basic codified equation. That I can put an item through to get that info out. For example if an item would give you the ability to cast fly once per long rest might be a 1 where an item that gives you +1AC might be a 5 then a weapon that is a d6 fire damage might be 6 + 1 and a weapon that does d6 psychic damage might be 6 + 2. Everything would have some kind of number associated to it and based on that you get a total. So then when you put a costume item through that same equation it would spit out a number and if you are looking for a level 5 weapon but it come out higher than a given number you would know it needs to be tweaked.

I think the closest thing would be item rarity for official stuff.  But I’ve heard a lot of those were based on gut feelings of game developers rather than some kind of formula. 
And it’s tough to put in a formula since it’s going to be situational. A flame tongue will be great against an ice troll, not because of damage, but because it stops regeneration. And against a red dragon, it’s basically just a sword. It’s tough to capture that with math, sometimes just use your gut. 

Quote from Kingofcomidy1 >>

Exactly that is why I am looking for some kind of basic codified equation. That I can put an item through to get that info out. For example if an item would give you the ability to cast fly once per long rest might be a 1 where an item that gives you +1AC might be a 5 then a weapon that is a d6 fire damage might be 6 + 1 and a weapon that does d6 psychic damage might be 6 + 2. Everything would have some kind of number associated to it and based on that you get a total. So then when you put a costume item through that same equation it would spit out a number and if you are looking for a level 5 weapon but it come out higher than a given number you would know it needs to be tweaked.

 That's what I was talking about.

In the end it doesn't matter how good an item is. Xalthu also made a very valid point that not every item is equal for certain properties. I think 4e had something like that and look where it ended up.

It is up to the GM to decide what to give out and how it will affect the campaign. 

I

So clearly this hasn't been done or tried so I will work on it and post what I come up with. 

For those that say it can't be done I just think you don't understand what I am getting at. Which is my fault for a poor explanation. But if we as humans have found a way to codify and group behavior and personality which is extremely complex something as simple as codifying parts of a game can be done. Yes there will be outliers that will not fit into the system but that is the case with all things. 

Give me some time and I will try it out and post my results here.

You will have a lot of trouble (or at least a lot of dissent) if you try.  How do you codify the effects of a immovable rod?  it is a utility item, and that utility will vary depending on the situation.  I had a campaign where the party got one at level 2....never got used until the final BBEG battle at level 7 and it likely saved their skin (by blocking a door and preventing a pincer movement by enemies when the party accidently cornered themselves in a building).  prior to that moment, the rod might have been a 1...in that moment it was a 10.

The closest D&D comes to this is item rarity.  Honestly that is enough, and I can't see the benefit of anything more specific

Well hey, if you want to try it go ahead. If it's for your personal enjoyment fire away! It will be sure to generate some discussion if you post it.

I honestly think you can find a better outlet for your creative juices. I wouldn't even know where to start. A single item has different value depending on who uses it, how do you put a single number to it? Great Sword in the hands of a max STR Goliath Fighter with Great Weapon Master = awesome! Great Sword in the hands of a 8 STR gnome wizard = garbage.

5e has super low resolution rarity rules for a reason. There are some rules of thumb in the DMG, but they fairly deliberately eliminated more detailed rules. You could probably port rules over from 3.5e, but those rules were sorta broken in 3.5e, which is why they got tossed to the wayside in 5e.