Hello everyone, I'm a new DM and am still learning how to do a session and a campaign overall. One thing I'm having trouble with item scaling to player level. Obviously, I think it would not be best to give a player a legendary item at the beginning of the game. However, I am having trouble and would like some advice on item scaling so that my players are not constantly behind with underpowered weapons and equipment, but at the same time I want to know how much is too much.
One thing to remember is, mathematically, this edition is designed so that a level 20 character can still be effective with the same old mundane weapon they picked up at 1st level. They'll have problems with overcoming resistances, but otherwise, they should, generally, still be able to hit pretty reliably. So underpowered is much less of a problem than overpowered. Magic items are cool and fun, but not necessary as they were in past editions. Be judicious in giving them out, because if you give them something too good, it's really tough to take back, and can unbalance things for a few levels until they catch up to the item's power.
Beyond that, there's a chart in the DMG. Generally, you would only give common and uncommon to T1 characters. At level 5 you can give them rare, very rare at 11 and legendary at 17. Now, the magic item rarity ratings can be hit or miss, so you'll need to use your own judgement, but that's a decent starting point/guideline.
Thank you, i’m still reading through the player handbook and haven’t gotten to the DMG yet. I pretty much became the DM because myself and my players are either new or know very little about DnD
Thank you, i’m still reading through the player handbook and haven’t gotten to the DMG yet. I pretty much became the DM because myself and my players are either new or know very little about DnD
Lots of us start that way. Just remember, if everyone (including you) is having fun, you’re doing it right. Even if you don’t necessarily follow the rules.
As you get more experience, you'll learn what you need to do to challenge your players and keep the game fun. Even experienced DMs have a bit of a learning curve with each party as the players figure out how to play their characters and gain new abilities. You're in good company.
Regarding your fears of having the party be underpowered, if you find that they are consistently having a tough time with combat encounters (or you know you have a really strong baddie coming up you want to equip them for), you can give them magic items that address issues they've demonstrated. For example, an Amulet of Health would help a squishy PC with a low CON score. The best way to avoid PCs repeatedly getting their butts kicked, however, is to be mindful of the strength of the monsters you throw at them and be prepared to adjust things on the fly if the fight is turning out harder than you wanted.
If you find you have over-equipped your players by being liberal with powerful magic items, you can always punch harder: add more monsters, increase their HP pools, give them legendary actions/resistances, add lair effects, increase their attack bonuses, increase their damage bonuses, throw higher CR monsters at them...you have a lot of tools at your disposal.
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Hello everyone, I'm a new DM and am still learning how to do a session and a campaign overall. One thing I'm having trouble with item scaling to player level. Obviously, I think it would not be best to give a player a legendary item at the beginning of the game. However, I am having trouble and would like some advice on item scaling so that my players are not constantly behind with underpowered weapons and equipment, but at the same time I want to know how much is too much.
One thing to remember is, mathematically, this edition is designed so that a level 20 character can still be effective with the same old mundane weapon they picked up at 1st level. They'll have problems with overcoming resistances, but otherwise, they should, generally, still be able to hit pretty reliably. So underpowered is much less of a problem than overpowered. Magic items are cool and fun, but not necessary as they were in past editions. Be judicious in giving them out, because if you give them something too good, it's really tough to take back, and can unbalance things for a few levels until they catch up to the item's power.
Beyond that, there's a chart in the DMG. Generally, you would only give common and uncommon to T1 characters. At level 5 you can give them rare, very rare at 11 and legendary at 17. Now, the magic item rarity ratings can be hit or miss, so you'll need to use your own judgement, but that's a decent starting point/guideline.
Thank you, i’m still reading through the player handbook and haven’t gotten to the DMG yet. I pretty much became the DM because myself and my players are either new or know very little about DnD
Lots of us start that way. Just remember, if everyone (including you) is having fun, you’re doing it right. Even if you don’t necessarily follow the rules.
As you get more experience, you'll learn what you need to do to challenge your players and keep the game fun. Even experienced DMs have a bit of a learning curve with each party as the players figure out how to play their characters and gain new abilities. You're in good company.
Regarding your fears of having the party be underpowered, if you find that they are consistently having a tough time with combat encounters (or you know you have a really strong baddie coming up you want to equip them for), you can give them magic items that address issues they've demonstrated. For example, an Amulet of Health would help a squishy PC with a low CON score. The best way to avoid PCs repeatedly getting their butts kicked, however, is to be mindful of the strength of the monsters you throw at them and be prepared to adjust things on the fly if the fight is turning out harder than you wanted.
If you find you have over-equipped your players by being liberal with powerful magic items, you can always punch harder: add more monsters, increase their HP pools, give them legendary actions/resistances, add lair effects, increase their attack bonuses, increase their damage bonuses, throw higher CR monsters at them...you have a lot of tools at your disposal.