So my party of 8 has just completed the first main quest and so leveled from 2-3, as one of the rewards for the quest the bugbears +1 short sword was picked up and actually taken by the barbarian that it almost killed :). I have tweaked this magic item slightly and made it an item that requires attunement, partly to introduce the new players to the concept of attunement in game.
But I am intrigued if other DMs would feel that level 3 is too low for a +1 sword? What are your rules of thumb for making +1 +2 and +3 weapons available?
I usually do 3-6 for +1, 8-11 for +1, and 13-15 for +3.
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My 'rule of thumb' is to never give out a +1 sword. However my 3 lvl PCs could find the sword Earth-thorn that is said to be a created by an eaerh-elemental ages ago as a gift to a great hero... And Earth-thorn could very well have a +1 bonus :-)
The "custom" way to create magic items in the DM's guide is actually quite good. You don't need to follow it, but it can give you a lot of good inspiration to make magic items into more than just bonuses.
My 'rule of thumb' is to never give out a +1 sword. However my 3 lvl PCs could find the sword Earth-thorn that is said to be a created by an eaerh-elemental ages ago as a gift to a great hero... And Earth-thorn could very well have a +1 bonus :-)
The "custom" way to create magic items in the DM's guide is actually quite good. You don't need to follow it, but it can give you a lot of good inspiration to make magic items into more than just bonuses.
Just to confirm this is a sundering blade forged by the weapon smiths of Thelia (one of the nations in my world), it’s keen edge never needs sharpening and it seems to glow with a luster that never fades and slice through armor far easier when held by its owner :)
Just to confirm this is a subdwrinf blade forged by the weapon smiths of Thelia (one of the nations in my world), it’s keen edge never needs sharpening and it seems to flow with a luster that never fades when held by its owner :)
I would take that over a +1 sword any day. Also creating custom weapons is really easy here on Dndbeyond, and players love them. Here you have Earththorn. It was made by rolling on the DM-guide tables and then just creating a tale: https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/1562957-earththorn
At level 7, I think everyone in my party now, finally, has a +1 weapon except the full casters. They found a dagger +1 at level 2, which the ranger uses in her off-hand. They found a special hand axe at level 4 that the rogue/fighter uses as a throwing axe, which is +1 in addition to some other things (it's called an Axe of the Sentry). The new PC in the party was allowed to take one magic item when she joined at level 6 and chose a +1 longsword (well, spatha, the Roman equivalent). The sorcerer had a Wand of Juno that gave him +1 to spell attacks, at level 5, but he gave that to a dragon in exchange for it not eating the party (along with some other magic items from the other party members).
So, although I didn't plan it, I would say, up to level 8, +1s... Probably level 9-15, +2s. Level 16+ for +3s, since +3 is max. I might lower it a little if it looks like the campaign won't get to 20 before it ends. Too early to tell at level 7 whether this will be the case.
EDIT: I also want to agree, thought, that I generally don't give simple +1 items, or frankly anything from the DMG. I am running a Roman-based campaign so when possible, I try to Romanize everything. Most of the magic items are named after a Roman god, such as the Wand of Juno, which was a reskinned Wand of the War Mage, or the Galdius of Diana, which is a reskinned Moon-touched Short-sword.
I've only DM'd pre-made modules and one-shots before, but in LMoP the characters are able to find a +1 sword at around level 3, and in that same area it's also possible to acquire a Staff of Defense, which is a great utility weapon for a Wizard.
To piggyback on everyone talking about giving weapons actual descriptions instead of just saying, " A better sword", nobody in my group actually used a sword at that point the campaign... I had a Wizard, a Cleric, a Bard, and a Ranger, so the only person attacking regularly was the Ranger, who favored a bow. So I swapped the +1 Sword for a +1 Longbow and described it as being made from a single Roc's feather, making it incredibly lightweight yet durable and exceptionally easy to aim.
Level 1 and up, Common or Uncommon items. +1 weapons
Level 5 and up, Rare items. +2 weapons
Level 11 and up, Very Rare items. +3 weapons
Level 17 and up, Legendary items. +3 weapons
Legendary weapons usually have names, lots of special properties, and require attunement. Weapons, +1,2, or 3 do not.
As always, the DM gets the final say. If they want to drop Artifact weapons in the hands of first level characters, that's fine. As long as everyone has fun.
Level 1 and up, Common or Uncommon items. +1 weapons
Level 5 and up, Rare items. +2 weapons
Level 11 and up, Very Rare items. +3 weapons
Level 17 and up, Legendary items. +3 weapons
Legendary weapons usually have names, lots of special properties, and require attunement. Weapons, +1,2, or 3 do not.
As always, the DM gets the final say. If they want to drop Artifact weapons in the hands of first level characters, that's fine. As long as everyone has fun.
I was lookin more for how DM’s do it vs what the books say, I generally don’t follow the books for a lot of stuff like this :). As for attunement I like to make more weapons attainable then not, makes players make decisions for that period of time as to what they will fit out with rather them just being able to switch in and out at will :). Another thing I do is make magic items attuneable up to a certain player level, so that +1 sword, when you reach level 10, you have enough control of its magic that you no longer need to a tune to it. Those goggles of dark vision, by level 3/4 they no longer need to be attuned to.
Level 1 and up, Common or Uncommon items. +1 weapons
Level 5 and up, Rare items. +2 weapons
Level 11 and up, Very Rare items. +3 weapons
Level 17 and up, Legendary items. +3 weapons
I suspect many DMs would argue that level 5 is rather too early for +2 items. But I think some of this recommendation comes from the fact that WOTC doesn't expect most campaigns to go much past level 12, so they figure you may as well go ahead and give the big items by then. If you reserve +3 to say level 15+, and you never get to level 16, then no one will ever get a +3 item.
A lot depends on whether you are doing a high, mid, or low-magic world. Eberron is going to have a different magic item frequency from, say, Oerth.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
My rule for this is pretty easy, tier 1 characters can get +1 magic weapons but have to specifically quest for something better. Tier 2 is +2 weapons and higher, after that, anything goes.
I try to avoid giving any one character something that will unbalance the combat to the point that they outshine other characters.
I would give them the +1 sword. For other guidelines, you can probably use the level recommendations for each level of item rarity, tweaking as needed to suit your campaign. It's probably best to give more magic items (or more powerful ones) to a smaller/weaker than average party. In the end, though, it is your choice.
I find the Dungeon Master's Guide a pretty good place to start for rules of thumb. Unless I have a good reason to change things I generally do not. I honestly was a little surprised when I did the research for my post. I had thought that you didn't start getting +1 stuff until 5th, +2 at 11th, and +3 at 17th and beyond. I doubt I will change things.
My campaign setting is a low magic one. You don't buy magic items from a vendor on the street, or even in a nice shop in the noble section. You get them from invitation only auctions held for the aristocracy and their guests, if you can buy them at all. The creation of magical items is a secret known only to a race of beings that vanished long ago, used primarily in a war against another race that is also long gone. Little is known about either. The people selling won't know the plus. There is no way to tell. Spells can give you hints at best. The sellers are likely to exaggerate in hopes of getting a bigger profit. Saying that a sword can cleave through the toughest armor, never grows dull, and cannot be broken, doesn't tell you what bonus it gives to hit and damage.
I want my players to value their items. My goal is to make the players feel that their characters are powerful and important even at first level. Heroic fantasy. Their magic items should come from trap laden tombs and lost cities filled with terrible creatures. The sorts of places only brave adventurers tend to go. An item obtained by mere gold isn't going to be as cool as one taken from the undead hand of its former wielder.
5th Edition dropped the plusses from +6 to +3. That gives me a lot less wiggle room and I may not have to be as tight fisted as I have been in the past. I plan to leave things as the DMG suggests for now and see how everyone likes it.
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So my party of 8 has just completed the first main quest and so leveled from 2-3, as one of the rewards for the quest the bugbears +1 short sword was picked up and actually taken by the barbarian that it almost killed :). I have tweaked this magic item slightly and made it an item that requires attunement, partly to introduce the new players to the concept of attunement in game.
But I am intrigued if other DMs would feel that level 3 is too low for a +1 sword? What are your rules of thumb for making +1 +2 and +3 weapons available?
I usually do 3-6 for +1, 8-11 for +1, and 13-15 for +3.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
My 'rule of thumb' is to never give out a +1 sword. However my 3 lvl PCs could find the sword Earth-thorn that is said to be a created by an eaerh-elemental ages ago as a gift to a great hero... And Earth-thorn could very well have a +1 bonus :-)
The "custom" way to create magic items in the DM's guide is actually quite good. You don't need to follow it, but it can give you a lot of good inspiration to make magic items into more than just bonuses.
Ludo ergo sum!
Just to confirm this is a sundering blade forged by the weapon smiths of Thelia (one of the nations in my world), it’s keen edge never needs sharpening and it seems to glow with a luster that never fades and slice through armor far easier when held by its owner :)
I would take that over a +1 sword any day. Also creating custom weapons is really easy here on Dndbeyond, and players love them. Here you have Earththorn. It was made by rolling on the DM-guide tables and then just creating a tale: https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/1562957-earththorn
Ludo ergo sum!
At level 7, I think everyone in my party now, finally, has a +1 weapon except the full casters. They found a dagger +1 at level 2, which the ranger uses in her off-hand. They found a special hand axe at level 4 that the rogue/fighter uses as a throwing axe, which is +1 in addition to some other things (it's called an Axe of the Sentry). The new PC in the party was allowed to take one magic item when she joined at level 6 and chose a +1 longsword (well, spatha, the Roman equivalent). The sorcerer had a Wand of Juno that gave him +1 to spell attacks, at level 5, but he gave that to a dragon in exchange for it not eating the party (along with some other magic items from the other party members).
So, although I didn't plan it, I would say, up to level 8, +1s... Probably level 9-15, +2s. Level 16+ for +3s, since +3 is max. I might lower it a little if it looks like the campaign won't get to 20 before it ends. Too early to tell at level 7 whether this will be the case.
EDIT: I also want to agree, thought, that I generally don't give simple +1 items, or frankly anything from the DMG. I am running a Roman-based campaign so when possible, I try to Romanize everything. Most of the magic items are named after a Roman god, such as the Wand of Juno, which was a reskinned Wand of the War Mage, or the Galdius of Diana, which is a reskinned Moon-touched Short-sword.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I've only DM'd pre-made modules and one-shots before, but in LMoP the characters are able to find a +1 sword at around level 3, and in that same area it's also possible to acquire a Staff of Defense, which is a great utility weapon for a Wizard.
To piggyback on everyone talking about giving weapons actual descriptions instead of just saying, " A better sword", nobody in my group actually used a sword at that point the campaign... I had a Wizard, a Cleric, a Bard, and a Ranger, so the only person attacking regularly was the Ranger, who favored a bow. So I swapped the +1 Sword for a +1 Longbow and described it as being made from a single Roc's feather, making it incredibly lightweight yet durable and exceptionally easy to aim.
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Dungeon Master's Guide. Chapter 7: Treasure. Magic Items. Rarity.
Level 1 and up, Common or Uncommon items. +1 weapons
Level 5 and up, Rare items. +2 weapons
Level 11 and up, Very Rare items. +3 weapons
Level 17 and up, Legendary items. +3 weapons
Legendary weapons usually have names, lots of special properties, and require attunement. Weapons, +1,2, or 3 do not.
As always, the DM gets the final say. If they want to drop Artifact weapons in the hands of first level characters, that's fine. As long as everyone has fun.
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I was lookin more for how DM’s do it vs what the books say, I generally don’t follow the books for a lot of stuff like this :). As for attunement I like to make more weapons attainable then not, makes players make decisions for that period of time as to what they will fit out with rather them just being able to switch in and out at will :). Another thing I do is make magic items attuneable up to a certain player level, so that +1 sword, when you reach level 10, you have enough control of its magic that you no longer need to a tune to it. Those goggles of dark vision, by level 3/4 they no longer need to be attuned to.
I suspect many DMs would argue that level 5 is rather too early for +2 items. But I think some of this recommendation comes from the fact that WOTC doesn't expect most campaigns to go much past level 12, so they figure you may as well go ahead and give the big items by then. If you reserve +3 to say level 15+, and you never get to level 16, then no one will ever get a +3 item.
A lot depends on whether you are doing a high, mid, or low-magic world. Eberron is going to have a different magic item frequency from, say, Oerth.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
My rule for this is pretty easy, tier 1 characters can get +1 magic weapons but have to specifically quest for something better. Tier 2 is +2 weapons and higher, after that, anything goes.
I try to avoid giving any one character something that will unbalance the combat to the point that they outshine other characters.
I would give them the +1 sword. For other guidelines, you can probably use the level recommendations for each level of item rarity, tweaking as needed to suit your campaign. It's probably best to give more magic items (or more powerful ones) to a smaller/weaker than average party. In the end, though, it is your choice.
I find the Dungeon Master's Guide a pretty good place to start for rules of thumb. Unless I have a good reason to change things I generally do not. I honestly was a little surprised when I did the research for my post. I had thought that you didn't start getting +1 stuff until 5th, +2 at 11th, and +3 at 17th and beyond. I doubt I will change things.
My campaign setting is a low magic one. You don't buy magic items from a vendor on the street, or even in a nice shop in the noble section. You get them from invitation only auctions held for the aristocracy and their guests, if you can buy them at all. The creation of magical items is a secret known only to a race of beings that vanished long ago, used primarily in a war against another race that is also long gone. Little is known about either. The people selling won't know the plus. There is no way to tell. Spells can give you hints at best. The sellers are likely to exaggerate in hopes of getting a bigger profit. Saying that a sword can cleave through the toughest armor, never grows dull, and cannot be broken, doesn't tell you what bonus it gives to hit and damage.
I want my players to value their items. My goal is to make the players feel that their characters are powerful and important even at first level. Heroic fantasy. Their magic items should come from trap laden tombs and lost cities filled with terrible creatures. The sorts of places only brave adventurers tend to go. An item obtained by mere gold isn't going to be as cool as one taken from the undead hand of its former wielder.
5th Edition dropped the plusses from +6 to +3. That gives me a lot less wiggle room and I may not have to be as tight fisted as I have been in the past. I plan to leave things as the DMG suggests for now and see how everyone likes it.
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