I haven't done it on purpose (I'm more likely to forget to give out loot than give too much), but capturing and imprisoning the PCs usually does a pretty good job of separating them from their ill-gotten gains.
As I said in your other thread, one of my go-to solutions is Suppress Magic (From the Conclave Dryad)
Suppress Magic (Recharge 5–6). The dryad targets one magic item it can see within 120 feet of it. If the magic item isn’t an artifact, its magical properties are suppressed for 10 minutes, until the dryad is incapacitated or dies, or until the dryad uses a bonus action to end the effect.
Failing that, simple anti-magic zones and/or maybe a rust monster like creature that can reduce the troublesome item into residuum that can be later harvested from the monster once killed so the players can maybe create a less annoying item.
Assuming you want the item removed from play permanently rather than for a single combat.
I would get the player on board, speak ot them OOC and apologise that the item was rather more powerful than you expected and for the sake of the game you think it should be taken out of play, hopefully they will accept this as. If they don't things will be awkward (options are you let them keep the item, they leave the game, or you end the campaign) but it would be worse if you just take the item off them in game without warning as you will also be railroading.
You could either make a secret plan with the player involved or just tell them that at some point in the near future they will be forced or better yet "choose" to lose access to the item. I think the later makes for a more iconic moment in game.
The item could unleash a huge amount of power if it is consumed, some items like staff of the magi or candle of invocation do this and you can homebrew something similar.
Have the player give it up in payment for some service from abn NPC. For example something happens that can only be resolved by a wish spell or divine intervention a high level wizard / cleric will help the party but only in exchange for the item.
Have it revealed that the magic item has a curse, this could be triggered by something that the player was not able to do at lower levels like cast an 4th level spell or do more than a certain amount of damage with a single hit (or even score a crit if they haven't had it long).
I have never done this, although I have reigned in some homebrew items that turned out to be stronger than anticipated. In that case, I just talked to the player and we agreed on how to tone it down.
I agree with Jegpeg in general that the player should be involved in these things. I'm not going to just say, "oh a rust monster suddenly eats your Sword of Awesomeness, too bad." That kind of thing makes the world feel fake, like anything they get might just be taken away if the DM feels like it.
A plot I ran had a Paladin find a magic sword, good bonuses and pretty useful. During the adventure they learnt more about it - someone recognised some of the patterns as being from an ancient religion so they found a library to translate. Another NPC recognised the craft work and the party found a swordsmith who could tell them about the crazy weaponsmith who made it. There were hints in texts that the party uncovered, etc., etc. Eventually, it turned out to be an important artifact that was used in locking away an ancient evil (a little like the One ring from the Hobbit to LotR). The paladin was more than happy to use it in the ceremony and lose it in the end.
So, you could make losing it an interesting side adventure, if you wanted.
Water bottomed pit traps, street thieves, any critter that eats magic items, side quests that require a sacrifice of the item to work, healers that demand payment, nobles seeking tribute…
the things I avoid at all costs:
capture/arrest and confiscation (unless there is a plot point around escape or they seriously break the law)
deus ex machina (the thief thing is close, but they can fail on a bad roll, and it might make them break the law)
changing the rules.
I used to be generous with coin and stingy on magic, and while I got better on coin, I got pointed on magic items. I usually know all the magic items they will even have a chance at getting before they start a segment, because if they have an item, they will need it at some point.
if the players make it, well, they make it. I just have to adapt and overcome, lol.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
You could try talking to your players about it. Something like, folks, sorry, I screwed up. I gave you too many too good items, and it’s making things really hard to balance. Either you all can give them up, or just not use them for a while, or I need to stop giving out new things for a while until you reach a point where the items are actually appropriate. And if we choose option 3, you’ll probably just steamroll most of the encounters and it may be kind of boring while that’s happening. Then see what they say. Talk about it as a group.
You could try talking to your players about it. Something like, folks, sorry, I screwed up. I gave you too many too good items, and it’s making things really hard to balance. Either you all can give them up, or just not use them for a while, or I need to stop giving out new things for a while until you reach a point where the items are actually appropriate. And if we choose option 3, you’ll probably just steamroll most of the encounters and it may be kind of boring while that’s happening. Then see what they say. Talk about it as a group.
Wait, what? Have a conversation? Where are the dice in that?!?!?!
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
You could try talking to your players about it. Something like, folks, sorry, I screwed up. I gave you too many too good items, and it’s making things really hard to balance. Either you all can give them up, or just not use them for a while, or I need to stop giving out new things for a while until you reach a point where the items are actually appropriate. And if we choose option 3, you’ll probably just steamroll most of the encounters and it may be kind of boring while that’s happening. Then see what they say. Talk about it as a group.
Wait, what? Have a conversation? Where are the dice in that?!?!?!
You could always homebrew a d100 chart to decide what to say next.
While not because it was too powerful or anything, but last had a magic item removed from the party is after an NPC went to the town council in Hommlet suspecting the party to have killed his missing friend, evidenced by them wearring its armor and magic sword. The party was taken in for questioning and admitted finding the dead body in a subterannean, and taking gears from it. They ended up restituting them to the friend to remain in good standing with the council.
If the goal is to permanently remove the item it's probably worth just saying look it's too powerful it needs to be weakened then say the magic has started to fade, it got damaged or it needs to be sacrificed for something. If you want to occasionally mix up combat when they become too reliant on certain weapons then there are options like immunities, spells like heat metal or monster abilities like the black pudding's corrosive form and the conclave dryad's magic suppression.
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What are some of the clever ways you've taken magic items out of play, once you realized you got a lil too giving earlier in the campaign?
I haven't done it on purpose (I'm more likely to forget to give out loot than give too much), but capturing and imprisoning the PCs usually does a pretty good job of separating them from their ill-gotten gains.
As I said in your other thread, one of my go-to solutions is Suppress Magic (From the Conclave Dryad)
Failing that, simple anti-magic zones and/or maybe a rust monster like creature that can reduce the troublesome item into residuum that can be later harvested from the monster once killed so the players can maybe create a less annoying item.
Assuming you want the item removed from play permanently rather than for a single combat.
I would get the player on board, speak ot them OOC and apologise that the item was rather more powerful than you expected and for the sake of the game you think it should be taken out of play, hopefully they will accept this as. If they don't things will be awkward (options are you let them keep the item, they leave the game, or you end the campaign) but it would be worse if you just take the item off them in game without warning as you will also be railroading.
You could either make a secret plan with the player involved or just tell them that at some point in the near future they will be forced or better yet "choose" to lose access to the item. I think the later makes for a more iconic moment in game.
I have never done this, although I have reigned in some homebrew items that turned out to be stronger than anticipated. In that case, I just talked to the player and we agreed on how to tone it down.
I agree with Jegpeg in general that the player should be involved in these things. I'm not going to just say, "oh a rust monster suddenly eats your Sword of Awesomeness, too bad." That kind of thing makes the world feel fake, like anything they get might just be taken away if the DM feels like it.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
A plot I ran had a Paladin find a magic sword, good bonuses and pretty useful. During the adventure they learnt more about it - someone recognised some of the patterns as being from an ancient religion so they found a library to translate. Another NPC recognised the craft work and the party found a swordsmith who could tell them about the crazy weaponsmith who made it. There were hints in texts that the party uncovered, etc., etc. Eventually, it turned out to be an important artifact that was used in locking away an ancient evil (a little like the One ring from the Hobbit to LotR). The paladin was more than happy to use it in the ceremony and lose it in the end.
So, you could make losing it an interesting side adventure, if you wanted.
Water bottomed pit traps, street thieves, any critter that eats magic items, side quests that require a sacrifice of the item to work, healers that demand payment, nobles seeking tribute…
the things I avoid at all costs:
capture/arrest and confiscation (unless there is a plot point around escape or they seriously break the law)
deus ex machina (the thief thing is close, but they can fail on a bad roll, and it might make them break the law)
changing the rules.
I used to be generous with coin and stingy on magic, and while I got better on coin, I got pointed on magic items. I usually know all the magic items they will even have a chance at getting before they start a segment, because if they have an item, they will need it at some point.
if the players make it, well, they make it. I just have to adapt and overcome, lol.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
You could try talking to your players about it. Something like, folks, sorry, I screwed up. I gave you too many too good items, and it’s making things really hard to balance. Either you all can give them up, or just not use them for a while, or I need to stop giving out new things for a while until you reach a point where the items are actually appropriate. And if we choose option 3, you’ll probably just steamroll most of the encounters and it may be kind of boring while that’s happening.
Then see what they say. Talk about it as a group.
Wait, what? Have a conversation? Where are the dice in that?!?!?!
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
You could always homebrew a d100 chart to decide what to say next.
While not because it was too powerful or anything, but last had a magic item removed from the party is after an NPC went to the town council in Hommlet suspecting the party to have killed his missing friend, evidenced by them wearring its armor and magic sword. The party was taken in for questioning and admitted finding the dead body in a subterannean, and taking gears from it. They ended up restituting them to the friend to remain in good standing with the council.
If the goal is to permanently remove the item it's probably worth just saying look it's too powerful it needs to be weakened then say the magic has started to fade, it got damaged or it needs to be sacrificed for something. If you want to occasionally mix up combat when they become too reliant on certain weapons then there are options like immunities, spells like heat metal or monster abilities like the black pudding's corrosive form and the conclave dryad's magic suppression.