Have you ever thought to yourself, hey, if PCs are meant to get magic weapons around 5th level, then why don't PCs get magic weapons around 5th level?
Well, it would be weird to give them out as class features, right? That would be wacky and nonsensical. Only Artificers should get features like that, because their features specifically give them the power to create the items. Imagine if a class feature were to just say that you have some kind of special item that gives you additional powers. Wouldn't that be totally wild and crazy?
Imagine no longer, my friends.
THE NEW AND IMPROVED FIGHTER CLASS
It's the same as the old Fighter class, except at every level where you used to get the Ability Score Improvement feature, instead you get a brand-new, completely unique feature called Obtain Magic Item.
Obtain Magic Item: When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you obtain a magic item of your choice from the Magic Item Compendium. You can obtain a magic item only once, unless the item's description says otherwise. You must meet any prerequisite specified in a magic item to obtain that magic item. If you ever lose a magic item's prerequisite, you can’t use that magic item until you regain the prerequisite.
And every other class is exactly the same way.
THE MAGIC ITEM COMPENDIUM
Ring of Superiority These magic rings feature gemstones that reflect the ability scores somehow. Like it's blue for Intelligence or whatever your headcanon is. You get it. Choose one or two ability scores. While wearing the ring, if you chose one ability score, that ability score is increased by 2. If you chose two, they're both increased by 1. The scores can't go above 20 this way.
Mask of the Muse These masks usually come in laughing and crying expressions. While wearing the mask,
Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You have advantage on Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Performance) checks when trying to pass yourself off as a different person.
You can mimic the speech of another person or the sounds made by other creatures. You must have heard the person speaking, or heard the creature make the sound, for at least 1 minute. A successful Wisdom (Insight) check contested by your Charisma (Deception) check allows a listener to determine that the effect is faked.
Ever-Sharp Blade Any kind of bladed weapon can be an Ever-Sharp Blade. Choose one when you acquire it. While carrying the weapon on your person,
You can make a running long jump or a running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, rather than 10 feet.
You can see what I'm doing here, dear reader. I needn't continue further. And yet! Boots of the Minotaur Eagle-Eye Crossbow Saber of Peerless Defense Mantle of Bladefury Inspector's Lens Periapt of Hardiness Elementalist's Wand Gloves of Uselessness The Best Defense Salves of Salvation Amulet of the Knight Helm of Endurance Banner of Courage Ioun Stone of Awareness Amulet of the Skirmisher Linguist's Codebook Rock of Good Luck (Luckrock) Magebane Weapon Initiate's Robes Martial Badge Mythryl Armor Boots of Quickness Amulet of the Warrior Saddle of the Chevalier Circlet of Quick Study Whirling Polearm Ioun Stone of Protectiveness Ritual Master's Tome Savage Weapon Sentinel Weapon Arrows of Sharpshooting Bulwark Shield Ioun Stone of Skillfulness Seeking Wand Gloves of Brawling Periapt of Ruggedness Spell Shield / Spell Weapon Bonded Panoply
The bad: It takes away the fun "whatamigonnaget" of magic items. It removes the biggest way for players to spend their money. It removes DM agency. It means that players can simply lose their class features. It largely removes the possibility of feats being subtle (how much will advantage on Deception help when you're wearing a theatre mask?). It removes the possibility of a low-magic campaign. It means other people might pressure you to give them your class features. It somewhat dents the feeling of characters progressing and learning. It doesn't always make sense (especially with Fighters getting more items than anybody else, at times when nobody else gets them).
The good: It removes DM agency?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
The bad: It takes away the fun "whatamigonnaget" of magic items.
Only if the DM never gives any out as loot! I'm gonna rip into your comment here but it's not personal, you just raised all the points I want to address.
As an aside, it's been my experience that DMs are adopting a sort of "choose your starting item" stance that even extends beyond character generation. I've heard advice like "have your players make a wishlist." But I mean it's not like you need to, really -- Fighting Styles and GWM/SS do plenty to tell you exactly what your players want (and DON'T want) as loot. So... Eh?
It removes the biggest way for players to spend their money.
5e doesn't seem to want players buying magic items anyway. But there's no reason you can't still do that. I would actually suggest a certain collection of magic items that can ONLY be bought or found, never chosen. These should be the wacky ones like Wand of Wonder or Bag of Beans, the consumables like Potion of Speed or Bag of Beans, and the ones that have a likelihood to affect the narrative directly, like Sending Stones or Bag of Beans. I'm not a big fan of having +1 wands as "choices." Hopefully my punctuation communicates why.
It means that players can simply lose their class features.
Yes, at the same rate that they lose standard magic items. Look out, because there's even one monster with the ability to steal or destroy them! Not that they need any, because disarm is a default rule. Wait... I think I slipped in from a parallel universe...
It largely removes the possibility of feats being subtle (how much will advantage on Deception help when you're wearing a theatre mask?).
Okay, you can just be carrying the mask. Should feats be subtle though? I don't really get this point.
It removes the possibility of a low-magic campaign.
That's true.
Plenty of other things in 5e are already making that pretty difficult though.
It means other people might pressure you to give them your class features.
Yeah, but that's easy enough to fix. You have to attune now, and you have slots equal to your number of Obtain Magic Item features. Since you have to meet the prerequisites, you should really just have picked the ones you wanted rather than trying to get someone else's. Boom.
It somewhat dents the feeling of characters progressing and learning.
I'm not convinced. Feats come out of nowhere, and besides, no D&D character actually trains or studies for anything. They just level up in a cave and suddenly know how to cast Fireball. I don't think you can damage what's already been pulverized into subatomic dust.
It doesn't always make sense (especially with Fighters getting more items than anybody else, at times when nobody else gets them).
Yeah, I guess. I think it's simple enough to handwave away though. See previous: Under current rules, my Fighter is allowed to suddenly decide he's been Touched by the Fey and get magic spells, even if the Feywild hasn't been mentioned once in the campaign. We ignore plenty of silliness and pretend it makes sense because it plays better. Of course, the impetus is on me to prove this would, in fact, play better.
The good: It removes DM agency?
That's one way to put it. Alternatively, it removes the burden on the DM to magically intuit which of the same-rarity items are superior, carefully manage loot distribution to ensure the party is all on equal enough footing to have fun, and monitor every new book their players buy for more magic items to add to their growing mental catalogue. In other words it lessens the degree to which the DM must act as an on-the-fly game designer, fixing difficulty spikes and valleys with emergency patches. It gives players back the control over whether or not their character is any good. It adds a physical-description element to character creation and advancement, which is sorely lacking except in a few oddball cases (Clockwork Soul, Path of the Totem Warrior). Perhaps most importantly of all, it gets the archaic version of the word "feat" out of circulation. (That's a joke. I've learned that no one cares about that one but me.)
Edit: Perhaps you could say it takes a practice we're already doing (giving players the specific items they want) and strips away the icky feeling that we're cheating or doing something wrong somehow. Or that we're making some kind of mistake that goes against the Very Rigid And Load-Bearing I Promise rules framework that is, admittedly, pretty vast and pretty extensively tested (certainly compared to what any one of us has done) so I totally understand when people default to assuming the game developers are smarter than them.
I'm gonna rip into your comment here but it's not personal, you just raised all the points I want to address.
Rip away!
It removes the biggest way for players to spend their money.
5e doesn't seem to want players buying magic items anyway. But there's no reason you can't still do that. I would actually suggest a certain collection of magic items that can ONLY be bought or found, never chosen. These should be the wacky ones like Wand of Wonder or Bag of Beans, the consumables like Potion of Speed or Bag of Beans, and the ones that have a likelihood to affect the narrative directly, like Sending Stones or Bag of Beans. I'm not a big fan of having +1 wands as "choices." Hopefully my punctuation communicates why.
I dunno about you, but I've seen a fair few magic shops in my time. Anyways, I'm not sure if a shorter list of things like that would be quite the same.
It means that players can simply lose their class features.
Yes, at the same rate that they lose standard magic items. Look out, because there's even one monster with the ability to steal or destroy them! Not that they need any, because disarm is a default rule. Wait... I think I slipped in from a parallel universe...
Items are put at various risks in the life of an adventurer. Confiscation, thievery, destruction, bargaining, thievery, and improvised projectile usage all come to mind.
It largely removes the possibility of feats being subtle (how much will advantage on Deception help when you're wearing a theatre mask?).
Okay, you can just be carrying the mask. Should feats be subtle though? I don't really get this point.
It was a very minor point. I just figure it might sometimes be nice to not advertise to everybody "I have an ability!" with a big belt or whatever.
It somewhat dents the feeling of characters progressing and learning.
I'm not convinced. Feats come out of nowhere, and besides, no D&D character actually trains or studies for anything. They just level up in a cave and suddenly know how to cast Fireball. I don't think you can damage what's already been pulverized into subatomic dust.
What I mean to say is that it doesn't feel like a virtue of a character. There's something fundamentally different about a character becoming a Great Weapon Master compared to a character getting a Sword of Subtract 5 to Hit but Add 10 to Damage.
It doesn't always make sense (especially with Fighters getting more items than anybody else, at times when nobody else gets them).
Yeah, I guess. I think it's simple enough to handwave away though. See previous: Under current rules, my Fighter is allowed to suddenly decide he's been Touched by the Fey and get magic spells, even if the Feywild hasn't been mentioned once in the campaign. We ignore plenty of silliness and pretend it makes sense because it plays better. Of course, the impetus is on me to prove this would, in fact, play better.
Well, the thing is I kinda hate that sort of thing. Flavor existing only to support mechanics is simply the wrong way around. Fey Touched is a good example, but I'd also like to point out all the Paladins suddenly finding and making pacts with sentient swords made of shadow. Yuck.
The good: It removes DM agency?
That's one way to put it. Alternatively, it removes the burden on the DM to magically intuit which of the same-rarity items are superior, carefully manage loot distribution to ensure the party is all on equal enough footing to have fun, and monitor every new book their players buy for more magic items to add to their growing mental catalogue. In other words it lessens the degree to which the DM must act as an on-the-fly game designer, fixing difficulty spikes and valleys with emergency patches. It gives players back the control over whether or not their character is any good. It adds a physical-description element to character creation and advancement, which is sorely lacking except in a few oddball cases (Clockwork Soul, Path of the Totem Warrior). Perhaps most importantly of all, it gets the archaic version of the word "feat" out of circulation. (That's a joke. I've learned that no one cares about that one but me.)
I feel like a more comprehensive CR/encounter budget system that accounts for magic items would be a better solution to fluctuating power than getting rid of most or all things that make the power fluctuate. Anyways, I don't think that physical description has to (or should) be determined by mechanics.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
It just doesn’t feel right to me. Plus, even artificers have to allocate a limited resource for aa finite number of temporary magic items. Giving magic items out to everyone for free as class features just doesn’t jive for me. Magic items acquired through adventuring are earned somehow. Plus there’s no mechanical explanation for where they come from. I mean do they just pull them outta their butts or something? It breaks verisimilitude. I see where you’re coming from, and where you’re going with this, I just don’t think it’s a very elegant solution for something I don’t think is a problem.
At least, it’s not a problem for me at any rate, both myself and the other DM at my table are inclined to include fairly cool magic items fairly early. Kinda like how Conan found the Sword of Crom almost immediately after gaining his freedom. Or like how Arthur pulled Clarent from the stone while he was still young, long before getting Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. And most of the other DMs I’ve played with have been really good at placing cool magic items in their games as well. I’m curious, is there something particular which prompts your proposal?
It somewhat dents the feeling of characters progressing and learning.
I know this was already dismissed, but I think there's an important distinction between internal and external growth. Which are represented by feats and magic items, respectively. I do think there is a difference in how it feels to have the effects of Alert coming from your own training and expertise versus getting them through a weapon you found.
In fact, I've been known to do pretty much the opposite of this in many cases, granting intrinsic abilities through the guise of grandmaster training or magical infusion in the place of a magic item. To me it just feels more... heroic. The feelings that arise from finding and using powerful magical artifacts are great too, and should be included in the game, but I think having both is best.
Feats come out of nowhere, and besides, no D&D character actually trains or studies for anything. They just level up in a cave and suddenly know how to cast Fireball.
This is based entirely on how you describe your game. Our group assumes that during rests and downtime, you are actively progressing towards your next feats and/or features - working out new spells, practicing your swordwork, whatever. I thought this was actually stated somewhere, but if not it's a fairly obvious way to reconcile the way these things happen.
At any rate, if your group prefers "external" versus "internal" power or it better fits your campaign, I am fully behind the idea that feats and magic items can be interchangeable as packets of benefits and this could be a way to handle progression. I would just be cognizant that how the way these packages are presented does affect how the game feels to the players.
Feats come out of nowhere, and besides, no D&D character actually trains or studies for anything. They just level up in a cave and suddenly know how to cast Fireball.
This is based entirely on how you describe your game.
A more snarky way of saying the same thing might be, "this isn't a problem if you just fix it." ;P
At any rate, if your group prefers "external" versus "internal" power or it better fits your campaign, I am fully behind the idea that feats and magic items can be interchangeable as packets of benefits and this could be a way to handle progression. I would just be cognizant that how the way these packages are presented does affect how the game feels to the players.
Giving magic items out to everyone for free as class features just doesn’t jive for me. Magic items acquired through adventuring are earned somehow.
It's not free, you've gotta level up to earn it! :P
Plus there’s no mechanical explanation for where they come from. I mean do they just pull them outta their butts or something? It breaks verisimilitude.
Extremely easy fix. Add this text: "Usually these items are found in the possession of defeated foes, or given as thanks for helping their owner with a dangerous task, but sometimes characters might buy them, receive them from a local power that shares their goals, or even create or enchant them themselves. In rare cases they can be bestowed by a god, manifest from a powerful source of magic, or appear in the night with no apparent explanation. When you obtain a magic item, decide how your character acquires it."
I’m curious, is there something particular which prompts your proposal?
Yeah, I don't think I can find it right now but I've been seeing a sentiment lately like, the old editions of D&D used to have these character altering items, and in order to make 5e "low-magic-item," they just made a lot of those types of abilities into class features instead. This is a way to put it back, if that's something you're interested in. You could, of course, go even further and start converting specific class features, but that's a lot of work and it would require a lot more stuff like "only Druids can use this staff" which starts to stretch disbelief pretty quickly I think. And idk how you'd decide which features to keep as features vs which ones to make into items. Like, I could do it, but I can't think of a reasonable methodology I'd be following.
Giving magic items out to everyone for free as class features just doesn’t jive for me. Magic items acquired through adventuring are earned somehow.
It's not free, you've gotta level up to earn it! :P
Yeah, but they already earn class features upon leveling up. Magic items are sposta be something outside of the players’ control, something that is instead part of the world that the players can potentially acquire. Putting them directly under player control defeats the purpose.
Plus there’s no mechanical explanation for where they come from. I mean do they just pull them outta their butts or something? It breaks verisimilitude.
Extremely easy fix. Add this text: "Usually these items are found in the possession of defeated foes, or given as thanks for helping their owner with a dangerous task, but sometimes characters might buy them, receive them from a local power that shares their goals, or even create or enchant them themselves. In rare cases they can be bestowed by a god, manifest from a powerful source of magic, or appear in the night with no apparent explanation. When you obtain a magic item, decide how your character acquires it."
Then why not actually play that stuff out and actually gain the magic items in those ways instead of it just happening and pretending to pretend to do that stuff? It’s like fast traveling, chopping out the journey to cut straight to the destination. You lose out on all the potential for whatever might have happened along the way. In my experience so of that stuff is often some of the most memorable parts of many campaigns.
I’m curious, is there something particular which prompts your proposal?
Yeah, I don't think I can find it right now but I've been seeing a sentiment lately like, the old editions of D&D used to have these character altering items, and in order to make 5e "low-magic-item," they just made a lot of those types of abilities into class features instead. This is a way to put it back, if that's something you're interested in. You could, of course, go even further and start converting specific class features, but that's a lot of work and it would require a lot more stuff like "only Druids can use this staff" which starts to stretch disbelief pretty quickly I think. And idk how you'd decide which features to keep as features vs which ones to make into items. Like, I could do it, but I can't think of a reasonable methodology I'd be following.
Ahh, I just look at that as an excuse to invent new character changing magic items.
Have you ever thought to yourself, hey, if PCs are meant to get magic weapons around 5th level, then why don't PCs get magic weapons around 5th level?
Well, it would be weird to give them out as class features, right? That would be wacky and nonsensical. Only Artificers should get features like that, because their features specifically give them the power to create the items. Imagine if a class feature were to just say that you have some kind of special item that gives you additional powers. Wouldn't that be totally wild and crazy?
Imagine no longer, my friends.
THE NEW AND IMPROVED FIGHTER CLASS
It's the same as the old Fighter class, except at every level where you used to get the Ability Score Improvement feature, instead you get a brand-new, completely unique feature called Obtain Magic Item.
Obtain Magic Item: When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you obtain a magic item of your choice from the Magic Item Compendium. You can obtain a magic item only once, unless the item's description says otherwise. You must meet any prerequisite specified in a magic item to obtain that magic item. If you ever lose a magic item's prerequisite, you can’t use that magic item until you regain the prerequisite.
And every other class is exactly the same way.
THE MAGIC ITEM COMPENDIUM
Ring of Superiority
These magic rings feature gemstones that reflect the ability scores somehow. Like it's blue for Intelligence or whatever your headcanon is. You get it. Choose one or two ability scores. While wearing the ring, if you chose one ability score, that ability score is increased by 2. If you chose two, they're both increased by 1. The scores can't go above 20 this way.
Mask of the Muse
These masks usually come in laughing and crying expressions. While wearing the mask,
Ever-Sharp Blade
Any kind of bladed weapon can be an Ever-Sharp Blade. Choose one when you acquire it. While carrying the weapon on your person,
Belt of Supreme Athleticism
Usually fashioned after championship belts for prize fighting, this belt marks you as a victor. While wearing the belt,
You can see what I'm doing here, dear reader. I needn't continue further. And yet!
Boots of the Minotaur
Eagle-Eye Crossbow
Saber of Peerless Defense
Mantle of Bladefury
Inspector's Lens
Periapt of Hardiness
Elementalist's Wand
Gloves of Uselessness
The Best Defense
Salves of Salvation
Amulet of the Knight
Helm of Endurance
Banner of Courage
Ioun Stone of Awareness
Amulet of the Skirmisher
Linguist's Codebook
Rock of Good Luck (Luckrock)
Magebane Weapon
Initiate's Robes
Martial Badge
Mythryl Armor
Boots of Quickness
Amulet of the Warrior
Saddle of the Chevalier
Circlet of Quick Study
Whirling Polearm
Ioun Stone of Protectiveness
Ritual Master's Tome
Savage Weapon
Sentinel Weapon
Arrows of Sharpshooting
Bulwark Shield
Ioun Stone of Skillfulness
Seeking Wand
Gloves of Brawling
Periapt of Ruggedness
Spell Shield / Spell Weapon
Bonded Panoply
So feats disguised as magic items?
I dunno...
The bad: It takes away the fun "whatamigonnaget" of magic items. It removes the biggest way for players to spend their money. It removes DM agency. It means that players can simply lose their class features. It largely removes the possibility of feats being subtle (how much will advantage on Deception help when you're wearing a theatre mask?). It removes the possibility of a low-magic campaign. It means other people might pressure you to give them your class features. It somewhat dents the feeling of characters progressing and learning. It doesn't always make sense (especially with Fighters getting more items than anybody else, at times when nobody else gets them).
The good: It removes DM agency?
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Only if the DM never gives any out as loot! I'm gonna rip into your comment here but it's not personal, you just raised all the points I want to address.
As an aside, it's been my experience that DMs are adopting a sort of "choose your starting item" stance that even extends beyond character generation. I've heard advice like "have your players make a wishlist." But I mean it's not like you need to, really -- Fighting Styles and GWM/SS do plenty to tell you exactly what your players want (and DON'T want) as loot. So... Eh?
5e doesn't seem to want players buying magic items anyway. But there's no reason you can't still do that. I would actually suggest a certain collection of magic items that can ONLY be bought or found, never chosen. These should be the wacky ones like Wand of Wonder or Bag of Beans, the consumables like Potion of Speed or Bag of Beans, and the ones that have a likelihood to affect the narrative directly, like Sending Stones or Bag of Beans. I'm not a big fan of having +1 wands as "choices." Hopefully my punctuation communicates why.
Yes, at the same rate that they lose standard magic items. Look out, because there's even one monster with the ability to steal or destroy them! Not that they need any, because disarm is a default rule. Wait... I think I slipped in from a parallel universe...
Okay, you can just be carrying the mask. Should feats be subtle though? I don't really get this point.
That's true.
Plenty of other things in 5e are already making that pretty difficult though.
Yeah, but that's easy enough to fix. You have to attune now, and you have slots equal to your number of Obtain Magic Item features. Since you have to meet the prerequisites, you should really just have picked the ones you wanted rather than trying to get someone else's. Boom.
I'm not convinced. Feats come out of nowhere, and besides, no D&D character actually trains or studies for anything. They just level up in a cave and suddenly know how to cast Fireball. I don't think you can damage what's already been pulverized into subatomic dust.
Yeah, I guess. I think it's simple enough to handwave away though. See previous: Under current rules, my Fighter is allowed to suddenly decide he's been Touched by the Fey and get magic spells, even if the Feywild hasn't been mentioned once in the campaign. We ignore plenty of silliness and pretend it makes sense because it plays better. Of course, the impetus is on me to prove this would, in fact, play better.
That's one way to put it. Alternatively, it removes the burden on the DM to magically intuit which of the same-rarity items are superior, carefully manage loot distribution to ensure the party is all on equal enough footing to have fun, and monitor every new book their players buy for more magic items to add to their growing mental catalogue. In other words it lessens the degree to which the DM must act as an on-the-fly game designer, fixing difficulty spikes and valleys with emergency patches. It gives players back the control over whether or not their character is any good. It adds a physical-description element to character creation and advancement, which is sorely lacking except in a few oddball cases (Clockwork Soul, Path of the Totem Warrior). Perhaps most importantly of all, it gets the archaic version of the word "feat" out of circulation. (That's a joke. I've learned that no one cares about that one but me.)
Edit: Perhaps you could say it takes a practice we're already doing (giving players the specific items they want) and strips away the icky feeling that we're cheating or doing something wrong somehow. Or that we're making some kind of mistake that goes against the Very Rigid And Load-Bearing I Promise rules framework that is, admittedly, pretty vast and pretty extensively tested (certainly compared to what any one of us has done) so I totally understand when people default to assuming the game developers are smarter than them.
Rip away!
I dunno about you, but I've seen a fair few magic shops in my time. Anyways, I'm not sure if a shorter list of things like that would be quite the same.
Items are put at various risks in the life of an adventurer. Confiscation, thievery, destruction, bargaining, thievery, and improvised projectile usage all come to mind.
It was a very minor point. I just figure it might sometimes be nice to not advertise to everybody "I have an ability!" with a big belt or whatever.
What I mean to say is that it doesn't feel like a virtue of a character. There's something fundamentally different about a character becoming a Great Weapon Master compared to a character getting a Sword of Subtract 5 to Hit but Add 10 to Damage.
Well, the thing is I kinda hate that sort of thing. Flavor existing only to support mechanics is simply the wrong way around. Fey Touched is a good example, but I'd also like to point out all the Paladins suddenly finding and making pacts with sentient swords made of shadow. Yuck.
I feel like a more comprehensive CR/encounter budget system that accounts for magic items would be a better solution to fluctuating power than getting rid of most or all things that make the power fluctuate. Anyways, I don't think that physical description has to (or should) be determined by mechanics.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Well, I think this about sums it up for me
It just doesn’t feel right to me. Plus, even artificers have to allocate a limited resource for aa finite number of temporary magic items. Giving magic items out to everyone for free as class features just doesn’t jive for me. Magic items acquired through adventuring are earned somehow. Plus there’s no mechanical explanation for where they come from. I mean do they just pull them outta their butts or something? It breaks verisimilitude. I see where you’re coming from, and where you’re going with this, I just don’t think it’s a very elegant solution for something I don’t think is a problem.
At least, it’s not a problem for me at any rate, both myself and the other DM at my table are inclined to include fairly cool magic items fairly early. Kinda like how Conan found the Sword of Crom almost immediately after gaining his freedom. Or like how Arthur pulled Clarent from the stone while he was still young, long before getting Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. And most of the other DMs I’ve played with have been really good at placing cool magic items in their games as well. I’m curious, is there something particular which prompts your proposal?
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I know this was already dismissed, but I think there's an important distinction between internal and external growth. Which are represented by feats and magic items, respectively. I do think there is a difference in how it feels to have the effects of Alert coming from your own training and expertise versus getting them through a weapon you found.
In fact, I've been known to do pretty much the opposite of this in many cases, granting intrinsic abilities through the guise of grandmaster training or magical infusion in the place of a magic item. To me it just feels more... heroic. The feelings that arise from finding and using powerful magical artifacts are great too, and should be included in the game, but I think having both is best.
This is based entirely on how you describe your game. Our group assumes that during rests and downtime, you are actively progressing towards your next feats and/or features - working out new spells, practicing your swordwork, whatever. I thought this was actually stated somewhere, but if not it's a fairly obvious way to reconcile the way these things happen.
At any rate, if your group prefers "external" versus "internal" power or it better fits your campaign, I am fully behind the idea that feats and magic items can be interchangeable as packets of benefits and this could be a way to handle progression. I would just be cognizant that how the way these packages are presented does affect how the game feels to the players.
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 more snarky way of saying the same thing might be, "this isn't a problem if you just fix it." ;P
Quite right!
It's not free, you've gotta level up to earn it! :P
Extremely easy fix. Add this text: "Usually these items are found in the possession of defeated foes, or given as thanks for helping their owner with a dangerous task, but sometimes characters might buy them, receive them from a local power that shares their goals, or even create or enchant them themselves. In rare cases they can be bestowed by a god, manifest from a powerful source of magic, or appear in the night with no apparent explanation. When you obtain a magic item, decide how your character acquires it."
Yeah, I don't think I can find it right now but I've been seeing a sentiment lately like, the old editions of D&D used to have these character altering items, and in order to make 5e "low-magic-item," they just made a lot of those types of abilities into class features instead. This is a way to put it back, if that's something you're interested in. You could, of course, go even further and start converting specific class features, but that's a lot of work and it would require a lot more stuff like "only Druids can use this staff" which starts to stretch disbelief pretty quickly I think. And idk how you'd decide which features to keep as features vs which ones to make into items. Like, I could do it, but I can't think of a reasonable methodology I'd be following.
Yeah, but they already earn class features upon leveling up. Magic items are sposta be something outside of the players’ control, something that is instead part of the world that the players can potentially acquire. Putting them directly under player control defeats the purpose.
Then why not actually play that stuff out and actually gain the magic items in those ways instead of it just happening and pretending to pretend to do that stuff? It’s like fast traveling, chopping out the journey to cut straight to the destination. You lose out on all the potential for whatever might have happened along the way. In my experience so of that stuff is often some of the most memorable parts of many campaigns.
Ahh, I just look at that as an excuse to invent new character changing magic items.
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