Currently I am GMing a lvl 7 party, each PC already have 2 uncommon items.
Is that too much? I know it depends on the type pf campaign, by i mostly use the monsters from the official source, usually in the recommended challenge rating, without making it easier or harder.
Should i start putting them against stronger enemies to balance out?
Should i start putting them against stronger enemies to balance out?
No. If you balance out the benefits of having magic items, you may as well not be using any magic items to start with as that would have the same result (of the difficulty requiring the magic items be a particular amount/sort) but takes far less work.
Plus, if you balance out the effect of magic items, your players will cease to have any chance to view them as anything but absolutely mandatory to get through the campaign - they won't be able to see them as special benefits that make their character actually better than "normal" or "expected" by the game at whatever it is that the magic items do.
I wish that my players didn't have as many as they did - because I feel it makes some encounters trivial. However, they have upwards of 6+ each and some rare and very rare. 2 uncommon each is still with a good range (if not slightly less than usual). If they have enough consumables they pick up, they should be fine.
Magic Items are supposed to feel like a bonus. Negating their effect entirely by making every encounter more difficult defeats the point of getting them. Let them feel empowered.
The treasure tables in the DMG will yield an average of 7 uncommon combat items and 1 rare item by the time the players hit level 10. They'll also yield 16/14/6/1/ common/uncommon/rare/very rare consumable and non-combat items (with most of them being consumable). Unless every single item they've acquired is a combat item, it sounds like the number of items they have is normal.
Magic Items are supposed to feel like a bonus. Negating their effect entirely by making every encounter more difficult defeats the point of getting them. Let them feel empowered.
I agree with that, and I throw a variety at them. Some times they bump into a pack of dumb goblins walking to close and combat lasts as long as it takes the wizard to cast fireball. But other times that hulking evil knight in red dragon scale armor is actually a troll with Battle Master archetype.
I don't particularly find magic items game breaking even for relatively lower level. In our party we're level 6 and have 1 to 2 uncommon items and a rare item each and while the benefits of the items are certainly useful the advantages they provide are not all that super-powered. They can be in the right situations but in most situations the effects are not that amazing. Even at Rare level you get maybe an OK bonus in combat or a bit of convenience out of combat. That's it. For example the rare item Cloak of Displacement has effects that are a weaker, albeit longer lasting, effect of Level 1 spell Blur. A level 18 Wizard could cast this spell At-Will and it's generally superior to the item. Or there's Bracers of Defense that increases AC by just 2 points when not wearing armour. This isn't huge since there's a lot of enemies and situations where AC is meaningless. So magic items may seem powerful when reading their descriptions but put in actual use are not as powerful as expected as they're primarily out of combat based or in combat offer less than what your spells and class features can already get you.
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Currently I am GMing a lvl 7 party, each PC already have 2 uncommon items.
Is that too much? I know it depends on the type pf campaign, by i mostly use the monsters from the official source, usually in the recommended challenge rating, without making it easier or harder.
Should i start putting them against stronger enemies to balance out?
Nah my players have a ton of magic items and I still smack them around in encounters....remember the monsters only die when the DM decides they do.
I wish that my players didn't have as many as they did - because I feel it makes some encounters trivial. However, they have upwards of 6+ each and some rare and very rare. 2 uncommon each is still with a good range (if not slightly less than usual). If they have enough consumables they pick up, they should be fine.
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Magic Items are supposed to feel like a bonus. Negating their effect entirely by making every encounter more difficult defeats the point of getting them. Let them feel empowered.
The treasure tables in the DMG will yield an average of 7 uncommon combat items and 1 rare item by the time the players hit level 10. They'll also yield 16/14/6/1/ common/uncommon/rare/very rare consumable and non-combat items (with most of them being consumable). Unless every single item they've acquired is a combat item, it sounds like the number of items they have is normal.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
im very stingey with handing out magical items certainly so in this edition
I don't particularly find magic items game breaking even for relatively lower level. In our party we're level 6 and have 1 to 2 uncommon items and a rare item each and while the benefits of the items are certainly useful the advantages they provide are not all that super-powered. They can be in the right situations but in most situations the effects are not that amazing. Even at Rare level you get maybe an OK bonus in combat or a bit of convenience out of combat. That's it. For example the rare item Cloak of Displacement has effects that are a weaker, albeit longer lasting, effect of Level 1 spell Blur. A level 18 Wizard could cast this spell At-Will and it's generally superior to the item. Or there's Bracers of Defense that increases AC by just 2 points when not wearing armour. This isn't huge since there's a lot of enemies and situations where AC is meaningless. So magic items may seem powerful when reading their descriptions but put in actual use are not as powerful as expected as they're primarily out of combat based or in combat offer less than what your spells and class features can already get you.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.