So will admit i'm not sure if this is more a general question, or a homebrew question, or a DM question
So i saw a joke D&D video and it got me thinking. How "overpowered" is an item, when you only allow players to have access to it at high levels / they only get the 'good' version of it at higher levels? Like pick literally any magic item and give that item to a level 1 character. How broken is that character? Now give that same item to a level 20 character. Did it meaningfully change the power level of the character?
Bag of Holding... The level 1 character is no longer encumbered by its starting equipment. The level 20 character is now a hoarder. Is the power level changed? Well, 500 pounds of delicious baked goods buys a lot of good will.
Depends on the item and how you define power. If you consider damage numbers a good measuring stick: some items give you access to higher level spells or change your ability score distribution. If you give a level 1 character a Staff of Power, they will now have access to spells they couldn't possibly have access to otherwise. That level 1 character will be able to single-handedly wipe out whole enemy groups. Give the same item to a level 17 character, and they will be somewhat stronger but probably already had access to some of the offered spells and could probably already use stronger ones. The enemies at that level will be able to deal with that a lot better.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So will admit i'm not sure if this is more a general question, or a homebrew question, or a DM question
So i saw a joke D&D video and it got me thinking. How "overpowered" is an item, when you only allow players to have access to it at high levels / they only get the 'good' version of it at higher levels? Like pick literally any magic item and give that item to a level 1 character. How broken is that character? Now give that same item to a level 20 character. Did it meaningfully change the power level of the character?
Bag of Holding... The level 1 character is no longer encumbered by its starting equipment. The level 20 character is now a hoarder. Is the power level changed? Well, 500 pounds of delicious baked goods buys a lot of good will.
Depends on the item and how you define power. If you consider damage numbers a good measuring stick: some items give you access to higher level spells or change your ability score distribution. If you give a level 1 character a Staff of Power, they will now have access to spells they couldn't possibly have access to otherwise. That level 1 character will be able to single-handedly wipe out whole enemy groups. Give the same item to a level 17 character, and they will be somewhat stronger but probably already had access to some of the offered spells and could probably already use stronger ones. The enemies at that level will be able to deal with that a lot better.