I generally run Small characters, and the vast majority of loot a party takes off dead guys is sized Medium. Unless a GM specifically adds in Small-sized equipment, this really handicaps Small characters vis-a-vis their Medium party members, who can typically just pick up the bad guys' armor and/or weapons. (Yes, you can sell what you find, but the 50% markdown means you can't keep up with the rest of the group. And I suppose you could go to a smith and have the item resized -- at additional cost, and if you had enough down time in the adventure.)
The situation seems to cry out for a Reduce/Enlarge Item spell, but unless I'm missing it, I haven't found one. How can we make the situation more equitable for our Small-sized brethren? :)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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I'd suggest retooling polymorph any object, and allowing it to resize magic items. Takes just minor tweaking. Main tweak is letting it work on magic items, but only to change their size or shape. Require a willing owner if you want to avoid having PaO used to deprive people of their magic weapons.
Creative Director
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A reduce item/enlarge item would be good for the game. It'd only need to really work on armor and swords, since all other items are in a gray zone where size doesn't really matter.
For that matter, an effect that turns a weapon of one type into a weapon of another type would ALSO be good for the game. I seem to recall that spell might exist... but you could certainly have a spell that does both—changes a weapon or armor into a different type of weapon or armor, be it a change in size or type.
In my games, we ruled that actual magic items, like a headband of intelegence magicaly resizes itself automaticly. So small characters only have to worry about mundane equipment. Besides, some of my players like weilding oversize gear. I had a player once with a gnome barbarian wielding a a large size greatsword. The thing was about twice as tall as she was...
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A reduce item/enlarge item would be good for the game. It'd only need to really work on armor and swords, since all other items are in a gray zone where size doesn't really matter.
For that matter, an effect that turns a weapon of one type into a weapon of another type would ALSO be good for the game. I seem to recall that spell might exist... but you could certainly have a spell that does both—changes a weapon or armor into a different type of weapon or armor, be it a change in size or type.
There's the Sizing weapon property in the Magic Item Compendium, based off of the Shrink Item spell. Lets you change a weapon from one size category to another as a swift action. +5000 gp price modifier.
But yes, please make sure Reduce Item and Enlarge Item make their way into Ultimate Magic.
I just use a ritual (took the idea from Unearthed Arcana's Incantation system). Takes 6 hours, during which 3 DC 20 Knowledge Arcana and 3 DC 20 Craft: (Whatever is appropriate for the weapon) checks must be made successfully. If successful, the weapon sizes up or down one step. If a check is failed, it takes an extra hour (to make an extra check). If 2 checks in a row fail, the weapon gains the broken condition and the ritual participants are exhausted. Costs 500g in reagents and miscelanous paraphenilia.
If you don't want it to be as involved, go ahead and just make it a Ritual that takes 1 hour, 500gp, and somebody involved has to have knowledge arcana or the appropriate magic item creation feat.
On the whole, resizing magic weapons and armor is such a non-issue power wise that a token cost like this is about perfect. Just enough to remind the PCs they are actually attempting to manipulate the dimensions of a permanent magic item. But not so much as to break the bank. If the halfling really wants that medium longspear, good for him. If the half-orc wouldn't mind having a sling and you just found a +2 sling, good for him.
As always, ymmv.
I'm pretty sure there was a cantrip in dragon (Clutch of Cantrips) that did that.
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On the flipside of this thought on resizing an item and/or polymorphing said item, how about a spell that allows you to transfer the magic out of one item into a corresponding MW item. This spell could have a fairly short casting time as so long as the final product of the spell takes an increment of time to fully transfer (10 min per + or effect, or based on price)plus a spellcraft roll for how well the transfer went.
With this spell it could help with players that want to have heirloom weapons, instead of having to choose to keep his fathers weapon or to use the +2 sword they just found. They could use the spell and transfer the magic ability of the new weapon to the heirloom weapon.
Multiple castings of this spell should not add to the power of said item, only overwrite previous castings.
I've let PC's resize equipment in the past for a flat fee by taking it to a mage's guild. Makes it so that it's got to be some nice equipment (I think it was like 500gp).
I do kind of like the idea of being able to syphon magic off item A into Item B, but it would have to be pretty strictly enacted.
For example, only like item to like item, and only to transfer bonuses. So, for example, you have a +1 Adamantine Axe, and you find a +2 Sizing dagger. You pay 10% of the value of the dagger and a ritual destroys it, but the Axe becomes a +2 Sizing Adamantine Axe.
The problem would be what do you do when you have a +1 Flaming Axe and find a +2 Sizing dagger. Does the pc get to choose which transfers (the +2 or the sizing). It also get's bad when you think of finding a belt of +2 dex and a belt of +2 str, trying to combine them should be possible, but should cost the difference between +2 dex belt and +2 dex/str belt.
Basically, it needs a whole page of rules, maybe two. :(
In my games, we ruled that actual magic items, like a headband of intelegence magicaly resizes itself automaticly.
This is actually a rule of the game; most magic items resize to fit their wearer. Only weapons and armor do not resize (whether they are magical or not).
All the suggestions about magic gear is fine, but I think the OP was specifically talking about mundane weapons and armor. I have always felt it is the DM/GM's responsibility, if he knows in advance that there will be small-sized pcs, to have some small-sized enemies to fight and small-sized gear in amongst the treasure to be found. The player of a small-sized pc should not have to do all the work in order to keep up with the rest of the party.
I have always felt it is the DM/GM's responsibility, if he knows in advance that there will be small-sized pcs, to have some small-sized enemies to fight and small-sized gear in amongst the treasure to be found. The player of a small-sized pc should not have to do all the work in order to keep up with the rest of the party.
Which is fine, if it's a homebrew. Running a module or an AP, it's more difficult. There aren't a lot of gnome/halfling BBEGs out there.
Taken from dragon 302.
RESIZE
Transmutation
Level:Clr 0, Drd 0, Sor/Wiz 0
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One article of clothing or armour
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes
Resize alters one piece of non-magical clothing or armour to fit a diffrently sized creature. The object to be resized can be expanded or shrunk to fit a target up to one size larger or smaller than it originally fit. If resize is deispelled, the clothing or amour falls off its wearer and returns to normal size.
I would change it to allow weapons as well for you because i'm nice :)
Hope this helps you out.
I've done away with the 3.5 rule that magical equipment doesn't resize. I find it unnecessarily discriminatory against small characters. And, hey, it's magical equipment anyway. ^^