... with respect to magic items.
This will be a problem in my campaign I fear, because I have two gnomes in my party.
So far I haven't seen any weapons or armor targeted for the little people.
What is the correct way to handle this, just fudge some of the found weapons and armor to make them small (kinda hard to justify when they come off of medium-sized corpses), or should I make them just trade in the un-used stuff for smaller goods?
The message is endorsed by the Gnomes and Halflings Against Sizist Treasure (G.H.A.S.T.)
So far I haven't seen any weapons or armor targeted for the little people.
Technically, most magic items are supposed to automatically re-size, right? That’s what I’ve understood.
I don’t like the re-sizing rule; in my campaign, an item that re-sizes is itself a magical property added to the item.
have fun! i ran a 3.0 campaign with little people only for a lark. good times! weapon size is a 3.5 thing and i refuse to acknowlege it. !Viva G.H.A.S.T!
but seriously, do the rules still say that magic armor, cloaks, boots etc. resize for the user? i haven't checked to see if that's changed as well.
If you don't want to allow that, i'm sure there are enterprising little folk out there that could shrink magic items for a nominal fee. I'd allow an NPC with the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat to have that ability. Garl would certainly approve!
Actually some magic items resize. Clothing does but it does not mention Magic Armor or weapons.
My group used to play that it automatically resized. We stopped doing this just recently when we discovered the rule. To keep things simple however, armor will resize within its size category. So Medium armor that was just removed from a 6', 250 lb man, will fit a 5'4" 120 lb woman with no problem. Not realistic but easy.
Ya know, I noticed this problem with the last Adventure Path as well. Very, very little gear was appropriately sized for the halfling cutthroat, and as I was playing at the time, I could only beg the (new, first-timer) DM into allowing us to special-order small-sized weapons from the smithy in Cauldron. Having now perused the whole Shackled City adenture hardcover, it seems that old Jax would have never gotten a single good magic item in the campaign (had we lived long enough). Having now taken over the reigns again after my DM hiatus for the AoW, it's telling that the same group of players now includes not a single small-sized character.
SPOILER
Seems to me there are several places in each adventure where it would not be difficult to insert small-sized treasure without compromising "realism"--the chokers' rubble pile in the temple of Erythnul and the pool of rotting pilings in sodden hold spring to mind off the top of my head, and it's not unreasonable to replace some of the gold and gems in various treasure stashes with items that would be valuable, but not useful to their owners. A rolled up halfling-sized chain shirt or a gnome-sized longsword doesn't take up much room in a human-sized treasure chest.
I think we all have a bit too much tendency to play adventures exactly as written and not take a few minutes when prepping the adventure to make obvious modifications, fill in gaps, and tailor the small things for our groups!
Allow me to sign the charter for GHAST! Halflings represent!
Having halfling in the party--and being a frequent player of the small races--I've noticed the same. One thing I've done is remove certain items from their original sources, and then have a random encounter with small-sized villains with smaller versions of the same items (the party fighter grumbled for weeks about getting pantsed by a goblin bandit with a +1 short sword).
I've been toying with the idea of allowing small characters have the grip re-worked by a smith. For example, a medium short sword could be used a small longsword, and by reworking the handle the -2 penalty would not apply. Kind of blends 3.0 with 3.5. Armor is a bit trickier, we play that it re-sizes to fit the particular height and build, but not jumping size-categories. I like the idea of a re-sizing spell. Any thoughts on what level it should be.
Right-said, Peruhain.
Resizing was a first-edition concept that my groups in the 70's and early '80's always thought was a bit flaky, but none dared argue the point too much as the alternative (un-auto-sized armor & weapons) promised to be frustrating for the little ones.
It was one of the (many) things about 3-ed that I really liked because i really didnt like the flakiness of everything auto-sizing. But if you got wee-folk in your campaign - and I have 3 gnomes and a halfling in my AoW game - then find a way to make that equipment available.
We've just about finished WC and I made some of the fallen Seekers' equipment small. I've made the smith in Diamond Lake a specialist in resizing equipment for a steep fee and time-consuming process (this a great way to bleed-off excess party cash - poor and hungry parties appreciate treasure much more than monty-haulers.)
I've been trying to find a way to have Tidwoad play a part in resizing equipment (he is the uncle of one of my players - and the whole party hates Tidwoad with a passion.) So, I think I'll use James Jacobs' idea and have him introduce a sizing spell somehow. That should be fun.
Also, at some point in this campaign I'll make one or two special items automatically resize just to make those items seem that much more special.
Don't short change the shorties - life's tough enough for them as it is.