I left out the bit about force cooling the blade under a crisp mountain spring waterfall during a full moon. ;)
Masterwork items are essentially just well-made. They are not the equivalent of a damascan-steel katana forged over the heat of a rare slow-flowing lava river over the course of 3 years by a master weaponsmith at the culmination of his career.
First off: +1
Second off: I am going to steal that description! :)
Master work = Star Kist Tuna Fillet (Tuna, Olive oil, Salt).
Common = Store Brand Tuna (Minced White Tuna, Water, Hydrolyzed Casein, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Vegetable Broth, Salt, Pyrophosphate)
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I guess that I will avoid masterwork in real life, no more hersheys chocolate for me....great value brand from now on.......
Hershey's? Masterwork chocolate? Only when one is operating on a loose definition of 'masterwork'. Which, I suppose, is the whole point of this thread. Is your comment so appropriate by design? Or is it accidental?
'Masterwork' or at least 'high-quality' indicates superiority over the standard. Hershey's isn't bad chocolate, but I think of it as being very standard.
Seriously, from the design side, it often comes down to the fact that a person of a given CR is generally supposed to have a certain amount of treasure according to the rules. To my mind, it stretches credulity less to say that the the skilled (but not rich) soldier has an exceptionally well-balanced sword (since that's what his livelihood depends on) rather than that every enemy you meet on the road has a big ol' pouch of gold swinging from his waist. The way the economics work, there's just not that much for certain classes to spend money on until you can afford magic items. Masterwork weapons allow you to give treasure without flooding the local economy with cash (or without having every soldier haul around a wagon filled with trade goods... though I know I always like to haul a few chickens into battle, just for luck).
Now, as for the argument that enemies should have treasure tied to their flavor rather than their CR... that's a game balance issue, and any arguments should be taken up with previous editions of the game. :)
Remember, the wealth for a given enemy is more of a way to track WBL. Not every soldier has to have exactly 500gp worth of equipment. Privates Bill and Bob are inviterate gamblers, and they never have anything worth anything (pitted swords, leather armor that needs patching). Seargant Will, on the other hand, is a card shark and also a good bargainer. He has a +1 sword and MW chain and a MW shield.
Wealth for the three is about right, but instead of all 3 having the same 500gp worth of equipment, Will has the bulk of it, and Bob and Bill are just poor schmucks.
Apply this on a larger group, that is, maybe the characters get piddly from most of their fights, but every once in awhile they get a good haul from a merc group, or they find a bunch of goblins who have been waylaying travlers and they have a big stash of stolen treasure.
Sorta off topic, but then I have NO roguish talents and yet have a MWK sap :) So no telling where these MWK items will appear on NPC's :PGreg
Clearly, you have the Heirloom Weapon trait. Enjoy your +1 trait bonus!
Clearly, you have the Heirloom Weapon trait. Enjoy your +1 trait bonus!
Sorta off topic, but then I have NO roguish talents and yet have a MWK sap :) So no telling where these MWK items will appear on NPC's :PGreg
Wooo Hooo! I wonder if my other trait is a campaign specific one....hmm.