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I've been pondering since I heard the term.
Groups find magic items they can't use, so they sell them, in a city that supports the gp value of such a sale, in favor of buying items with more constant static bonuses that they find useful: belts, headbands, etc.
there's a suspension of disbelief that the game world somehow supports this, that there's enough magic items for there to be a trade in its goods. Without looking deeply into it, its the generic supposition of most game worlds, at least its the one set forth as generic in the core books.
It makes it a fairly high-magic game world.
So how do you solve the Christmas Tree effect of loot? I just wanted to get the ball rolling and see if its a solvable problem. here's two thoughts i had:
1. Diablo style - stack magic properties on found treasure to make it useful and alluring. a +1 shortsword that increasies your strength by 2, boots of elvenkind that increase your dex by 2. it increases the cost of most items, but it also adds flavor. lower level items might be just +1 swords with a +1 to strength. if most found magic items are like that, beginning adventurers won't be able to sell them anywhere nearby, and will be forced to keep and find a use for such treasures.
If most magic items in shops are similarly expensive, it stops them from just selling the sword to purchase a belt.
2. take away the trade in magic items. ( not low level potions/ scrolls and the like, but magic weapons, wondrous items, armor, rings, etc. if the average NPC caster is 3rd level or under, 1st and 2nd level potions/scrolls are all that would exist in a magic item trade anyway. Rarity in a real world would skyrocket the price on goods made by a 5th level caster or above: weapons/armor/wands/rings/staves/rods. )
a. any small town that comes across a magic item over its gp limit will probably consider it a relic, either owned by the local church or town leader. They can't send an envoy to sell it at a larger city: its worth more than their town, if it gets stolen - thats huge, the little town's economy collapses. they'd probably seek to use it, and keep it hidden.
b. magic item trade supposes you have dedicated makers capable of casting the necessary spells and with enough liquid cash to make more. Such a maker would also need a workplace with defenses against someone breaking in and taking what he's made. he'd probably live there, because how can you leave that undefended overnight??
forego the retail value of 1/2 the price of the item: magic items become trade goods, they don't have a half price. you can't sell them except in unique circumstances without that network of creators, guards, and an influx of new items being bought and sold.
treasure found in ancient vaults came from a time where crafters were more powerful, magic more prevalent, etc. Its priceless, you can't sell it, no one but other adventurers and kings can afford it. So you use it, whatever it is, or gift it and trade it with other adventurers.
3. foils
in games where teleportation exists, you need a way for a crafter to ward his business so a theif with Dimension Door can't just pop in, take some stuff, and run off. Without that kind of protection, it doesn't make sense to make items you can't protect. And it needs to be relatively cheap, or crafters would need to incorporate and work together to protect their stock in cities. Games like shadowrun don't have teleportation, but they have astral projection, which gets blocked by living walls: ivy, scientific goo etc. that corporations use to ward their buildings with.
without foils, crafters would only be working on commission: players would have to come with the full gold value for what they want to buy, negotiate the price, and then wait while its made. 8 days for a belt of +2, 16 days for a belt +4, etc. becomes a long wait. in most campaigns where there's not a lot of dawdling time, they can't afford to have that wait, so the players need to hold on to what magical treasure they find and make the best use of it. Selling it isn't any easier, because buyers with the right wards to protect it would be hard to come by. finding a flaming waraxe is nice, bringing it to town to find someone that 1. wants to buy it, 2. has the assets, 3. can protect his investment isn't a simple task either. Locating a buyer should take about as much time as crafting the item: 8-9 days for a flaming waraxe. That would also limit buying/selling items in a campaign with time constraints.
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In my world, only scrolls, potions, and wands can be crafted by the players. Magic items (armor, weapons, rods, staffs, and misc items) were all forged long ago during the Time of the Twin Empires (I run my games in Greyhawk). For the most part, the secrets of their creation were then lost in the Twin Cataclysms: The Rain of Colorless Fire and The Invoked Devastation.
Of course, other cultures crafted their own items, but each in turn experienced some grave disaster: be it the collapse of Vecna's Empire, the fall of the Ur-Flan, the collapse of the olves (elves) and dwur (dwarves), etc., etc.
For the most part. I've reverted back to the old style Permenancy Spell, making it the final component of actually creating an item: and costing the caster 1 point of Constitution. On rare occassions, a Church might use a miracle (or a wizard a wish) to upgrade or create an item as well.
Otherwise, treasure is what is found.
There are no magic-marts. Even a simple +1 dagger is a blessed heirloom, too priceless to be commonly traded. Although adventurers will find men of means (and women, I'm not misogynist, after all) who collect such rarities. There is always a buyer--but seldom a seller.
My players know this going in. If they have a problem with it, they don't play in my game. I have never had a problem assembling a group. It has prompted creative solutions on the part of players a time or two: once they found a ring of three wishes. What did they wish for? Their weapons to become better. Easily within the boundaries of the spell, and I don't screw over my players for not asking for excessive things. The barbarians +2 greatsword became a frostbrand, the paladin discovered that his blade was a holy avenger (although the wish revealed that in order for him to unlock the powers he must slay a demon), and the ranger's dagger became a hornblade (what, you don't know what that is? Look it up!).
Encounters are tougher, because the players are not fully decked out with ultra-optimized equipment. But that is okay. My players have fun; I have fun, and really that is all that matters.
Master Arminas
I simply reduce the commonality of magic items available for sale. To a fraction of the anything under the towns gp limit. I don't have a standard but simply role a d6 then roll for random items on the tables. I then change the NPC reaction from oh I have seen this before to one of wonder and act like the items are unique or at least special.
Oh I let them find stuff, the just aren't garunteed to get exactly what they want whenever they want from ye ole magic shop.
Think of it this way. Middle Earth is supposedly "low magic" however by the time they left Lothlorien the entire fellowhip had cloaks of elvenkind, 3 magic swords, 2 magic rings, a wondorous rope, a magic bow, magic potting soil, and a magic light. All of it was rare and special.
Parties that I DM for I make sure are equipped just fine what I don't do is let them taylor make their own wish list of items. The socphistcated knightly paladin is wielding a stone age flint greataxe. The rogue has a handy scimitar that once the barnicles and coral was broken off functions great but looks like junk from the bottom of the sea. Sure they find standard gear too but I always make sure that what they find is not easily replaced. They might find someont that can make something from time to time a general store with an item or two or a retired war vet looking to sell his old sword for his kids braces.
One problem I tend to have with 'built-in' bonuses instead of magic items is that you miss out on the neat miscellaneous items that aren't stat boosters. Sometimes, players do want things that aren't the big six.
I restrict access to stuff they can buy in towns and cities. They gain most of their magical equipment by buying it. They can manufacture potions and scrolls fairly easily, but anything else can be quite hard. There was a old article in White Dwarf called 'Eye of Newt and Wing of Bat' - basically listing the ingredients needed to make magic items. If one of the PCs wants to create something powerful they tend to have to collect a couple of things - like a giant's shin bone or the blood of a demon - to make it.
One problem I tend to have with 'built-in' bonuses instead of magic items is that you miss out on the neat miscellaneous items that aren't stat boosters. Sometimes, players do want things that aren't the big six.
This isn't so much a problem, they can still find treasure at the GM's discretion or rarely have items for sale in the grand bazaar. The purpose is to instill a more magical experience rather than having magical items being reduced to simple stat boosters.
I am considering :
change saves
- saves are equal to 1/2 total character level
- good saves are +1 with an additional +1 per 4 levels and stack together with other classes/HD that has it as a good save.
* This will turn out to be the same as a 20th lvl character with a +4 cloak of resistance
level based AC bonus
- 1/2 level bonus to AC, I think a dodge bonus would be most appropriate, as it correlates nicely with the increase in reflex saves.
- 1/4 level bonus to AC like the monk ability
* I think most effects that gives a dodge bonus to AC could also give a bonus to reflex saves, or take it away if you are flatfooted, changing the nature of magical armor to DR might be a good change to go along with this, for shields I rather use a parry mechanism with magical shields giving a bonus to this roll, since I am not a fan of exchanging the standarized magical items with standarized hour/level buffs like magical vestment, possibly change barkskin to be a plain natural armor bonus and increase at a slower pace. A 20th level character would have a +15 bonus to AC, equal to a +5 deflection items, +5 natural armor and +5 enhancement.
ability increases
- increase of +1 at character level 2, 6 and every 4 levels after
- increase of +1 to two different ability scores at level 4, 8 and every 4 levels after.
* This works nicely with feats as it gets a character something nice every level, this will slightly favor MAD classes I suppose, I think changing the ability enhancers spells to size and insight bonuses to make them less stackable, might have to change some other (magical) abilities/spells as well, especially enhancement bonuses which wouldnt usually stack, since this is supposed to replace items.
increase feat powers
- weapon focus could give an increasing bonus to hit 1 + 1 per 5 levels, I am also a fan of applying it to weapon groups rather than individual weapons, stacking with a masterwork weapon.
* I haven't considered it indepth but feats can either be increased in power to compensate quite easily or be made better stackable and given out every level instead. GMW could just increase the damage of weapons, if WF is adjusted, magical weapons can have abilities that are more imaginative than the plain +1 or +3 sword.
We are using two HR that gives the players more options to increase number efficacy.
One is an increased list of spells that can be made permanent. The other is a quantity of points you gain by leveling that you can use to improve your stats or saving throws or armor class. This greatly reduced the impact of Big Six. This way players who dislike to adventure carrying a lot of objects (or even one) are still competitive with the use of magic or total self relying.
I do several things (and adjust my campaign accordingly):
- I never give out Items with flat bonuses (no +1 Sword, no +2 Str belt, no bracers Ac+2)
- I am generous with artefacts that combine one or more powers with those flat bonuses (yes, that means gear is important, we like it that way), at level 10 most PCs have had the chance to have such an item (some fumble, some pass because they don't like items that prod them)
- for "normal" magic items I mostly give out things that are unconventional in its use and do not simply emulate a spell
Not really fixing the christmas tree but making Magic Items interesting and not feel like a baseline must have. Sword of Ogre Decapitation someone?
Redo CRs.
Magic auras inside do not get seen.
Easy fix to Christmas Tree glow: more internal magic items.
My wife adores her Kegel Balls +2. Plus two to what? She not tell me. Say male troll not understand.
I have new Blinkback Belt. Now want pair of +1 Vicious Boogers to keep up nose.