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Based on inspiration from Kolokotroni, the Christmas Tree effect, I have converted Pathfinder's WBL system to a version akin to the 4E fixed enhancement bonus system.
Finding magic items should be interesting and exciting, make people sit up and take notice. However, the Pathfinder system is geared around scaling one’s abilities with magic items, and inevitably players will be using 75% of the same style slot equipment as last campaign. Cool items, such as a +1 flaming sword that hurls fiery hay bales on a critical hit are eventually thrown aside in favor of the +3 sword with no special abilities. Players shrug when another band of bad guys are all geared with routine Rings of Protection +1 and carrying a dozen +1 short swords, all churned out at the magic-mart mill of bland items. Players should not have to chart a proscribed arsenal of "must-have" equipment in order to have success with the game. Neither should they be disinterested when magic items are found.
So, the question becomes: can we adjust a system dependent on magic item upgrades to make magic special while preserving player power against escalating challenges?
(The answer, by the way, is yes).
As Kolokotroni said, it's not a bash against handing out magic items. Rather, it puts the focus back on player abilities, solves the Christmas Tree effect, and opens doors to more creative magical items.
Fixed Enhancement Bonuses Rules for Pathfinder, using WBL mechanics
Rules: Starting at 3rd level, players get training points to spend on a list of non-magical, permanent fixed abilities. Players are not obligated to spend points and may accumulate them, but a player can only gain the abilities when advancing a level. If it isn’t obvious, bonuses must be purchased in ascending order (+1 before +2, etc.)
Mechanics: All slot items with a "plus" are removed from gameplay. Spells and class abilities remain unchanged. Fixed enhancements do not stack, so a +1 resistance training would not stack with the +1 from a resistance spell. However, these abilities cannot be suppressed or removed from a player, unlike items. Weapon Training Enhancements do not allow a player to overcome DR. Weapon enhancements such as flaming are treated as the equivalent “plus” they cost to add for purposes of bypassing DR. Crafting will subsequently be slightly easier as there will be no +1 requirement on a pre-existing weapons/armors to begin adding other enhancements. Items will be more vulnerable to sundering, but a character’s battle capability isn’t entirely tied into one weapon.
Wealth by Level: This system takes the value of the boost by comparing it to existing gear and assigning a point cost at a ratio of 1000gp value to 1 point. This accounts for the cost of each boost. The training points gained is based off a 75% principle, drawn from the WBL tables in which it is presumed 25% of wealth goes to offensive items, 25% to armor, and 25% to miscellaneous (generally “plus” items). The below table gives players 75% of WBL in training abilities. Pre-requisites are also built in to assume that no more than 25% of a character’s wealth is generally spent on a single item (an exception is made for weapon training, bumping it up by 1 level). All point costs for abilities include the cost beforehand, so if you tally the entire Weapon Training line to +5, it would convert to 50,000.
As such, GM’s using this system should adjust in game wealth accordingly to 25% of normal if using standard disbursement. Obviously this is a VERY rough formula, but much of the reduction should come from eliminating bad guy "plus" gear and assuming they have corresponding training. Because not all points must be spent, not all bad guys will have maximized their training (if you're getting really specific).
The below chart has been converted off the WBL table by multiplying the WBL by .75 and reducing to a ratio of 1 to 1,000. For example, by level 4, a player is expected to have 6,000gp. We reduce that to a flat 6, times .75, and come up with 4.5 (rounding down) to 4. We ensure we’ve accounted for WBL from last level by subtracting 2 more, coming up with a grand total of 2 points to spend. If we jump to level 20 and have 880 x .75, we get 660. We then could subtract everything before it and that would tally 146.
Level - Training Points Gained
3 - 2
4 - 2
5 - 4
6 - 4
7 - 5
8 - 8
9 - 9
10 - 12
11 - 15
12 - 20
13 - 24
14 - 34
15 - 41
16 - 56
17 - 72
18 - 90
19 - 116
20 - 146
Weapon Training (2): The character receives a +1 fixed enhancement bonus to attacks and damage with a class of weapons (select from Fighter class), unarmed attacks, or natural weapons (must select one type of attack, such as claw or bite). Must be at least level 4.
Increase bonus to +2: (6), must be at least level 7.
Increase bonus to +3: (10), must be at least level 10.
Increase bonus to +4: (14), must be at least level 13.
Increase bonus to +5: (18), must be at least level 15.
Defensive Training (1): The character receives a +1 fixed enhancement bonus to the effective armor bonus of any one type of armor, shield, or bracers worn, or the character receives a fixed +1 resistance bonus to their Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower saves.
Increase bonus to +2: (3), must be at least level 6.
Increase bonus to +3: (5), must be at least level 9.
Increase bonus to +4: (7), must be at least level 11.
Increase bonus to +5: (9), must be at least level 13.
Protection Training (2): The character receives a +1 fixed deflection bonus to AC, or a +1 fixed natural armor bonus to AC. Must be at least level 4.
Increase bonus to +2: (6), must be at least level 7.
Increase bonus to +3: (10), must be at least level 10.
Increase bonus to +4: (14), must be at least level 13.
Increase bonus to +5: (18), must be at least level 15.
Ability Score Improvement: Note: players cannot use the Double Focus or Full Package improvements to mix and match mental and physical increases. The Double and Full must be all mental or all physical attributes.
Singular Focus: select a mental (Int, Wis, Cha) or physical (Str, Dex, Con) attribute to apply a +2 fixed enhancement bonus. Costs (4) and must be at least level 6.
Improve the attribute to +4 (12). Must be at least level 11.
Improve the attribute to +6 (20). Must be at least level 14.
Double Focus (must have Singular Focus): increases a second mental or physical ability score beyond the Singular Focus. The second score increased can never be higher than the Singular Focus attribute.
Increase secondary attribute to +2: (6). Must be at least level 9.
Increase secondary attribute to +4: (18). Must be at least level 14.
Increase secondary attribute to +6: (30). Must be at least level 17.
Full Package (must have Singular and Double Focus): increases a third mental or physical attribute score beyond the Singular and Double Focus. The third score increased can never be higher than the Singular or Double Focus attribute.
Increase third attribute to +2: (6). Must be at least level 11.
Increase third attribute to +4: (18). Must be at least level 16.
Increase third attribute to +6: (30). Must be at least level 19.
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If you remove the Plus element, is it still fair to allow things like a Keen Flaming longsword for only 8,000gp, or do you bump up the costs to the next bracket, as if a +1 base item was taken
I think you'd craft it for 8,000 because the system assigns the +1 value of the item into the Weapon Training by reducing (at least presumably) the cash influx to the party. If you're in a campaign like Kingmaker, where cash flow can be artificially increased (by siphoning from kingdom funds), I'd keep crafting costs the same and assume the "invisible" cost of the pre-requisite +1 is just the cost of making the item magical.
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hmm interesting concept. I am favorite-ing it to compare it to some of my characters i have built rebuilding with this.
My one concern is what about other items such as the holy avenger or monks robes? Stuff that does necessarily always give a mechanical benefit.
Monk's robes should be unaffected because they're inflating character-based abilities, which are untouched. A holy avenger would simply be a cold iron longsword in the wrong hands and holy with spell resistance and dispel in the paladin's hands. It throws the crafting cost of specific weapons into a bit of flux, but the items have special abilities regardless. I would treat any special specific weapon as magical, at the very least, for purposes of overcoming DR. It'd seem fine to let the holy avenger overcome DR as if it had +5 worth of enchantments as it keeps the items cost and purpose in line.
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OP,
i have an alternate answer to the key question in your first post, originally inspired by this artifact thread.
so, assuming you have skimmed that thread, what if all magic items were 'artifacts'?
that is, what if all magic items had scaling abilites based upon the character's advancement? (level, BAB, caster level, skill ranks...)
two very simple examples, just to get the idea started:
Magic Sword
+1 enhancement bonus, +1 for every 4 BAB the wielder has
Magic Cloak
+3 to Stealth, +3 for every 5 ranks the wielder has
now, given the Core Rulebook and Wealth by Level as standard, this would be a wildly different economy, as these items would be valuable indeed (kind of like a car with an active warranty). the value of such an item would rise with the scarcity, probably plunging your world into a sort of 'low-magic world' where magic swords are mush less likely to be stashed in a pile of garbage. but notwithstanding, this proposal goes for the 'special' feel you were aiming at, albeit with lots of DM homework...
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OP,
i have an alternate answer to the key question in your first post, originally inspired by this artifact thread.so, assuming you have skimmed that thread, what if all magic items were 'artifacts'?
that is, what if all magic items had scaling abilites based upon the character's advancement? (level, BAB, caster level, skill ranks...)
now, given the Core Rulebook and Wealth by Level as standard, this would be a wildly different economy, as these items would be valuable indeed (kind of like a car with an active warranty). the value of such an item would rise with the scarcity, probably plunging your world into a sort of 'low-magic world' where magic swords are mush less likely to be stashed in a pile of garbage. but notwithstanding, this proposal goes for the 'special' feel you were aiming at, albeit with lots of DM homework...
A combo of 3rd Edition Legacy items + Crystals, I'd have no clue how to tie it into wealth-by-level in order to balance adventures, whether AP or home-brewed. But it's not terribly far from what Pathfinder's cousins at D&D are proposing, that with fixed inherent bonuses all magic items can be customized to be a lot cooler.
Personally, I'd edit all items in my adventures under this system to have a unique appearance and brief unique history. No more +1 swords. Rather, could be the Doom Blade of Ashtongue, an obsidian blade reflecting on its hilt the treacherous volcano from which it was created (insert lore). While this blade is bared, the wielder is immune to heat and smoke effects from fires (PFG p426). On a critical hit, the blade spews an extra 2d8 fire damage as lava erupts from its edges.
While better weapons may come along, with fixed enhancements, a player may use this weapon into advanced levels rather than discard it early. Sounds like that's the plan with the artifact idea too.
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*edit*
The 75% mechanic doesn't balance well; it appears there would be too many leftover points, leaving too small a balance of wealth for custom crafting (or purchase if available) of items. To balance, it works much better at a 50% mechanic and must, especially for caster classes which may forgo some of the Weapon and even Armor trainings, contain a provision to convert training points to "wealth boost," an influx of wealth (whether by investment, luck, or GM fiat). Because Pathfinder and original D&D classes were never meant to be mechanically perfectly balanced, this 'catchall' accounts for differences in what each class may need.
With the 50% mechanic (Wealth by Level should be 50% of normal in adventures).
Level Training Points Gained
3 1
4 2
5 2
6 3
7 4
8 4
9 7
10 8
11 10
12 13
13 16
14 22
15 28
16 37
17 48
18 60
19 77
20 98
Wealth Boost: The player comes into unexpected wealth and may exchange 1 training point for 1,000gp.
In this example, by 20th level, a fighter could have +5 to armor (25), +5 natural armor (50), +5 deflection bonus (50), +5 resistances (25), and two weapon categories at +5 (50+50), and STR and CON at +6 enhancement (90), using 340 points out of 440 points, leaving 100 to have used on two more weapon groups or to convert (at any time prior) to gradually have converted to 100,000gp.
A 10th level caster has 31 points and could end up with +2 to Int & Wis (10), +3 resists (9), and +3 armor when bracers worn (9), leaving 2 points to accumulate for later or to convert to 2,000gp between leveling.