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I'm well aware that it is a personal issue and am well aware of why it bothers me. Back when I was just a kid playing 3.5 with his brother and whatever friend came over, my brother was always the dungeon master and crafted his own little universes. A common theme with his worlds though was that a genuine spell caster was quite a rare thing and even the simplest of magic items were a big deal. I suppose this built upon my notion I had that I didn't like relying excessively on equipment. The thought of virtually every piece of my attire being enchanted strikes me as weird. I thought it kind of funny when someone from my pfs group was surprised I hadn't planned out what magical trinkets my monk was gonna buy. Planning a character includes planning what assortment of magic trinkets he'd be toting? I still can't get it into my head to take that into account, I used to be surprised if I got more than one magic trinket. Suppose it's kinda like a mini culture shock.
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I sometimes have trouble getting out of the 1e or 2e mindset where a +2 sword and a +1 ring of protection might be all you have for several levels and you hung onto those babies, not tossed them in favor of something shinier. So yeah, I don't like the "magic is everywhere" stuff.
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I just run a "magic lite" version of Pathfinder. My group and I have no interest in ever buying another game system. We're too old and have spent too much money over the years on various editions to want to invest anymore. Pathfinder is the game we'll "retire" on someday.
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The Grittier supplements from Eridanus Books might interest you.
Looks interesting.
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I've never had someone tossing their current +1 weapon in favour of something prettier. Most people in face just hold onto their weapons all the way through the game, despite better things coming along. They prefer to upgrade their weapons.
The only recent example I have is the Skald dropping his +2 nameless generic mace in favour of a +5 impact, growing earthbreaker that is called The Smasher.
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Unchained has options that let you use those bonuses as level modifiers so you can run a low magic item game without tweaking the numbers too much.
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If OSRIC is any indication, magic items were growing on trees in older editions if you actually followed the rules.
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Early editions didn't really have the concept of "wealth by level." You got the items your DM wanted you to have (or rolled randomly from the treasure tables). The item creation rules in AD&D 1e were very complex and it was very difficult to make a magic item. Part of that was the need to cast the spell permanency, which permanently drained 1 point of Con.
Individual campaigns were all over the map. Some were swimming with magic; in others, magic was very rare. There was a whole lot of tablet variation.
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Early editions didn't really have the concept of "wealth by level." You got the items your DM wanted you to have (or rolled randomly from the treasure tables). The item creation rules in AD&D 1e were very complex and it was very difficult to make a magic item. Part of that was the need to cast the spell permanency, which permanently drained 1 point of Con.
Individual campaigns were all over the map. Some were swimming with magic; in others, magic was very rare. There was a whole lot of tablet variation.
Again, if OSRIC is any indication, if you're actually following the rules and mechanics given in the book, magic items are practically falling from the sky and they might even be massively powerful magic items at that.
I'm sure lots of people ignored those, just like lots of people ignore today's rules and standards for magic items.
Early editions didn't really have the concept of "wealth by level." You got the items your DM wanted you to have (or rolled randomly from the treasure tables). The item creation rules in AD&D 1e were very complex and it was very difficult to make a magic item. Part of that was the need to cast the spell permanency, which permanently drained 1 point of Con.
Individual campaigns were all over the map. Some were swimming with magic; in others, magic was very rare. There was a whole lot of tablet variation.
Again, if OSRIC is any indication, if you're actually following the rules and mechanics given in the book, magic items are practically falling from the sky and they might even be massively powerful magic items at that.
I'm sure lots of people ignored those, just like lots of people ignore today's rules and standards for magic items.
I've played through every edition over the past 35+ years, and I don't ever remember hurting for magic items. They were always there, so many in fact, that I wondered where they were all coming from. I never would have made items with so steep a cost. Oh well. YMMV
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Early editions didn't really have the concept of "wealth by level." You got the items your DM wanted you to have (or rolled randomly from the treasure tables). The item creation rules in AD&D 1e were very complex and it was very difficult to make a magic item. Part of that was the need to cast the spell permanency, which permanently drained 1 point of Con.
Individual campaigns were all over the map. Some were swimming with magic; in others, magic was very rare. There was a whole lot of tablet variation.
Again, if OSRIC is any indication, if you're actually following the rules and mechanics given in the book, magic items are practically falling from the sky and they might even be massively powerful magic items at that.
I'm sure lots of people ignored those, just like lots of people ignore today's rules and standards for magic items.
You keep saying this, but I don't really understand your point. Is it that OSRIC has a bunch of items described? Pathfinder has a lot of artifacts described, that doesn't mean that every third goblin warrior should be weilding one. Pathfinder has stats for laser blasters and chainsaws, bit they aren't assumed to be ubiquitous on Golarion.
0e, 1e, 2e, B/X, and BECMI don't have assumed items built into the math, that's 3.0 / 3.5 / PFRPG. As such, the rulesets for those older editions don't dictate the availability of magic items.
Pretty much. Under 1E or 2E you'll get plenty of treasure, unless your GM ignores (or overlooks) the "Treasure" entry for monsters and (un)intentionally shortchanges you.
Pretty much. Under 1E or 2E you'll get plenty of treasure, unless your GM ignores (or overlooks) the "Treasure" entry for monsters and (un)intentionally shortchanges you.
But it would also all be useless -- you'd end up selling most of it for its gp (and xp) value instead.
"Hey, hey, I'm a cleric! Good thing the most common weapon on the table is a longsword! I only need two more in order to have a complete set of table knives in case I ever entertain twelve giants at once!"
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Pretty much. Under 1E or 2E you'll get plenty of treasure, unless your GM ignores (or overlooks) the "Treasure" entry for monsters and (un)intentionally shortchanges you.But it would also all be useless -- you'd end up selling most of it for its gp (and xp) value instead.
"Hey, hey, I'm a cleric! Good thing the most common weapon on the table is a longsword! I only need two more in order to have a complete set of table knives in case I ever entertain twelve giants at once!"
Yeah, Paizo adventures never have anything silly like that!
Pardon me, Mr. Shopkeeper, would you care to buy two dozen Ogre Hooks +1?
Seriously, all the g%!%$$n Ogre Hooks +1 in RotRL would completely f&!! over a group that grabbed them all if their GM was a WBL Nazi.
Pretty much. Under 1E or 2E you'll get plenty of treasure, unless your GM ignores (or overlooks) the "Treasure" entry for monsters and (un)intentionally shortchanges you.But it would also all be useless -- you'd end up selling most of it for its gp (and xp) value instead.
"Hey, hey, I'm a cleric! Good thing the most common weapon on the table is a longsword! I only need two more in order to have a complete set of table knives in case I ever entertain twelve giants at once!"
Yeah, Paizo adventures never have anything silly like that!
Pardon me, Mr. Shopkeeper, would you care to buy two dozen Ogre Hooks +1?
Seriously, all the g#!%!*n Ogre Hooks +1 in RotRL would completely f*#$ over a group that grabbed them all if their GM was a WBL Nazi.
But that's only part of the issue. In ancient editions, you could sell magic items, but not buy or create them. In PF, I can at least crush a dozen +1 ogre hooks into roughly 12,000 gp of a something I can actually use. In AD&D, you could sell them and turn them into a pile of heavy metal or shiny rocks.
I'm well aware that it is a personal issue and am well aware of why it bothers me. Back when I was just a kid playing 3.5 with his brother and whatever friend came over, my brother was always the dungeon master and crafted his own little universes. A common theme with his worlds though was that a genuine spell caster was quite a rare thing and even the simplest of magic items were a big deal. I suppose this built upon my notion I had that I didn't like relying excessively on equipment. The thought of virtually every piece of my attire being enchanted strikes me as weird. I thought it kind of funny when someone from my pfs group was surprised I hadn't planned out what magical trinkets my monk was gonna buy. Planning a character includes planning what assortment of magic trinkets he'd be toting? I still can't get it into my head to take that into account, I used to be surprised if I got more than one magic trinket. Suppose it's kinda like a mini culture shock.
I have a similar background. My Golarion has hardly any magic items in it. Ultimately, it seems to me that the casually-available-magic assumption isn't essential to the world. My Golarion is still high magic, but generally in a hand-wavy, off-camera "ritual" kind of way - the starstone exists, the worldwound was opened, there's a mystic flower in a desert that alchemists can use to make you live forever, Aroden died...but you can't go shopping for permanent magical items "off the shelf".
I am of the same mind as you, though it doesn't bother me as much. I like the fact that in Berserk, magic is incredibly rare and they only get magic items when a witch actually gives them some. I like magic items being important and rare.
I think the Pathfinder Uncahined rules concerning magic items might interest you. It hoists flat +1s directly onto the character and reduces the expected loot. Even though it still "expects" so much loot, you can easily just do without all of it and be just fine. Maybe check that out on the SRD or PRD?
I'd hazard a statement that a 0e/1e/2e Fighter without a level-appropriate magic weapon and a STR booster is screwed far more than a 3.5/PF one. And that's even more ironic considering how dependant on RNG, adventure writer and Mister Cavern whims magic item availability is in older eds.
Who's Mister Cavern? :/
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I'd hazard a statement that a 0e/1e/2e Fighter without a level-appropriate magic weapon and a STR booster is screwed far more than a 3.5/PF one. And that's even more ironic considering how dependant on RNG, adventure writer and Mister Cavern whims magic item availability is in older eds.Who's Mister Cavern? :/
A person who can't be called "Master" because it makes them feel go a bit overboard.
I can't say my experience of 1e and 2e is shared with the OP. Being subject to the vagaries and whims of GMs and the RNG gods was far from fun. I played in magic scarce games and monty haul games and neither were balanced or fair.
I suppose if you only knew one style, then you could get locked in to a particular world view, but 3.x was certainly a huge step forward in my opinion.
A person who can't be called "Master" because it makes them feel go a bit overboard.I'd hazard a statement that a 0e/1e/2e Fighter without a level-appropriate magic weapon and a STR booster is screwed far more than a 3.5/PF one. And that's even more ironic considering how dependant on RNG, adventure writer and Mister Cavern whims magic item availability is in older eds.Who's Mister Cavern? :/
Oh, yeah.
I'm a little dense, sometimes.
I can't say my experience of 1e and 2e is shared with the OP. Being subject to the vagaries and whims of GMs and the RNG gods was far from fun. I played in magic scarce games and monty haul games and neither were balanced or fair.
I suppose if you only knew one style, then you could get locked in to a particular world view, but 3.x was certainly a huge step forward in my opinion.
As I understood it, the OP's experience was with 3.5. The earlier edition stuff was introduced by later posters.
Presumably his brother didn't have much love for WBL.
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I think the Pathfinder Uncahined rules concerning magic items might interest you. It hoists flat +1s directly onto the character and reduces the expected loot. Even though it still "expects" so much loot, you can easily just do without all of it and be just fine. Maybe check that out on the SRD or PRD?
Ah, so someone has actually bothered to write down just exactly what bonuses are expected at each level? Unless I missed something, isn't this the first time that the assumed item bonuses have actually been written down in an official 3.x / PFRPG publication, isn't it? About 15 years late on providing that information, aren't they?
Hey, 4E wrote out the exact levels where items could become the expected pluses (and where your armor gained additional armor bonus on top of that to keep up with monster accuracy).
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Well, Gary Gygax never provided that info for his designs. ;)
Aside from monsters that required magic weapons to hit, nothing before 3.0 had assumed magical items just to be functional.
Hey, 4E wrote out the exact levels where items could become the expected pluses (and where your armor gained additional armor bonus on top of that to keep up with monster accuracy).
Yeah, I know. I was talking about 3.x / PFRPG. I'm not really sure how 3.x became so popular, given that so many things about it seem designed to put gamers off of it. It's a system that's absolutely full of trap options / Timmy cards, and it assumes certain bonuses due to magical items over a characters progression, but doesn't bother to tell the GM what those are.
It's like they were actively trying to discourage new players.
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Well, Gary Gygax never provided that info for his designs. ;)Aside from monsters that required magic weapons to hit, nothing before 3.0 had assumed magical items just to be functional.
You're trying to tell me that the roll 3d6 in order STR 16 Fighter did not require a STR booster in order to be anything more than a dead weight back in the Gygax days? Because that's what I remember :)
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Early editions didn't really have the concept of "wealth by level." You got the items your DM wanted you to have (or rolled randomly from the treasure tables). The item creation rules in AD&D 1e were very complex and it was very difficult to make a magic item. Part of that was the need to cast the spell permanency, which permanently drained 1 point of Con.
Individual campaigns were all over the map. Some were swimming with magic; in others, magic was very rare. There was a whole lot of tablet variation.
Again, if OSRIC is any indication, if you're actually following the rules and mechanics given in the book, magic items are practically falling from the sky and they might even be massively powerful magic items at that.
I'm sure lots of people ignored those, just like lots of people ignore today's rules and standards for magic items.
You keep saying this, but I don't really understand your point. Is it that OSRIC has a bunch of items described? Pathfinder has a lot of artifacts described, that doesn't mean that every third goblin warrior should be weilding one. Pathfinder has stats for laser blasters and chainsaws, bit they aren't assumed to be ubiquitous on Golarion.
0e, 1e, 2e, B/X, and BECMI don't have assumed items built into the math, that's 3.0 / 3.5 / PFRPG. As such, the rulesets for those older editions don't dictate the availability of magic items.
Ah but you see, that's just the thing. It does give the % chance that every X number of levels in Y class has magic items on them in OSRIC and presumably older versions as well. For example, according to the section on "Men" in the monsters section, every level a classed character has is a +5% per associated item type of having a magic item of that type.
Fighters: Armor, Shield, Sword, Misc. Weapon, and Potion.
Magic User: Scroll, Ring, Wand/Staff/Rod, Misc. Magic
Cleric: Armor, Shield, Misc. Weapon, Potion, Scroll, Wand/Staff/Rod (replaces edged weapons or rolls if no magic weapons were rolled), Misc. Magic
Thief: Shield, Sword, Misc. Weapon, Potion, Ring, Misc. Magic
This is a 5%/level in each category. NPCs are loaded with magic items. Far more than Pathfinder ever has been. Even on the "high fantasy" and "fast XP chart" options in Pathfinder you will struggle to find this much magic dosh on characters.
Then there's the potency of magic items you can find on characters. Albeit at a low % chance, you may very well fight a level 3 fighter-type walking around with a Vorpal sword.
In Pathfinder, there is no such issue. You have to be middling levels as an NPC to realistically be able to have even a single +1 item or so without being otherwise naked. You definitely won't see anyone flinging around a vorpal sword or a holy avenger or something.
Monsters tend to have lots of magic shwag as well. For example, Stirges (yes, Stirges) are listed as having a 15% chance to have 1d2 magic items + 1 potion and come in groups of 3d10!
The real question is, with the insane magic item creation mechanics, who the hell is making all this magic shwag?
I much prefer Pathfinder where suitably super magic items are generally far more prized, and it doesn't require crazy stuff like kraken ink to make a 1st level scroll. I like being able to make my own magic items and find potions and stuff for sale in most towns.
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Going a little further, since Gold no longer equates to XP points, the ability to purchase useful stuff (like magic items) is really important for the treasure thing to even have any benefit to the game since treasure as score is lame.
As a GM, I find it wonderful, because it means that if I want to use lots of lower-CR encounters which have pretty much no change of being loaded with magical goodies beyond some potions & stuff, or want to equip my NPCs with a well-rounded assortment of items as opposed to one sword to rule them all, the party can still be happy when they collect their treasures because they can turn around and use those treasures to buy or craft stuff that's relevant for themselves.
One relevant difference is that those rules are for PCs, not NPCs. It's also worth noting that the level range is generally more concentrated at the lower levels - it takes a lot of game time to get to tenth level in AD&D. Also, the % treasure is for creatures in their lair whereas many you encounter are wandering monsters.
Plus, the "DM fiat rule" is a more explicit part of it all. That's the most significant difference between AD&D and PF, in my view.
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Yeah - I agree with you.
It seems to me that reading 1970s rules from a twenty first century gamer's mindset can result in a certain "loss in translation". There's a tendency to not count the admonition on DMs to place magic items carefully as part of the rules, since modern editions tend to shun DM fiat, in contrast to AD&D which embraces it.
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You're trying to tell me that the roll 3d6 in order STR 16 Fighter did not require a STR booster in order to be anything more than a dead weight back in the Gygax days? Because that's what I remember :)Well, Gary Gygax never provided that info for his designs. ;)Aside from monsters that required magic weapons to hit, nothing before 3.0 had assumed magical items just to be functional.
I'll tell you that I played in successful groups where the highest ability score for the entire party across the board was a 16.
Hell, 16 is a pretty damn good score. Those editions didn't need everyone to constantly be pumping their ability scores. For the most part, the ability scores you had at level 1 were the same ability scores you had throughout your entire adventuring career. Outside of ridiculous numbers of wishes (I think it was 10 wishes to raise each score 1 point RAW....I never knew anyone who had that many wishes to spare), the only way I can think of to raise any of your scores were the Guantlets of Ogre Power, and the Belt of Giant Strength.
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For a 10th level fighter by the 1E rules:
Shield 10%/level = 100 so he gets a +1 & a 20% chance of a +2
d100 = +1 Shield
We'll go for Plate 5%/level so 50%
d100 = normal Plate
Ring of Protection 2%/level so 20%
d100 = No ring.
Scroll 6%/level so 60%
d100 = Protection scroll
Assuming you get another chance at 10%
d100 = No more scrolls
Dagger 10%/level = +1 Dagger with a 20% chance of better
d100 = just the +1
Sword (since swords are best) 10%/level = +1 sword with a 20% chance of better
d100 = just the +1
Potion 8%/level = 80%
d100 = Has a potion
d10 = Gaseous Form.So our 10th level fighter has a grand total of:
+1 Shield
+1 longsword
+1 Dagger
a Potion of Gaseous form
and a Protection scroll.
I'm not sure what you're referencing because you didn't break it down very clearly and I can't check the mechanics. All I've got is OSRIC, which is what I was referring to, which sounds more conservative than 10% / level (5%/level is OSRIC's metric) for NPCs, however, I'll do my best to break down my point to make it clear to everyone at home.
From OSRIC:
Normal men (non-adventuring types) will usually have 1d6
hit points. In any encounter with men, there will always
be higher level characters as leaders (the number will be
given under each entry).All higher level clerics and fighters will be mounted on
medium warhorses. For each level a leader type has, there
is a 5% chance of possessing a magic item in each of the
categories below. For each “Y” in the table below roll. If
the result is undesirable, one re-roll is allowed.*lists types for Fighters, Clerics, Mages, Thieves*
According to the book, a typical bandit camp has the following:
1 9th Level Fighter = 45% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion1 7th level Fighter = 35% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion
2 6th level Fighters = 30% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion
2 5th level Fighters = 25% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion
3 4th level Fighters = 20% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion
5 3rd level bandits = 15% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion
6 2nd level bandits = 10% magic weapon, armor, shield, misc. weapon, and potion
Here's the breakdown for what they get if the % chance is "Yes":
1-10 = +1 armor/shield (50%)
11-15 = +2 armor/shield (25%)
16 = +3 armor/shield (5%)
17 = +4 armor/shield (5%), with a 35% to be a +5 instead
18 = cursed
19-20 = special
Repeat for weapons as they follow the same formula.
This means that typically speaking, a simple bandit camp is going to be loaded with magic shwag like they were picking it off of trees. For magic swords alone there are 6 10% chances, 5 15% chances, 3 20% chances, 2 25% chances, 2 30% chances, 1 35% chance, and one 45% chance, and every "Yes" generated has a 50% chance to be a +2 or better weapon with a 10% chance to be a +3, +4, or +5 item, a 5% chance to be cursed, and a 10% chance to be a special unique weapon (such as a vorpal sword or holy avenger or something).
That blows Pathfinder out of the water. A 10th level NPC fighter in Pathfinder has a mere 12,750 gp worth of equipment. Trying to give a 10th level Fighter a few +1 items and some potions will consume pretty much everything that they have, especially since potions are jokes compared to the potions in OSRIC (which often last a long time and do incredible things).
A 10th level PF Fighter with:
+1 sword = 2315+ gp
+1 longbow = 2375+ gp
+1 full plate = +2500 gp
+1 heavy shield = +1160 gp
A 3rd level potion = +750 gp
A heavy warhorse = +300 gp
3350 gp remaining
You could squeeze a +1 cloak of resistance or +1 ring of protection in there, eating the last of it. Hardly anything to write home about, and you probably won't even see permanent magic items on anyone at 7th level or lower unless it's almost everything that they have.
That's not really a lot of magic by PF standards. Certainly not 62000gp worth. Closer to 6000 and whatever you want to price the Protection scroll as, since those don't really translate.
Except as shown, yes, yes it is. It's not much different and there's way more of a chance that you're going to stumble over lots of magic items at earlier levels because it's pushing the WBL for NPCs to the limits.
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Fun fact, only taking in the weapons and armor of that bandit camp and counting "cursed" and "special" rolls as being worth 0 gp to be conservative (even though some of those items are titanically expensive), in PF terms the average camp has 44,775 gp of magical weapons and armor (once again, not including any of the misc items or potions and lowballing by not including any special or cursed results). The same NPCs in PF have 45,690 gp of gear total for all of their stuff including all their mundane gear and everything.
Magic items were pretty much just as common. The only difference was the rules for getting ones you actually wanted instead of junk you didn't want were way worse (and if anything, you get less loot now than before).
There are an average of 3.85 items of each category generated by the camp.
The weapons break down into
.5 * 2,000 gp = 1,000 gp
.25 * 8,000 gp = 2,000 gp
.05 * 18,000 gp = 900 gp
0.0325 * 32,000 gp = 1,040 gp
0.0175 * 50,000 gp = 875 gp
.15 * 0 gp = 0 gp (Not including cursed and special items since I don't have an average price for those and it keeps this conservative- any price higher than all of them being utterly worthless increases the total)
The average weapon costs 5,815 gp. Armor and shields typically cost half that, so 2907.5 gp.
3.85 * 5,815 + 3.85 * 2907.5 + 3.85 * 2907.5 = 44775.5 gp
Once again, that treats any roll of "special" or "cursed" as being totally worthless, and doesn't include any potions, misc. items, or mundane gear.
In Pathfinder generation, that list of NPCs would result in:
9th level Fighter = 10,050 gp
7th level Fighter = 6,000 gp
2 6th level Fighters = 9,300 gp
2 5th level Fighters = 6,900 gp
3 4th level Fighters = 7,200 gp
5 3rd level Bandits = 3,900 gp
6 2nd level Bandits = 2,340 gp
Total = 45,690 gp
I don't know about OSRIC. In the case of AD&D though (which is what thejeff used) the role of DM judgement is made explicit. In the section on placing magical items, the rules say that the random tables shouldn't be slavishly followed and that just because that process might suggest a low level monster could have a powerful magical item - it doesn't imply that such outcomes should be accepted by the DM. The tables were presented in case the need arose - not because the DM was expected to randomly generate treasure based on an unchanging, objective process:
"Initial placement of magic items in dungeon and wilderness is a crucial beginning for the campaign. In all such places you must NEVER allow random determination to dictate the inclusion of ANY meaningful magical items. Where beginning/low-level player characters are concerned, this stricture also applies to the placement of any items of magic."
Interpreting the rules from those early games as if they were written now is difficult as there has been a fundamental shift over the years in how rules are viewed. DM fiat was held up as an important, integral part of the game early on in the hobby - it was common (as here) to present a rule subsystem and then expect the DM to overrule it as they saw fit. Part of the rules involve that DM-as-rulemaker paradigm. Later editions have put effort into clarifying and removing such requirements and the DM role has shifted to adjudicator of what is hopefully an objective, body of rules.
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So what you're saying is, follow the rules and you get lots of dosh. Do not follow the rules and you have the magic items are rare grindfest where you spend a few months playing to reach level 3 and get your +1 sword.
Just. Like. Today.
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So what you're saying is, follow the rules and you get lots of dosh. Do not follow the rules and you have the magic items are rare grindfest where you spend a few months playing to reach level 3 and get your +1 sword.
Just. Like. Today.
Based on what they're saying, back then the second one was explicitly suggested - by the rules - as the way it should be. The lots-of-loot version was what you got if you mechanically followed the RAW.
The difference appears to be that today's rules don't judge you for doing so. ^_^
When we played 2nd edition, I only think we used the random tables when we made a new character at higher levels. Otherwise the DM gave the monster and npcs the items he wanted us to get. So it was up to the DM to make sure that everybody got something they wanted, usually this meant that everybody got one big/powerfull item, and a lot of lesser items and a lot of those they could not use, or where only useful in very specific situaions.
All of this meant that you appreciated the items much more, but also that it wasn´t very "fair", that can be both a positive or a negative, depending on the viewpoint.
So what you're saying is, follow the rules and you get lots of dosh. Do not follow the rules and you have the magic items are rare grindfest where you spend a few months playing to reach level 3 and get your +1 sword.
Me? No, that's not what I said.
What I said was that the tables of random treasure generation were not intended to determine the treasure you found by fighting creatures - especially at low levels. (Though, as I mentioned, I'm speaking about AD&D, not OSRIC).
I quoted the rule which explicitly says that high powered magic items should never be randomly assigned and any magical treasure found during the low level part of a campaign (even a potion of healing) should always be placed there deliberately by the DM. The same section of rules explicitly warns against giving out "lots of dosh" - I think it's the original reference to "monty haul campaigns" and it's quite scathing.