I am about to run my party through an urban centered set of encounters and adventures. While several encounters will still feature traditional "Monsters", a greater percentage of the party's encounters will be with powerful NPCs.
A problem I have previously had when running NPC focused games has been the disproportionate quantity/need of treasure and magic items that powerful NPCs have in the rules as written. The issue I have with this is that I don't want my party collecting "+1 longsword" after "+1 longsword" after several encounters, as I feel this "cheapens" the value and importance of the players' magic items.
Your +3 Dragonbane Greatsword may have a long, mythical history behind it - but after encountering 12 swords of approximate power in the hands of the elite guards you just slew, you might start to wonder why your sword is considered so special.
Now, I like giving major antagonists and bosses powerful items for the party to recover, but not their rank and file minions.
Obviously, taking magic items away from NPCs represents a drop in effectiveness as enemies - are there some handy ways to balance this? Is it a simple matter of assuming this reduces their Challenge Rating and plan encounters accordingly? Or do you, The Hivemind, have any other suggestions?
While you don't *have* to give NPCs magical gear, it is one of the easiest ways to supplement the loot you expect players to have. Rather than stumble across a locked chest full of gold & jewels, they appropriate the gear of the dastardly villains they have slain.
The alternative is to have NPCs simply equipped with masterwork items (still collectible for cash) or have various enhancement spells pre-cast on their gear (which supposes ready access to NPC spellcasters to cast said spells at the right moment).
Spend some of that NPC wealth on consumables and limited-use items. Some potions, some scrolls, a couple oils, throw in the odd wondrous item (e.g. feather tokens). If you're near where said NPCs live, it's still fine to let them have more monetary wealth available too (a stash of coin for emergencies, some nice art they collected/stole/salvaged, extra spell components because hey everyone needs diamond dust, etc.).
