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Just curious, I'm still learning the character wealth by level rules and trying to figure things out. I'd appreciate any advice or clarifications.
Is a +1 weapon with a Potency rune and a Striking rune appropriate treasure for a 1st level character, based on the rule guidelines for wealth by level, or is it too powerful?
Reference: I'm looking at Table 10-10:Character Wealth and Table 10-9:Party
Treasure by Level here: https://pf2.d20pfsrd.com/rules/game-mastering/#Treasure_By_Level
The Potency rune gives the weapon a +1 to hit.
The potency rune itself is listed under the Runes rules as (Rune 2+).
A "+1 weapon potency" item is listed as a 2nd Level Permanent Item under Table 11–1: Treasure By Level .
Does this mean that a +1 longsword WITHOUT a striking rune should only be given to a level 2 or higher character?
The Striking rune gives the weapon an extra die of damage.
The striking rune itself is listed under the Runes rules as (Rune 4+).
A "+1 Striking weapon" item is listed as a 4th Level Permanent Item under Table 11–1: Treasure By Level .
Does this mean that a +1 longsword WITH a striking rune should only be given to a level 4 or higher character?
Thanks again for any advice or clarification.
Ok magic item levels are given so as to allow for players to know:
A: What lvl I need to be to craft this (once you acquire the proper feat/recipe).
B: A guidline for power level of treasure. As a GM I try to stay within 3 lvls of the players but will make exceptions for particularly interesting or weak items that are flavorful.
For example I gave a lvl 7 item "Dragon Scale Shield" to a 2nd lvl Druid in the party cause I think wooden shields are both too flimsy and since he is a lizardman it has a cool astatic.
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The text on Archives of Nethys doesn't do a great job of copying the paragraph breaks in the actual book, so it reads a bit messily. But the main points are:
Table 10-9 tells you what kind of stuff to give to the party over the course of a level, to be shared. You can see that for a party of level X, they should expect to pick up about two level X+1 items before actually reaching level X+1.
So for example a level 1 party might pick up a suit of full plate armor (level 2 item) and a +1 potency sword (also a level 2 item) over the course of a series of encounters that then bring them up to level 2. Then, during level 2, they pick up some more level 2 items and a couple of level 3 items.
Likewise, a level 3 party might expect to find two +1 Striking weapons, which are level 4 items. And then during character level 4, they should pick up two more level 4 items and two level 5 items.
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So to answer your question: a +1 Striking weapon is quite above normal rewards for a level 1 character. Any item even a bit above your level is going to feel strong, so you don't need to just jump three levels ahead.
A +1 Potency (but not Striking) weapon is a suitable treasure for a level 1 or 2 character.
A +1 Striking weapon is a suitable treasure for a level 3 to 4 character.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The text on Archives of Nethys doesn't do a great job of copying the paragraph breaks in the actual book, so it reads a bit messily. But the main points are:
Table 10-9 tells you what kind of stuff to give to the party over the course of a level, to be shared. You can see that for a party of level X, they should expect to pick up about two level X+1 items before actually reaching level X+1.
So for example a level 1 party might pick up a suit of full plate armor (level 2 item) and a +1 potency sword (also a level 2 item) over the course of a series of encounters that then bring them up to level 2. Then, during level 2, they pick up some more level 2 items and a couple of level 3 items.
Likewise, a level 3 party might expect to find two +1 Striking weapons, which are level 4 items. And then during character level 4, they should pick up two more level 4 items and two level 5 items.
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So to answer your question: a +1 Striking weapon is quite above normal rewards for a level 1 character. Any item even a bit above your level is going to feel strong, so you don't need to just jump three levels ahead.
A +1 Potency (but not Striking) weapon is a suitable treasure for a level 1 or 2 character.
A +1 Striking weapon is a suitable treasure for a level 3 to 4 character.
Awesome answer, supported by the official rules. Thank you Ascalaphus!