My magic shops sell "mundane" magic items like glow-globes, broaches of rain repelling, brooms of sweeping; basically high end appliances for upscale citizens. Also magical "Home Depots" that carry self-cleaning toilets, cabinets of food preservation and stoves that don't need wood or coal. I also have alchemist's shops that sell mostly common/uncommon healing potions, potions of fire, cold, and poison resistance (mostly for trade guilds), and water breathing in port cities. Adventurer-grade magic is either in the hands of noble families, retired ex-adventurers or buries in long-forgotten crypts. *Occasionally* a once-rich noble house may try to auction off a magic item to generate cash, or a fence may try to unload a stolen one; these are always private auctions done through intermediaries or private auction houses, which require PCs to cultivate social contacts.
I have a lot of magic items shops but they are usually filled with random crap - I love seeing what creative ideas my players have for using weird items. Items important for their build they usually get from the adventures
Great Video as Allways! About "Sting"....It was an "Orc Bane (+2d6 Against Orcs, a "+1" Ability), Glowing only when orcs are near (Divination Ability "+1") "Spider Bane" (+2d6 Against Spiders "+1" Ability) and the base "+1 of a magic sword"...the sword was at least a "+3 Value"...something about beteen 32,000 and 16,000 gp...well at lest that was in D&D 3.5 Edition and using the propper lore of TLOTR THX!
i get what your saying, but more so think those are just the enemies it was used on (with no distinct advantage) the incredibly rare light of elendil did the heavy lifting against shelob and orcs just got will powered out by sam and frodo (sam shall always be named before frodo). Just my thoughts
@andrewrichardson2466 in the book (the hobit) Elrond explains about the time when sting was forged, that and orchrist. It was in a war against orcs i can't explai a Lot because My Bad English but in the books the give this and more bacground about that sword the one of Gandalf and the one of thorin
What's needed to succeed is entirely dependent on what the DM chooses to throw at the party. They set the difficulty, and need to take the party's capabilities into consideration when designing encounters.
I really don't understand this hate on magic items. The game is supposed to be fun, and you can always adjust the power level of monsters. I used to add a minimum of 50 HP to every monster to offset the benefit. Honestly, if you give out items, recognize the need to balance your game. But this kind of "DON'T GIVE OUT TOO MUCH, IT WILL BREAK YOUR GAME." Is more than a little ridiculous.
I'll add in to your comment; a broken game can be just as fun. Gave my 1on1 player back in the day (no other party members to balance) a scroll with 5 recharging casts of orb of annihilation. (Charged 1 charge every 2 weeks in game; it hit 0 it was gone). Concern for losing it meant it was barely ever used in combat (a bit of weapon enchanting was more common). This allowed me to throw a named red dragon (thraxata) at him at level 3 as a solo player. Once the game is broken you can really start to have fun in that broken sandbox imo. Still to this day I am a big fan of give your players what they ask for. It's more important to balance the players; if the imbalance is between players and enemies you can fix it with a simple finger on the scale.
Basically it from edgelords who cant handle fun and cant balance things. 😂 They can only follow what the book exactly say!?!?! 😂😂 For me, i love magic and making every item like artifacts and actual artifacts worthy of the title not "oh this orb is only used to recharge wands" Show a Thaumcraft Pickaxe of the Core to these people and they die. 😂
I had a thought but I feel like dnd things are so "good" the people are purposing going out if their way to create issues to solve. 😂 Even if i wasnt a advocate for "get a paper and pencil and write it your own way" it just sad to see people literally demand to be led in a creative game. 😂 It just sad.
Depends on the tone your going for and your ability to improvise. Too many high powered magic items can break your game in the same way high level dnd stops feeling challenging. Once players can teleport their enemies into the sun fun encounter design really takes effort and if your solution is to offset the benefits by giving more hp, making your enemies immune to teleportation etc players might as well just not have the items, spells or abilities.
I experimented with a few magic item systems and stumbled upon one that my players really enjoyed. They each got one or two story items that evolved with them by adding weapon feats (Ancestral Weapons supplement). This was the vehicle for delivering powerful upgrades or boons to players without breaking the balance. However, my loot goblins always ask for more. So I started handing out single use items that give them different advantages or encourage different combat mechanics. For example, my paladin had a 10th level sneak attack dagger that he could use in tandem with an Attack action to add 5d6 to any one attack. Most were improvised items off the top of my head such as a Healing potion dart the ranger could shoot at a downed player. Overall they looked forward to using them and would even find roleplay interactions for them too.
3:09 High Level Advice - 4:06 Don't worry about perfect balance - 4:37 Better to give fewer & less powerful magic items - 5:07 Give a variety of magic items, ask them what they (or their character) would like - 5:41 Be careful with Shops 8:18 Defining how present & developed *magic* is in your world 10:20 Determining how many to reward 12:00 Adjusting tables based on the world's magical presence 14:10 Determining how to dole magic items out
I like the wishlist idea. I'm about to be starting up a campaign where all the magic items are crafted with rare items found across the world. This will help me determine what magic items they want and so I can pre generate the recipes for them.
Excellent video! I met a guy in college who bragged that his home character had 12 magic swords - I could only imagine a goblin caddy carrying around a golf bag full of his many swords and making suggestions which sword he should use to kill the monster in the next room.
The biggest problem with magic items it that they often end up partially defining a character which means it's the DM who, at least partially, created the character. A character should be, as much as possible, the product of the player. Therefore, magic items should be sparingly handed out and most items should have been used by the enemy so that it's not a freebie. The players must earn said magic item.
As for the last one, with the potions. I once had an enemy, who used potions, and every melee strike was accompanied with the sound of breaking glass. The group quickly changed tactics, and not all of the potions were destroyed. I didn't actually keep track of the potions on the enemy, and the reward was entirely based on tactical decisions, or lack of them.
I remember early 5E where DMs boasted of not having any magic items at all in their games. They misinterpreted what 5E meant. Yes, you don't need magic items to remain a viable character from level 1 to 20, but what they meant was you don't need any specific magic item. In 3E you needed items to boost ability scores and saving throws and weapons with pluses. In 5E such items are nice to have, but by game math you don't need them. You don't need gauntlets of ogre power. You don't need a weapon +2. You don't need a cloak of resistance. However, the game never meant to say never give PCs any magic items of any kind whatsoever. Magic items were always part of 5E and were always meant to be given to PCs. A PC can have a cloak of protection. A PC can have a weapon +2 (agreed not at level 5). The game will work fine.
Forgotten Realms's Chosen of Mystra is such a good solution - high-level magic users that want to see the proliferation of the use of magic, tasked with planting items in dungeons for adventurers to find, and also a very powerful network you don't want to be on the wrong side of!
I roll some random items to dot around that may or may not be useful as set dressing, but I also insert specifically targeted magic items in at narratively satisfying moments.
As a GM and what works for my table include. 1) weapons can evolve in power with the character (with limits previously discussed) so the player gets something cool and unique to them. This is a little extra work and you can dole out the powers as needed. With time and practice you’ll get better. 2) I have magic item auctions, players are required to get a single auction license (pretty expensive) or a lifetime license with a yearly tax to continue using that license. If they forget or can’t get it renewed in time they buy a new one (rping is allowed to convince the official (or not) to make an exception.) Low lvl items are found in limited shops. 2a) if the pc’s auction something there’s a new license fee and a 10% tax on the money it sold for. The auction system allows you to burn pc’s money (for us, depending on the rarity of item there is a set # of rolls pc must pass in order to win) if they get the item there is a potential for a rivalry of the person they beat or lost to.
Treat magic item shops like a brokerage. IE they dont keep the expensive items on premises instead their current owners have them. The shop just acts as contact point.
I have run them like high-end auctions for art in the past, so PCs end up in bidding wars for items. Both a fun way to use up coin and potentially later theft for an item they don't get :)
Imo only truly powerful stuff deserves to be like that. A novice thaumaturge can make stuff then elves would slay nations for appearently. 😂 But if you truely want to make magical items worth it, make the items actually worth it over "1,000 gp for sword of slicing arms off"
For magic item shops, you could even do specialized shops. Say a bender only sells martial magic items or another with armor. It can allow you to sell higher rarity magic items without opening the whole can of worms.
i tend to run shorter campaigns with quick leveling. not for everyone but my group seems to keep coming back. Ive chosen to talk with each player at character creation what they want to focus on (i.e. ranger wants to be companion based) then create/find one magic item that fits their specific character want. (ranger got a +1 bow that applies a hunters mark which also increases their companions damage). Dish these items out during the early stages. Then going into "late game" just provide utility to help them overcome future obsticales. "tanky healer paladin" gets shield that allows smite to heal a nearby ally instead of deal extra damage to target (he still wants to damage option). IDK works for us, but does take homebrew work on my end.
In my current campaign, Dragon of Icespire Peak + supplements, I took Bob the World Builders suggestion of mashing it and LMoPhandelver together. When the players encounter the Spectator, it is determined to craft something. The war cleric remembers he has smithing and volunteers. The spectator demands a sacrifice to the Green Flame Brazier. Open ended suggestion, they start burning the common magic items they got from Gnomenguard (I awarded a common-uncommon magic item of choice for clearing the mimics there). Fine until, the clerics best friend touches the GFBrazier and loses more than half her hp. Players have only given 2 common magic items and the flame really grew as hp were sacrificed, so the same player touches it again, fails the save with a nat 1, and dies. War Cleric turns the magic mace found there (commissioned by priests of Lathander long ago) into a Maul of Disruption with the moral choice to keep and empower more bonuses into the Maul (tbd), or revive his dead comrade. He agonizes the choice but revives his comrade. They were only able to do this because of help from the immortal aberration, the Spectator, which escapes. Afterwards they still decide to take the GFBrazier to Gnomenguard which, they don't know, has a wild magic ley line running through it, as per the book. More fun times to come.
I have to contest your take on the one ring, its a power multiplier, Taking base abilities and expanding them to their maximum, Hobits who are naturally stealthy and a hearty, vital people this becomes invisibility (or rather minor plane shifting) and Long life In the hands of a man dwarf elf or Maiar the one ring becomes VASTLY more dangerous
@theDMLair depends on how you interpret it, If you interpret it as "Treat characters highest attribute as x3,4,5 it's standard unmodified level" It could be getting up there with some of the nastiest artifacts in DnD and it can benefit ANY class that gets ahold of it
In Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, there is a series of Magic Items that are shards of other realms, items exclusive to Sorcerer use. Each one has the same cookie cutter concept. A strong ability triggered on Metamagic that you get to use once per day, unless you're a specific type of Sorcerer, to which it's limitless. The issue is when you have coffeelocks. My character uses the Feywild Shard, allowing her to use Wild Surges as her main form of offense rather than spellcasting.
I run an eberron campaign using PF2 as the rules. I tell my players if you are in sharn, and the item is level 4 or below, you can find it. 5-10, you need a day or 2 to locate a vendor. above 10, you're going on a quest after you spend time to locate where it potentially might be. Also, my gripe with PF2 is the assumption that you MUST give certain items at certain levels or the characters will be under powered. If I start another PF2 campaign I'm using the optional GM rules for leveling without runes, so that the players get the needed stat buffs at the level they need it and i'm more free to give the fun items rather than the +XYZ stat items.
also running eberron using PF2e rules. i have a similar rule. basically if an item is party level or under, they can buy it. if the item is over their level, it's harder to find or costs more; I forget exactly, woiuld have to consult my notes. but I agree...I don't like the assumption that players must get certain amounts of items to stay competative. that and that most of the items just seem super underwhelming (as do spells for that matter).
@@theDMLair Yes, the lack of interesting magic items is also an issue. I've started making my own, or porting them from other games. Honestly, as long as they don't break the +/-10 system most things should work.
I love making my own magical items. My wife and I play a 1 player campaign and she wanted to convince a zombie that was attacking her stand down and be her ally. I had her roll persuasive with disadvantage and she rolls 2 Nat 20s. So she now has a dagger that can summon the zombie and any gear she puts on it stays with it.
My current group decided to try to run Keys from the Golden Vault as an adventure with some sidequests sprinkled in between heists. The problem with that is the Golden Vault literally throws magic items at the party. I've been able to make necessary adjustments but it was definitely the first time that I had experienced magic item bloat. We have now moved away from the Golden Vault as the primary backbone of the adventure and I have begun running my first fully homebrewed world. Definitely still offering the Golden Vault options but they are passing by them to find out details about the world I created. Because I am homebrewing it is allowing me to adjust for the magic items they do have and I am finally having fun again.
Even in my (relatively) high magic not-Spelljammer campaign, I don't have magic shops. I do have craftsfolk who may deal in the low end of magic items related to their craft - typically +1 gear and common/uncommon utility items and potions.
WOTC: Magic items isn't a requirement in 5e. My last game, DM pulled the "you lose your magic items for a time", card (cringe) My group has exactly 2 players that can do 'magical damage' naturally and 3 that don't. A fight with two amber golems (immune to non-magical damage) took almost 2 freaking hours and was a GRINDFEST. Had the monk been a fighter instead, we never would have won. Tell me more than they're not a requirement. That the system is 'ballanced' to not have magic items. I CALL BULL! There is NO PROMISE you will have a group capabable of doing magical damage, you might have a party of fighters/barbs/rogues. You might have a caster that only has healing magic, or you might only have a ranger that does 1d6 magic damage with hunter's mark. Yet there are plenty of creatures flat out immune to non-magical damage. "Ballanced."
Yep, most things in the book should be taken with a grain of salt. the the book saying "magic items aren't required" isn't an exception. though i'm sure the argument would be that "technically" they aren't required, and that a 2 hour grindfest might be fun for some groups...
The fact that immunity to non-magical damage is not the single most powerful ability a monster can have is a clear sign that players are expected to have magic items. Were that immunity limited to CR 20+ creatures, then perhaps the claim would hold water... but there are creatures with CRs as low as 1 and 2 that have it.
This all depends on the choice the DM made to have you face monsters that are immune to magic. The DM sets the difficulty level. You saw magic items as the answer, but the correct answer is the DM being good at designing encounters and knowing the party's capabilities. Let your DM know what you find fun (or not fun, as in the case of an excessively long drawn out combat).
Were those the amber golems in Curse of Strahd? While the party I ran it to did have access to magic weapons, they also managed to tip a giant statue onto one of the golems dealing massive damage. The again, they were only able to do that with the aid of Transmute Rock to mud so with limited magic I could see it being a problem.
If I had to pick what level of magic I like the best in a world, it would be Low. I love playing spellcasters, but the thing I love about magic so much is that it is mysterious and often feared by those who don't understand it; in High-magic worlds where magic is everywhere and is expected, it just doesn't feel as special. And for character creation, a Low-magic world is better because martial classes garner more respect. In a Low-magic world, choosing a martial class means taking on the roll as the face of the party in social aspects, as the average person can respect a good fighter, and will be more likely to forge an alliance with one, as opposed to a warlock with jars of eyeballs strapped to their waste for example; whereas in a High-magic world, magic-users are the norm, and if you aren't one, you're _boring_! This is one of the reasons why warlocks are my favourite class to play, because it seems like even in High-magic societies, warlocks still retain that dark and mysterious, occult witchcraft feel.
Magic shops are often associated with guilds and nobles. Big trouble if you mess with them. In my worlds such shops that have anything more than simple potions or scrolls are very rare.
i generally have at least one magic item vendor, but its mostly random fun stuff. invisibility pill that expired, only turn your clothes invisible. party hat that shouts 'party' and plays music. players sometimes come up with good uses for my nonsense.
Ya i often asked myself why Strahd doesn't go into his crypt and grab Khazans staff of power. Then magically call his animated armor to him like iron man and suit up. I like how you think Luke! 14:46
I could see there being magic supply shops, that carry things caster need, that might have the occasional magic item available for sale. Or maybe even the local blacksmith has a "special" item for sale. I just wouldn't let it sit there forever and if the characters didn't try to buy them right away, someone else might have purchased it when they come back. The item is probably not on the premises and the proprietor will have to arrange a meeting with those interested in purchasing the item. Probably in a public setting with plenty of witnesses in case the PC's have any funny ideas. Also, you could also have shops sell useless magic items like the Bagpipes of Invisibility.
For 10 years I have been hearing how much better D&D 5E is, but no one tried to tell me why. Thank you for telling me more than anyone has before in the first 5 minutes of your video than anyone. And for making me understand why I never got into 5E. I just couldn't understand it. Now I do a little better, but that doesn't entice me for two reasons. One, I've got 10 frustrating years behind me. And two, I'm not sure I want to play an unbalanced game where the GM has to keep on his toes more than before so he doesn't cause a TPK by accident.
dnd 5e is not for everyone. there are a wide variety of ttrpgs out there, and many folks will like other systems far more. currently, I'm really enjoying Shadowdark.
@@theDMLair Every ttrpg is not for everyone. D&D stopped being for me with the 4th edition. But because I have played D&D for a long time people that ignored 4th edition are back with the 5th, though only after Baldur's Gate 3. And it's quite possible that if someone explained it to me instead of the 'it's simpler', 'it's better' tirade I might have found my way in.
Magic Item Shops - My rule is that 'Sure, they exist, but they cater to the most common customers...i.e. non-adventurers' While they might have a few 'uncommon' items or perhaps even rare items , the BULK of what they'll have would be what they can sell to the local merchants and business owners. "I'm sorry, we don't have a flame tongue sword, but we've got this enchanted desktop that glows red if someone attempts to pass of fake coins." or "No, we don't have a broom of flying, but we have this broom of sweeping. Say the command word and it will sweep the floor and clear out any cobwebs in the room you're in...." Yeah, adventurers might come in a few times a year to buy big ticket items...but week in, week out they'll make their money to keep their shop running selling magic equivalents of Rogaine, Viagra, and kitchen gadgets.
I think that more reasonable then "Why would a shop ever have such a divine artifact of +1 sword" and "you need to travel to the Elemental Plane of water and talk to "BoB""
The best magic item shop has nothing above common items on hand, and the rest of their stock is presented in a catalog. They put 10 to 50% down (and showing that they can afford the agreed price) and a courier will show up in a couple of hours with the item, when the rest of the payment is due.
Modern D&D: "You don't need magic items to succeed. " 3.5e: "You'd better have your magic items, son, or you'll get TPK'd. In fact, you might get TPK'd anyway."
My impression on 5th edition is no room for lazy DMs. If a DM places a magic item, not understanding the impact, they deserve what happens. Back in the 90s in an issue of Dragon magazine there was an article about using unusual but useful non magic items as an alternative. Things like a camo cloak ect.
I agree that dnd 5e is probably best for more experienced GMs. I would recommend a more rules light ttrpg as an entry point for new GMs. Shadowdark perhaps.
No Magic Item shops. Instead; mysterious wandering merchants that appear with their cart of goods and are gone the next day. They only sell consumable items or very low level things. Even a magic sword can be a comsumable item ie; +3 sword loses a +1 bonus each day it is used until it is a plain sword again (or shatters). My players are used to that sort of thing so I get no push back for it. They still get real magic weapons but less frequently making them truely valuable. By 7th level everyone is rocking a magic item just not a bag of holding full of stuff no one can even remember they have.
probably a gut check. does this feel powerful? maybe also cross reference with the tables WOTC mentions to see if an item not on those tables aligns more with a minor item or a major item
Pathfinder and D&D's magic items are very different. Mundane magic items can make your world feel boring if applied wrong. Fizban's allowed players to Monster Hunter certain wyrms for their unique properties. At my own table, I literally banned adamantine armors due to its unique crit denying applications. With PF2, I'm able to curate magic items my players buy. Certain items could be identified, while some use alternate ways to identify.
Someday I’m at going to come to this channel and there will be a video that doesn’t come at it’s subject from a negative “here is what’s wrong with everything in this game that is supposed to be fun” perspective and die of shock.
This video came at a great time, as I am reading the Storm King's Thunder, and their reward systems are kind of bizarre at times. Never mind referring to the tables, but the rewards sometimes don't seem to match. Example, there was a quest involving helping an acolyte, who turns out to be a former noble, and she was happy to give you her share of her inheritance as thanks. It will involve bringing her necklace back to her former home, showing it to the steward, and the GM then roll 2 items from a loot table. All seems fine, except most of that table are just potions, and the amount of work involved just seem so underwhelming for all that work.
DMs seriously need to stop trying to balance everything. This isn't a competitive game. Feeling powerful is part of the fun! Stop ruining your players fun. Please!
Reminds me of the Synder run on dc where the ultraviolent lantern needed to stop biologically immortal blob monsters. He turned their orderized society into one of lesiure to the point where if the blob monsters didnt follow their little nanobots, they would die. The art of being a DM has been solved so long they are going back around to create issues 😂 (Serious doe, i lost respect for DM lair)
It's not competative, but it's also not very balanced at it's core. I think I'm learning that one of the keys to enjoying dnd 5e is leaning into both. striving for balance will be an exercise in frustration.
@@theDMLair Totally! The only useful way to measure balance, is if all players are having fun. If some characters are OP, but the others dont care and are still having an equivalent amount of fun, it is 'balanced'. If the BBEG is OP and you end in a TPK, but the players still had fun.. it was balanced. If both the DM & players are having similar levels of fun, it is balanced.
One recommendation for high magic make silver the standard for all crafting and spellcasting costs 12:08 thats where you replace GP with SP for all listed costs. Don't do this for equipment though
There’s so many monsters whose resistance to damage is negated by magical weapons, I’m really reluctant to give my players any magical weapons. It just flips a switch that turns them into being able to kill anything, even at low levels.
My first two campaigns had magic items shops. Afterward, I tossed that out and everyone afterward "magic shops" were only in big cities and only carried spell components and sometimes had some small item or two for sale that was sold to the guy running it by an adventurer. A large magic shop will also sell potions because they have the space to make them on-site with the components. Otherwise most magic shops now in my games as small and look more like a druggist. With jars of components on the shelves and nothing more. Though I am far more of a fan of Sword & Sorcery fantasy like Conan and I dislike the high magic, high fantasy stuff that 5e encourages.
Meanwhile min-maxers just be crafting their own magic items during every short rest/downtime at the mere cost of some materials, time, and prof in arcana and tinker's tools. 👀
I'm ok with giving overpowered magic items, as long as they are limited use. I really hate that they took away any resource management by making wands automatically recharge.
WoTC published 5e adventures tend to be pretty much devoid of items and even loot. My players hated Princes of the Apocalypse having practically no loot.
9:56 I would not classify Dragonlance as a low magic system. Yes every commoner doesn't have a +1 sword to weird but there are 3 acceptable schools of magic, clerics that can do miracles and the Gods walk among the people. Dark Sun would have been a better example as only one type of magic is acceptable and it is difficult to do.
I love giving out limited use magic items that don’t recharge. Potions being one example. I’ll give any PC a legendary potion! Why? It will only ruin one encounter if I goofed when I picked it to give out!
@theDMLair but who needs balance? Life isn't balanced! Different people are good at different things. That's why even high-level adventurers need a party to adventure with.
@theDMLair I haven't actually run a Shadowdark session yet but I've read through the rules and am looking forward to it! Will you come out with any videos about with tips and tricks to GM Shadowdark? Especially for those coming over from 5e?
I don't see how you can have a medium or low magic D&D world given the amount of magic that primary casters are throwing around. Or with even the martial classes having heavily magical subclasses. Even with no magic items, D&D 5 is a high magic game
Or, we could all work together to make a better, balanced, 2d10 fantasy ttrpg that we don’t have to fix. A game that works and isn’t driven by paying dividends.
Even based off "should magic shops exist" question, there alot of variance in what people like. I think it better to be willing to struggle and adapt over "we must follow the words blindly."
@theDMLair First: Never looked up much into magic items (each time im building a chara for fun -dont have a group to actually play it, aside of bg3-, is the list of items low). So, i dont have actually much on the screen (looked yeaterday first into the items of the 2024er book). Second: I like the jump skill, because it help to create a "dragoon" from Final Fantasy. By increasing the jump distance. But, i only found out yesterday, that the jump spell didnt overcome the movement Limit, like i thought (mean, the 30 feet without extra skills or Dash, to improve it). And, the problem of the new Version of Jump is, that it only speak of a reach of 30 feet. I understand it in that way, that its only supporting long jumps (30 feet for high Sound to high). While, the old jump spell simpy multiplied your jump reach x3. What included high jump to (at last, based on a calculator, i found). Otherwise, didnt i found magic weapons like fire spears (im actually on a trip to allways use spears, even, when longswords, great weapons and Pikes/Lance are stronger), that would interesst me. Maybe, in addition to the jump spell (the ring looks nice, because it doesnt has charges, dont take a spell slot from you and you dont need material/spell focus for it, if i understand the magic items rule correctly) would be the speed increasing item (i think, it was boots or a Ring to) and the ring of protection be nice. Maybe there are more powerfull items. But this 3 items would at last support the base idea of the fighter/eldrich knight.
@theDMLair First: i didnt looked much into magic items. I dont have a actually group to play it and build sometimes charas simply for fun (most items do i only know from bg3, and only looked yesterday in the GM book, what items actually exist). In addition, wouldnt i know, what items would showing up in a play. And wouldnt Plan much with them than. Second: I like jumping in bg3 (are very mobile with it). I know, that the real one restrict it to your movement speed for the round, but, i understanded the spell allways in a way, that it would allowing me to jump wider, as the movement would allowing it (its say, i can jump 30 feet after 10 feet movement, that would bring me than to a distance of 40 feet in the end). I only readed yesterday, that it isnt that case. And, that i would need skills to improve my movement speed (like Dash, Race/class ability), to jump the actually maximal one. But even with that, would the Ring allowing me to use the jump spell, without the need to use up a spell slot, without needing a spell focus/Material (if i understand the rule correctly), and, it doesnt look to have charges or rest restriction. Mean, i can use the spell as much, as i want it. Maybe, would it be nice, to have the boots or Ring, that increase your movement to. For better jumping distance. And, the Ring of protection, for a bit more AC. The only thing i dislike by the new jump spell is, that it says only, that it increase your jumping distance to 30 feet. I understand it that way, that it only support your long jump. But not your high jump (it looks to high, to jump 30 feet in the air, when i compair it with the high jump rule). While the old jump spell supported high jumps to (by simply tripple your distance). And third reason: Im interessted in Jump spell, because it support the idea, of building a Dragoon (from FF) in DnD (at best, as Eldrich knight). Im eve disappointed, that i didnt found many special magic weapons in the book. Esspecialy for spears (like spears more as pikes and they look better for rp, because, they are shorter, pikes are normaly very long, what would create problems to enter rooms, buildings, small places, and, i can throw them to). Even, when spears are weaker, as long swords and other 2 handed weapons.
Solution to robbing magic item shops - the items are enchanted such that they cannot be removed from the shop without the clerk removing the enchantment. If they try to remove the enchantment without the clerk, the item becomes mundane.
Just make it so they retrack into a extra contextal space. Or they become enchanted to annoy intill you return like a sword and armor make fart noises 😂
@@harshalshah4685 or even worser, there is a good chance you'll get polymorphed into a domestic animal... chicken, sheep, pig, goose, maybe a cute watchdog even? the shop owner runs a well-equipped animal farm, and even though he sells left and right the pens are always filled...
@theDMLair I've been playing and DMing since 1981, and I just want you to know that I truly appreciate your advice, your tone, and your style. You just seem like a really cool guy with an eagerness to share that's heartwarming. I always look forward to your videos. Thanks for everything you do!
I couldn't agree more about Harry Potter >.> And magic shops. Yuck. Don't like them. PCs looking to trade / sell magic items? Magic items represent power and security, so the local lord or a powerful guild or merchant, or even other adventuring parties will surely have an interest in acquiring them, or possibly trading them. And they will certainly have the ability to protect themselves from "aggressive" PCs. I always have my NPC / Monsters use whatever magic items they have. Yeah, it cheezes off the Players when they see their loot being used up! LOL!
Give them a ward of magic missiles. The book says it recharges at dawn. No... you have to recast the spell into the wand.... They get the wand but have to maintain it. Did you use the last charge? I sure hope it did not become non-magical now...
🔥 LAIRS & LEGENDS | Over 700 pages of D&D 5e GM resources: adventures spanning levels 1 to 15, 100+ new monsters, encounters, puzzles, traps, villains, NPCs, maps, and more! - thedmlair.com/collections/lairs-legends
"How you missed that the first time..."
Bold of you to assume I even read the DMG.
Or that it could affect anyone. 😮
Like it nice to have but you can do just fine without it.
My magic shops sell "mundane" magic items like glow-globes, broaches of rain repelling, brooms of sweeping; basically high end appliances for upscale citizens. Also magical "Home Depots" that carry self-cleaning toilets, cabinets of food preservation and stoves that don't need wood or coal. I also have alchemist's shops that sell mostly common/uncommon healing potions, potions of fire, cold, and poison resistance (mostly for trade guilds), and water breathing in port cities. Adventurer-grade magic is either in the hands of noble families, retired ex-adventurers or buries in long-forgotten crypts. *Occasionally* a once-rich noble house may try to auction off a magic item to generate cash, or a fence may try to unload a stolen one; these are always private auctions done through intermediaries or private auction houses, which require PCs to cultivate social contacts.
Don't give Count Strahd a wand of fireballs. Have them drink the potions but they respawn.
I have a lot of magic items shops but they are usually filled with random crap - I love seeing what creative ideas my players have for using weird items.
Items important for their build they usually get from the adventures
Great Video as Allways!
About "Sting"....It was an "Orc Bane (+2d6 Against Orcs, a "+1" Ability), Glowing only when orcs are near (Divination Ability "+1") "Spider Bane" (+2d6 Against Spiders "+1" Ability) and the base "+1 of a magic sword"...the sword was at least a "+3 Value"...something about beteen 32,000 and 16,000 gp...well at lest that was in D&D 3.5 Edition and using the propper lore of TLOTR
THX!
i get what your saying, but more so think those are just the enemies it was used on (with no distinct advantage) the incredibly rare light of elendil did the heavy lifting against shelob and orcs just got will powered out by sam and frodo (sam shall always be named before frodo). Just my thoughts
@andrewrichardson2466 in the book (the hobit) Elrond explains about the time when sting was forged, that and orchrist. It was in a war against orcs i can't explai a Lot because My Bad English but in the books the give this and more bacground about that sword the one of Gandalf and the one of thorin
What's needed to succeed is entirely dependent on what the DM chooses to throw at the party. They set the difficulty, and need to take the party's capabilities into consideration when designing encounters.
I really don't understand this hate on magic items. The game is supposed to be fun, and you can always adjust the power level of monsters. I used to add a minimum of 50 HP to every monster to offset the benefit. Honestly, if you give out items, recognize the need to balance your game. But this kind of "DON'T GIVE OUT TOO MUCH, IT WILL BREAK YOUR GAME." Is more than a little ridiculous.
To me, it is a matter of what kind of game I want to run. I prefer low magic settings.
I'll add in to your comment; a broken game can be just as fun.
Gave my 1on1 player back in the day (no other party members to balance) a scroll with 5 recharging casts of orb of annihilation.
(Charged 1 charge every 2 weeks in game; it hit 0 it was gone).
Concern for losing it meant it was barely ever used in combat (a bit of weapon enchanting was more common).
This allowed me to throw a named red dragon (thraxata) at him at level 3 as a solo player.
Once the game is broken you can really start to have fun in that broken sandbox imo.
Still to this day I am a big fan of give your players what they ask for. It's more important to balance the players; if the imbalance is between players and enemies you can fix it with a simple finger on the scale.
Basically it from edgelords who cant handle fun and cant balance things. 😂
They can only follow what the book exactly say!?!?! 😂😂
For me, i love magic and making every item like artifacts and actual artifacts worthy of the title not "oh this orb is only used to recharge wands"
Show a Thaumcraft Pickaxe of the Core to these people and they die. 😂
I had a thought but I feel like dnd things are so "good" the people are purposing going out if their way to create issues to solve. 😂
Even if i wasnt a advocate for "get a paper and pencil and write it your own way" it just sad to see people literally demand to be led in a creative game. 😂
It just sad.
Depends on the tone your going for and your ability to improvise. Too many high powered magic items can break your game in the same way high level dnd stops feeling challenging.
Once players can teleport their enemies into the sun fun encounter design really takes effort and if your solution is to offset the benefits by giving more hp, making your enemies immune to teleportation etc players might as well just not have the items, spells or abilities.
I experimented with a few magic item systems and stumbled upon one that my players really enjoyed. They each got one or two story items that evolved with them by adding weapon feats (Ancestral Weapons supplement). This was the vehicle for delivering powerful upgrades or boons to players without breaking the balance. However, my loot goblins always ask for more. So I started handing out single use items that give them different advantages or encourage different combat mechanics. For example, my paladin had a 10th level sneak attack dagger that he could use in tandem with an Attack action to add 5d6 to any one attack. Most were improvised items off the top of my head such as a Healing potion dart the ranger could shoot at a downed player. Overall they looked forward to using them and would even find roleplay interactions for them too.
if your players love it, you're doing something very right!!!
3:09 High Level Advice
- 4:06 Don't worry about perfect balance
- 4:37 Better to give fewer & less powerful magic items
- 5:07 Give a variety of magic items, ask them what they (or their character) would like
- 5:41 Be careful with Shops
8:18 Defining how present & developed *magic* is in your world
10:20 Determining how many to reward
12:00 Adjusting tables based on the world's magical presence
14:10 Determining how to dole magic items out
Not all heroes wear capes
I like the wishlist idea. I'm about to be starting up a campaign where all the magic items are crafted with rare items found across the world. This will help me determine what magic items they want and so I can pre generate the recipes for them.
Excellent video! I met a guy in college who bragged that his home character had 12 magic swords - I could only imagine a goblin caddy carrying around a golf bag full of his many swords and making suggestions which sword he should use to kill the monster in the next room.
The biggest problem with magic items it that they often end up partially defining a character which means it's the DM who, at least partially, created the character. A character should be, as much as possible, the product of the player. Therefore, magic items should be sparingly handed out and most items should have been used by the enemy so that it's not a freebie. The players must earn said magic item.
that's a great point!
As for the last one, with the potions. I once had an enemy, who used potions, and every melee strike was accompanied with the sound of breaking glass. The group quickly changed tactics, and not all of the potions were destroyed. I didn't actually keep track of the potions on the enemy, and the reward was entirely based on tactical decisions, or lack of them.
I remember early 5E where DMs boasted of not having any magic items at all in their games. They misinterpreted what 5E meant. Yes, you don't need magic items to remain a viable character from level 1 to 20, but what they meant was you don't need any specific magic item. In 3E you needed items to boost ability scores and saving throws and weapons with pluses. In 5E such items are nice to have, but by game math you don't need them. You don't need gauntlets of ogre power. You don't need a weapon +2. You don't need a cloak of resistance. However, the game never meant to say never give PCs any magic items of any kind whatsoever. Magic items were always part of 5E and were always meant to be given to PCs. A PC can have a cloak of protection. A PC can have a weapon +2 (agreed not at level 5). The game will work fine.
Forgotten Realms's Chosen of Mystra is such a good solution - high-level magic users that want to see the proliferation of the use of magic, tasked with planting items in dungeons for adventurers to find, and also a very powerful network you don't want to be on the wrong side of!
I roll some random items to dot around that may or may not be useful as set dressing, but I also insert specifically targeted magic items in at narratively satisfying moments.
As a GM and what works for my table include.
1) weapons can evolve in power with the character (with limits previously discussed) so the player gets something cool and unique to them. This is a little extra work and you can dole out the powers as needed. With time and practice you’ll get better.
2) I have magic item auctions, players are required to get a single auction license (pretty expensive) or a lifetime license with a yearly tax to continue using that license. If they forget or can’t get it renewed in time they buy a new one (rping is allowed to convince the official (or not) to make an exception.) Low lvl items are found in limited shops.
2a) if the pc’s auction something there’s a new license fee and a 10% tax on the money it sold for.
The auction system allows you to burn pc’s money (for us, depending on the rarity of item there is a set # of rolls pc must pass in order to win) if they get the item there is a potential for a rivalry of the person they beat or lost to.
Good advice. Magic items can make or break a game.
Treat magic item shops like a brokerage. IE they dont keep the expensive items on premises instead their current owners have them. The shop just acts as contact point.
I have run them like high-end auctions for art in the past, so PCs end up in bidding wars for items. Both a fun way to use up coin and potentially later theft for an item they don't get :)
Imo only truly powerful stuff deserves to be like that.
A novice thaumaturge can make stuff then elves would slay nations for appearently. 😂
But if you truely want to make magical items worth it, make the items actually worth it over "1,000 gp for sword of slicing arms off"
For magic item shops, you could even do specialized shops. Say a bender only sells martial magic items or another with armor. It can allow you to sell higher rarity magic items without opening the whole can of worms.
i tend to run shorter campaigns with quick leveling. not for everyone but my group seems to keep coming back.
Ive chosen to talk with each player at character creation what they want to focus on (i.e. ranger wants to be companion based) then create/find one magic item that fits their specific character want. (ranger got a +1 bow that applies a hunters mark which also increases their companions damage). Dish these items out during the early stages. Then going into "late game" just provide utility to help them overcome future obsticales.
"tanky healer paladin" gets shield that allows smite to heal a nearby ally instead of deal extra damage to target (he still wants to damage option).
IDK works for us, but does take homebrew work on my end.
In my current campaign, Dragon of Icespire Peak + supplements, I took Bob the World Builders suggestion of mashing it and LMoPhandelver together. When the players encounter the Spectator, it is determined to craft something. The war cleric remembers he has smithing and volunteers. The spectator demands a sacrifice to the Green Flame Brazier. Open ended suggestion, they start burning the common magic items they got from Gnomenguard (I awarded a common-uncommon magic item of choice for clearing the mimics there). Fine until, the clerics best friend touches the GFBrazier and loses more than half her hp. Players have only given 2 common magic items and the flame really grew as hp were sacrificed, so the same player touches it again, fails the save with a nat 1, and dies. War Cleric turns the magic mace found there (commissioned by priests of Lathander long ago) into a Maul of Disruption with the moral choice to keep and empower more bonuses into the Maul (tbd), or revive his dead comrade. He agonizes the choice but revives his comrade. They were only able to do this because of help from the immortal aberration, the Spectator, which escapes. Afterwards they still decide to take the GFBrazier to Gnomenguard which, they don't know, has a wild magic ley line running through it, as per the book. More fun times to come.
It’s also surprisingly easy to make magic items if you have the gold and downtime
I have to contest your take on the one ring, its a power multiplier, Taking base abilities and expanding them to their maximum, Hobits who are naturally stealthy and a hearty, vital people this becomes invisibility (or rather minor plane shifting) and Long life
In the hands of a man dwarf elf or Maiar the one ring becomes VASTLY more dangerous
but still not powerful compared to magic items you can get in dnd
@theDMLair depends on how you interpret it, If you interpret it as "Treat characters highest attribute as x3,4,5 it's standard unmodified level" It could be getting up there with some of the nastiest artifacts in DnD and it can benefit ANY class that gets ahold of it
In Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, there is a series of Magic Items that are shards of other realms, items exclusive to Sorcerer use. Each one has the same cookie cutter concept. A strong ability triggered on Metamagic that you get to use once per day, unless you're a specific type of Sorcerer, to which it's limitless.
The issue is when you have coffeelocks.
My character uses the Feywild Shard, allowing her to use Wild Surges as her main form of offense rather than spellcasting.
I run an eberron campaign using PF2 as the rules. I tell my players if you are in sharn, and the item is level 4 or below, you can find it. 5-10, you need a day or 2 to locate a vendor. above 10, you're going on a quest after you spend time to locate where it potentially might be. Also, my gripe with PF2 is the assumption that you MUST give certain items at certain levels or the characters will be under powered. If I start another PF2 campaign I'm using the optional GM rules for leveling without runes, so that the players get the needed stat buffs at the level they need it and i'm more free to give the fun items rather than the +XYZ stat items.
also running eberron using PF2e rules. i have a similar rule. basically if an item is party level or under, they can buy it. if the item is over their level, it's harder to find or costs more; I forget exactly, woiuld have to consult my notes. but I agree...I don't like the assumption that players must get certain amounts of items to stay competative. that and that most of the items just seem super underwhelming (as do spells for that matter).
@@theDMLair Yes, the lack of interesting magic items is also an issue. I've started making my own, or porting them from other games. Honestly, as long as they don't break the +/-10 system most things should work.
I love making my own magical items. My wife and I play a 1 player campaign and she wanted to convince a zombie that was attacking her stand down and be her ally. I had her roll persuasive with disadvantage and she rolls 2 Nat 20s. So she now has a dagger that can summon the zombie and any gear she puts on it stays with it.
My current group decided to try to run Keys from the Golden Vault as an adventure with some sidequests sprinkled in between heists. The problem with that is the Golden Vault literally throws magic items at the party. I've been able to make necessary adjustments but it was definitely the first time that I had experienced magic item bloat. We have now moved away from the Golden Vault as the primary backbone of the adventure and I have begun running my first fully homebrewed world. Definitely still offering the Golden Vault options but they are passing by them to find out details about the world I created. Because I am homebrewing it is allowing me to adjust for the magic items they do have and I am finally having fun again.
Even in my (relatively) high magic not-Spelljammer campaign, I don't have magic shops. I do have craftsfolk who may deal in the low end of magic items related to their craft - typically +1 gear and common/uncommon utility items and potions.
WOTC: Magic items isn't a requirement in 5e.
My last game, DM pulled the "you lose your magic items for a time", card (cringe) My group has exactly 2 players that can do 'magical damage' naturally and 3 that don't. A fight with two amber golems (immune to non-magical damage) took almost 2 freaking hours and was a GRINDFEST. Had the monk been a fighter instead, we never would have won.
Tell me more than they're not a requirement. That the system is 'ballanced' to not have magic items. I CALL BULL!
There is NO PROMISE you will have a group capabable of doing magical damage, you might have a party of fighters/barbs/rogues. You might have a caster that only has healing magic, or you might only have a ranger that does 1d6 magic damage with hunter's mark. Yet there are plenty of creatures flat out immune to non-magical damage.
"Ballanced."
Yep, most things in the book should be taken with a grain of salt. the the book saying "magic items aren't required" isn't an exception. though i'm sure the argument would be that "technically" they aren't required, and that a 2 hour grindfest might be fun for some groups...
The fact that immunity to non-magical damage is not the single most powerful ability a monster can have is a clear sign that players are expected to have magic items. Were that immunity limited to CR 20+ creatures, then perhaps the claim would hold water... but there are creatures with CRs as low as 1 and 2 that have it.
Change them to resistant instead
This all depends on the choice the DM made to have you face monsters that are immune to magic. The DM sets the difficulty level. You saw magic items as the answer, but the correct answer is the DM being good at designing encounters and knowing the party's capabilities. Let your DM know what you find fun (or not fun, as in the case of an excessively long drawn out combat).
Were those the amber golems in Curse of Strahd? While the party I ran it to did have access to magic weapons, they also managed to tip a giant statue onto one of the golems dealing massive damage. The again, they were only able to do that with the aid of Transmute Rock to mud so with limited magic I could see it being a problem.
If I had to pick what level of magic I like the best in a world, it would be Low. I love playing spellcasters, but the thing I love about magic so much is that it is mysterious and often feared by those who don't understand it; in High-magic worlds where magic is everywhere and is expected, it just doesn't feel as special. And for character creation, a Low-magic world is better because martial classes garner more respect. In a Low-magic world, choosing a martial class means taking on the roll as the face of the party in social aspects, as the average person can respect a good fighter, and will be more likely to forge an alliance with one, as opposed to a warlock with jars of eyeballs strapped to their waste for example; whereas in a High-magic world, magic-users are the norm, and if you aren't one, you're _boring_!
This is one of the reasons why warlocks are my favourite class to play, because it seems like even in High-magic societies, warlocks still retain that dark and mysterious, occult witchcraft feel.
Magic shops are often associated with guilds and nobles. Big trouble if you mess with them. In my worlds such shops that have anything more than simple potions or scrolls are very rare.
Robbing the magic shop is an easy way to end up cursed with a -8 to every roll.
Exactly! Not only that, but the party is going to rob a super powerful and connected wizard(s)? Sounds like a really bad idea.
@@camerongunn7906 It occurred to me that I could just give the cursed player a D12 and tell them that this is their new D20.
yes, so true. "sure, you rob the magic shop" a few days later: powerful wizard cabal is after the group.
i generally have at least one magic item vendor, but its mostly random fun stuff. invisibility pill that expired, only turn your clothes invisible. party hat that shouts 'party' and plays music. players sometimes come up with good uses for my nonsense.
Ya i often asked myself why Strahd doesn't go into his crypt and grab Khazans staff of power. Then magically call his animated armor to him like iron man and suit up. I like how you think Luke! 14:46
Yeah...or collect all the powerful artifacts himself so that heroes can't collect them.
I could see there being magic supply shops, that carry things caster need, that might have the occasional magic item available for sale. Or maybe even the local blacksmith has a "special" item for sale. I just wouldn't let it sit there forever and if the characters didn't try to buy them right away, someone else might have purchased it when they come back. The item is probably not on the premises and the proprietor will have to arrange a meeting with those interested in purchasing the item. Probably in a public setting with plenty of witnesses in case the PC's have any funny ideas.
Also, you could also have shops sell useless magic items like the Bagpipes of Invisibility.
For 10 years I have been hearing how much better D&D 5E is, but no one tried to tell me why.
Thank you for telling me more than anyone has before in the first 5 minutes of your video than anyone.
And for making me understand why I never got into 5E. I just couldn't understand it. Now I do a little better, but that doesn't entice me for two reasons. One, I've got 10 frustrating years behind me. And two, I'm not sure I want to play an unbalanced game where the GM has to keep on his toes more than before so he doesn't cause a TPK by accident.
dnd 5e is not for everyone. there are a wide variety of ttrpgs out there, and many folks will like other systems far more. currently, I'm really enjoying Shadowdark.
@@theDMLair Every ttrpg is not for everyone. D&D stopped being for me with the 4th edition. But because I have played D&D for a long time people that ignored 4th edition are back with the 5th, though only after Baldur's Gate 3.
And it's quite possible that if someone explained it to me instead of the 'it's simpler', 'it's better' tirade I might have found my way in.
Magic Item Shops -
My rule is that 'Sure, they exist, but they cater to the most common customers...i.e. non-adventurers'
While they might have a few 'uncommon' items or perhaps even rare items , the BULK of what they'll have would be what they can sell to the local merchants and business owners.
"I'm sorry, we don't have a flame tongue sword, but we've got this enchanted desktop that glows red if someone attempts to pass of fake coins." or "No, we don't have a broom of flying, but we have this broom of sweeping. Say the command word and it will sweep the floor and clear out any cobwebs in the room you're in...."
Yeah, adventurers might come in a few times a year to buy big ticket items...but week in, week out they'll make their money to keep their shop running selling magic equivalents of Rogaine, Viagra, and kitchen gadgets.
I think that more reasonable then "Why would a shop ever have such a divine artifact of +1 sword" and "you need to travel to the Elemental Plane of water and talk to "BoB""
The best magic item shop has nothing above common items on hand, and the rest of their stock is presented in a catalog.
They put 10 to 50% down (and showing that they can afford the agreed price) and a courier will show up in a couple of hours with the item, when the rest of the payment is due.
Modern D&D: "You don't need magic items to succeed. "
3.5e: "You'd better have your magic items, son, or you'll get TPK'd. In fact, you might get TPK'd anyway."
15:29 there's one player I play with and GM for who every time they see a bad guy drink a potion they always yell, "my loot!" Haha
oh yeah, that's the best. lol
My impression on 5th edition is no room for lazy DMs. If a DM places a magic item, not understanding the impact, they deserve what happens.
Back in the 90s in an issue of Dragon magazine there was an article about using unusual but useful non magic items as an alternative. Things like a camo cloak ect.
I agree that dnd 5e is probably best for more experienced GMs. I would recommend a more rules light ttrpg as an entry point for new GMs. Shadowdark perhaps.
No Magic Item shops. Instead; mysterious wandering merchants that appear with their cart of goods and are gone the next day. They only sell consumable items or very low level things. Even a magic sword can be a comsumable item ie; +3 sword loses a +1 bonus each day it is used until it is a plain sword again (or shatters).
My players are used to that sort of thing so I get no push back for it. They still get real magic weapons but less frequently making them truely valuable. By 7th level everyone is rocking a magic item just not a bag of holding full of stuff no one can even remember they have.
How do you distinguish between minor and major items, especially those from non-official modules?
probably a gut check. does this feel powerful? maybe also cross reference with the tables WOTC mentions to see if an item not on those tables aligns more with a minor item or a major item
I prefer to give ouit a couple of tailored low level items or one more powerful item. And the more powerful having a really nasty catch if abused.
Pathfinder and D&D's magic items are very different. Mundane magic items can make your world feel boring if applied wrong. Fizban's allowed players to Monster Hunter certain wyrms for their unique properties.
At my own table, I literally banned adamantine armors due to its unique crit denying applications. With PF2, I'm able to curate magic items my players buy. Certain items could be identified, while some use alternate ways to identify.
yeah, I hate adamantine armor. :D
Someday I’m at going to come to this channel and there will be a video that doesn’t come at it’s subject from a negative “here is what’s wrong with everything in this game that is supposed to be fun” perspective and die of shock.
wouldn't want you to die, though, now would we?
9:13 A close approximation of his name would be "AHN-dreh-zhey Sahp-KOFF-shki"... Polish speakers, please give that a nudge 😉
This video came at a great time, as I am reading the Storm King's Thunder, and their reward systems are kind of bizarre at times.
Never mind referring to the tables, but the rewards sometimes don't seem to match. Example, there was a quest involving helping an acolyte, who turns out to be a former noble, and she was happy to give you her share of her inheritance as thanks.
It will involve bringing her necklace back to her former home, showing it to the steward, and the GM then roll 2 items from a loot table.
All seems fine, except most of that table are just potions, and the amount of work involved just seem so underwhelming for all that work.
awesome, happy to nail the timing!
DMs seriously need to stop trying to balance everything. This isn't a competitive game. Feeling powerful is part of the fun! Stop ruining your players fun. Please!
Reminds me of the Synder run on dc where the ultraviolent lantern needed to stop biologically immortal blob monsters.
He turned their orderized society into one of lesiure to the point where if the blob monsters didnt follow their little nanobots, they would die.
The art of being a DM has been solved so long they are going back around to create issues 😂
(Serious doe, i lost respect for DM lair)
It's not competative, but it's also not very balanced at it's core. I think I'm learning that one of the keys to enjoying dnd 5e is leaning into both. striving for balance will be an exercise in frustration.
@@theDMLair Totally! The only useful way to measure balance, is if all players are having fun.
If some characters are OP, but the others dont care and are still having an equivalent amount of fun, it is 'balanced'.
If the BBEG is OP and you end in a TPK, but the players still had fun.. it was balanced.
If both the DM & players are having similar levels of fun, it is balanced.
If the players rob a magic item shop then they are dead. If one individual has so many magic items, then he must be exceptionally powerful.
I dont think having 4 cap of breathing is going to overthrow the kingdom.
Get a real powerful item like a Axe of the Stream or something.
One recommendation for high magic make silver the standard for all crafting and spellcasting costs 12:08 thats where you replace GP with SP for all listed costs. Don't do this for equipment though
There’s so many monsters whose resistance to damage is negated by magical weapons, I’m really reluctant to give my players any magical weapons. It just flips a switch that turns them into being able to kill anything, even at low levels.
@@Pobafett go with magical items rather than weapons and introduce the weapons into the last %25-%35 of the campaign
My first two campaigns had magic items shops. Afterward, I tossed that out and everyone afterward "magic shops" were only in big cities and only carried spell components and sometimes had some small item or two for sale that was sold to the guy running it by an adventurer. A large magic shop will also sell potions because they have the space to make them on-site with the components. Otherwise most magic shops now in my games as small and look more like a druggist. With jars of components on the shelves and nothing more. Though I am far more of a fan of Sword & Sorcery fantasy like Conan and I dislike the high magic, high fantasy stuff that 5e encourages.
Meanwhile min-maxers just be crafting their own magic items during every short rest/downtime at the mere cost of some materials, time, and prof in arcana and tinker's tools. 👀
if there is enough downtime in the game and no ticking clocks on adventures/other stuff happening in the world, yes, 100%
I'm ok with giving overpowered magic items, as long as they are limited use. I really hate that they took away any resource management by making wands automatically recharge.
yeah, same here
D&d needs to make more monsters that have weaknesses and immunities
WoTC published 5e adventures tend to be pretty much devoid of items and even loot. My players hated Princes of the Apocalypse having practically no loot.
interesting. i haven't read many of the 5e modules.
9:56 I would not classify Dragonlance as a low magic system. Yes every commoner doesn't have a +1 sword to weird but there are 3 acceptable schools of magic, clerics that can do miracles and the Gods walk among the people. Dark Sun would have been a better example as only one type of magic is acceptable and it is difficult to do.
the 2024 dmg also give you a list of how many and how powerful items.
yes, seems to be much improved!
What age of Dragonlance do you see as low fantasy? I don't see SoTSQ as low fantasy.
Just have your magic shop staffed with just an old guy snd his 7 canaries.
yeah.... lol :D :D :D
Good information
Long time DM but first time 5e DM.
If this is just "Reading out the segment and handholding any critical thought" - the video
I'm going to be mad
I'm mad
i'm always mad. welcome to the party.
Great introduction! 😂
thanks! :D
I'm a bit tired of all these hit pieces targeting DnD.
I love giving out limited use magic items that don’t recharge. Potions being one example. I’ll give any PC a legendary potion! Why? It will only ruin one encounter if I goofed when I picked it to give out!
Ok, where can I get that t-shirt?
What about in Shadowdark? I feel like it's much more inherently lower magic than 5e, but it's not as concerned with balance either.
Yes, agreed on both points. lower magic and not very balanced. And tons of fun!
@theDMLair but who needs balance? Life isn't balanced! Different people are good at different things. That's why even high-level adventurers need a party to adventure with.
@theDMLair I haven't actually run a Shadowdark session yet but I've read through the rules and am looking forward to it! Will you come out with any videos about with tips and tricks to GM Shadowdark? Especially for those coming over from 5e?
Ya welcome to faerune where commoners have +1 daggers 8:41
I don't see how you can have a medium or low magic D&D world given the amount of magic that primary casters are throwing around. Or with even the martial classes having heavily magical subclasses. Even with no magic items, D&D 5 is a high magic game
part of what makes a low magic world is limiting casters and spells, yeah, I agree
All items are cursed until purchased or items must be ordered and created after payment
Or, we could all work together to make a better, balanced, 2d10 fantasy ttrpg that we don’t have to fix. A game that works and isn’t driven by paying dividends.
Even based off "should magic shops exist" question, there alot of variance in what people like.
I think it better to be willing to struggle and adapt over "we must follow the words blindly."
@@Subject_Keter agreed. I don't think that is counter to my point that the system should support magic item if it says it does.
I dont want much.
Give me the Ring of jumping^^
I'm afraid to ask... why?
@theDMLair First: Never looked up much into magic items (each time im building a chara for fun -dont have a group to actually play it, aside of bg3-, is the list of items low). So, i dont have actually much on the screen (looked yeaterday first into the items of the 2024er book).
Second: I like the jump skill, because it help to create a "dragoon" from Final Fantasy. By increasing the jump distance.
But, i only found out yesterday, that the jump spell didnt overcome the movement Limit, like i thought (mean, the 30 feet without extra skills or Dash, to improve it). And, the problem of the new Version of Jump is, that it only speak of a reach of 30 feet. I understand it in that way, that its only supporting long jumps (30 feet for high Sound to high). While, the old jump spell simpy multiplied your jump reach x3. What included high jump to (at last, based on a calculator, i found).
Otherwise, didnt i found magic weapons like fire spears (im actually on a trip to allways use spears, even, when longswords, great weapons and Pikes/Lance are stronger), that would interesst me.
Maybe, in addition to the jump spell (the ring looks nice, because it doesnt has charges, dont take a spell slot from you and you dont need material/spell focus for it, if i understand the magic items rule correctly) would be the speed increasing item (i think, it was boots or a Ring to) and the ring of protection be nice.
Maybe there are more powerfull items. But this 3 items would at last support the base idea of the fighter/eldrich knight.
@theDMLair First: i didnt looked much into magic items. I dont have a actually group to play it and build sometimes charas simply for fun (most items do i only know from bg3, and only looked yesterday in the GM book, what items actually exist).
In addition, wouldnt i know, what items would showing up in a play. And wouldnt Plan much with them than.
Second:
I like jumping in bg3 (are very mobile with it). I know, that the real one restrict it to your movement speed for the round, but, i understanded the spell allways in a way, that it would allowing me to jump wider, as the movement would allowing it (its say, i can jump 30 feet after 10 feet movement, that would bring me than to a distance of 40 feet in the end). I only readed yesterday, that it isnt that case. And, that i would need skills to improve my movement speed (like Dash, Race/class ability), to jump the actually maximal one.
But even with that, would the Ring allowing me to use the jump spell, without the need to use up a spell slot, without needing a spell focus/Material (if i understand the rule correctly), and, it doesnt look to have charges or rest restriction. Mean, i can use the spell as much, as i want it.
Maybe, would it be nice, to have the boots or Ring, that increase your movement to. For better jumping distance.
And, the Ring of protection, for a bit more AC.
The only thing i dislike by the new jump spell is, that it says only, that it increase your jumping distance to 30 feet. I understand it that way, that it only support your long jump. But not your high jump (it looks to high, to jump 30 feet in the air, when i compair it with the high jump rule). While the old jump spell supported high jumps to (by simply tripple your distance).
And third reason: Im interessted in Jump spell, because it support the idea, of building a Dragoon (from FF) in DnD (at best, as Eldrich knight).
Im eve disappointed, that i didnt found many special magic weapons in the book. Esspecialy for spears (like spears more as pikes and they look better for rp, because, they are shorter, pikes are normaly very long, what would create problems to enter rooms, buildings, small places, and, i can throw them to). Even, when spears are weaker, as long swords and other 2 handed weapons.
+1 bonus is weak... you will only see its effect every 20 rolls.
On the hit roll, but those +1's on damage will start to add up.
Wooohoooo. 2nd view and 2nd comment😊
Solution to robbing magic item shops - the items are enchanted such that they cannot be removed from the shop without the clerk removing the enchantment. If they try to remove the enchantment without the clerk, the item becomes mundane.
Worse than mundane; they become cursed.
Just make it so they retrack into a extra contextal space. Or they become enchanted to annoy intill you return like a sword and armor make fart noises 😂
@@harshalshah4685 or even worser, there is a good chance you'll get polymorphed into a domestic animal... chicken, sheep, pig, goose, maybe a cute watchdog even? the shop owner runs a well-equipped animal farm, and even though he sells left and right the pens are always filled...
@@lotharrenz4621or better yet, just ask your druid friend to steal it. 😂
@@Subject_Keter Good plan. but how do you tell him from the herd of sheep afterwards? XD
Equipment breakage. Increase magic items but have equipment breakage established from the begining.
Awesome
Magic touch weapons
Dude. 169k subs and only 439 likes on this vid? What gives?
me crying in the corner. :D
thanks for the support!
@theDMLair I've been playing and DMing since 1981, and I just want you to know that I truly appreciate your advice, your tone, and your style. You just seem like a really cool guy with an eagerness to share that's heartwarming. I always look forward to your videos. Thanks for everything you do!
I will pay you to pronounce "Andrzej" again.
I've never heard anyone get it SO wrong xD
how about 1 minute straight of me saying it wrong in a multitude of variations? :D
Attack a potential employer?
I know that Lord of rings was either a misspeak or engagement bait so, here's your comment
I would never participate in engagment bait. What, in fact, is engagement bait?
;)
@theDMLair truely you are a professional with honed skills at your craft 😁
THIRD
I couldn't agree more about Harry Potter >.>
And magic shops. Yuck. Don't like them. PCs looking to trade / sell magic items? Magic items represent power and security, so the local lord or a powerful guild or merchant, or even other adventuring parties will surely have an interest in acquiring them, or possibly trading them. And they will certainly have the ability to protect themselves from "aggressive" PCs.
I always have my NPC / Monsters use whatever magic items they have. Yeah, it cheezes off the Players when they see their loot being used up! LOL!
The continued hate in these videos for D&D is becoming more and more off-putting.
say Wiedźmin!
no way... lol
Great intro, had me cracking up! 😂😂
glad you liked it! :D
Hello! Noice.
More D&D? Ah well... I'm out!
Just balance the stuff 😂
Mf acting like they dont pencil and papers.
I despise Strixhaven and dont get me started on the radiant citadel or as i prefer to call the illithid version of McDonalds!
Give them a ward of magic missiles. The book says it recharges at dawn. No... you have to recast the spell into the wand.... They get the wand but have to maintain it. Did you use the last charge? I sure hope it did not become non-magical now...
i often go old school with wands and say they have X charges that when used are just gone