I'm probably a little more loosey-goosey about this than most people would expect. Don't get me wrong, I keep most kinds of magic items pretty rare; however, I do try to keep in mind the requirements for allowing higher level PCs/NPCs to make many of the low to low intermediate tier magic items. Mainly, _Enchant an Item_ as a 6th level spell, and _Permanency_ as an 8th level spell. That said, and with a strong element of homebrewing involved, I also think of the section from the AD&D 1e DMG regarding magic armor, where it just says that +3 armor is made from meteorite iron, +4 is made with a mithral (sic) alloy, and +5 is made with an adamantite alloy. In some other materials, TSR usually had +1 or +2 armor and weapons equate to being quasi-magical in reality. So, I do tend to give out that level of item at a rate that by level 2 pretty much everyone in the party will have obtained something that has a "+" bonus, which will function as a magic item when required. Although, for example, I don't let such items have the "virtual weightlessness" of truly magic armor, etc; I mostly see them as items of the highest quality, and that have been associated with legendary deeds, people, etc., so sort of magical by association. Finally, I did let a magic user of at first level 15, then level 16, create a level 5 spell that would result in a permanent +1 weapon or piece of armor, then a level 7 spell that did the same for +2 items. In both cases, no extra magic features were possible, and the spells were set up to be pretty costly in terms of time and materials. EDIT: On a related note, I'm not too stingy with basic potions, or low level spell scrolls either.
Most modern systems don't really feel magical, due to removal of "cannot do/cannot affect" situations in the game (like you're saying... magic weapons, even silver or silvered, good quality magical spells that are actually magical and impactful rather than a bunch of auto-daily powers). 👊🤓
@@kentuckyrex I say this pretty often, myself. One of my MAJOR problems with the way the game is played today is that there is ENTIRELY too much magic and entirely too many special abilities.
Years ago, I ripped off a house rule from "Dragon" that stated minor, skeletal undead takes half damage from piercing and stabbing weapons. This one little house rule have given groups who played in my games an entirely new level of respect for a random pile of bones. 🤣
I'm probably a little more loosey-goosey about this than most people would expect. Don't get me wrong, I keep most kinds of magic items pretty rare; however, I do try to keep in mind the requirements for allowing higher level PCs/NPCs to make many of the low to low intermediate tier magic items. Mainly, _Enchant an Item_ as a 6th level spell, and _Permanency_ as an 8th level spell.
That said, and with a strong element of homebrewing involved, I also think of the section from the AD&D 1e DMG regarding magic armor, where it just says that +3 armor is made from meteorite iron, +4 is made with a mithral (sic) alloy, and +5 is made with an adamantite alloy. In some other materials, TSR usually had +1 or +2 armor and weapons equate to being quasi-magical in reality. So, I do tend to give out that level of item at a rate that by level 2 pretty much everyone in the party will have obtained something that has a "+" bonus, which will function as a magic item when required. Although, for example, I don't let such items have the "virtual weightlessness" of truly magic armor, etc; I mostly see them as items of the highest quality, and that have been associated with legendary deeds, people, etc., so sort of magical by association.
Finally, I did let a magic user of at first level 15, then level 16, create a level 5 spell that would result in a permanent +1 weapon or piece of armor, then a level 7 spell that did the same for +2 items. In both cases, no extra magic features were possible, and the spells were set up to be pretty costly in terms of time and materials.
EDIT: On a related note, I'm not too stingy with basic potions, or low level spell scrolls either.
Most modern systems don't really feel magical, due to removal of "cannot do/cannot affect" situations in the game (like you're saying... magic weapons, even silver or silvered, good quality magical spells that are actually magical and impactful rather than a bunch of auto-daily powers). 👊🤓
@@retrodmray when everything is magical, nothing is.
@@kentuckyrex I say this pretty often, myself. One of my MAJOR problems with the way the game is played today is that there is ENTIRELY too much magic and entirely too many special abilities.
Years ago, I ripped off a house rule from "Dragon" that stated minor, skeletal undead takes half damage from piercing and stabbing weapons. This one little house rule have given groups who played in my games an entirely new level of respect for a random pile of bones. 🤣
@@stevefugatt7075 BFRPG picked that up. And I think Zombies take half from bludgeoning.
@@kentuckyrex Yep!