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No offense was meant by me either. Lets just agree to disagree. Its all about having fun with the game.

Blood axe wrote:No offense was meant by me either. Lets just agree to disagree. Its all about having fun with the game.

Amen, brutha!

I'm all for healthy debate, as long as people don't fall back on trolling techniques such as the parsed quote, telling ME what I am thinking, or my "favourite": sniping.

And this thread has made me ask myself some important questions, such as:

Would I allow a Ring of Protection in my game? I might equip my main bad guy with one, but that's probably it. I certainly wouldn't make rings readily available, such as in my Pathfinder game, where the magic level is WAY higher, but is also much better integrated into the game mechanics and balance.

At what point does a magic item tip the scales between interesting and breaking?

Though I LOVE the old school rules, I'm not a fan of the old school 'player vs DM' mentality. I much prefer to run a game where everyone is treated fairly and contributes to telling a story together. Killing low level characters is too easy in OD&D, and I try not to house-rule survivability into the characters. I would rather nerf monsters to 'young' versions to keep characters alive, instead of fostering a game where the players view their characters as GAME PIECES instead of living, breathing make-believe characters. (That doesn't mean I will not allow a character to die if they are stupid)

I may be wrong- but it seems like you run a pretty "low magic" campaign. Do you do the same for spells/magic? A low magic game can be really interesting, but it takes alot of skill to pull off!

Blood axe wrote:I may be wrong- but it seems like you run a pretty "low magic" campaign. Do you do the same for spells/magic? A low magic game can be really interesting, but it takes alot of skill to pull off!

I guess it depends on what you mean by low magic. I allow my players to have full access to all spells using classes and make items/scrolls/potions according to the rules, but finished items are VERY rare for purchase, and magic shops don't carry much. Can a fighter walk into a city, find a magic shop, and buy a +1 sword or helmet? Not generally; these would be scooped up by the Captain of the Guard, mercenaries, etc long before the player arrives. HOWEVER -- if character survival depended on it, then I would make it available.

I do put magic items as drops for boss fights and in some hoards, especially scrolls and potions, but keep 'em pretty rare. I prefer a more pulp style in my LL game, in that magic-users are rare, very powerful, and usually very corrupt. They are also aware of most every other magic-user out there and most of the magic-using Guilds are actually quite dangerous: You may gain access to research, but you are just as likely to get killed if you find yourself getting too strong too fast. The Guilds are a good way for a player to gain new spells without having to rely on chance, though. If you REALLY want fireball, qualify for it, and have been paying your dues to the Guild -- sure, why not? It makes the game more fun for the player and doesn't do any harm.

Compared to my Pathfinder games, LL is almost NO magic, however. It's a matter of game mechanics, really. Unless your character has maxed out magic items according to his wealth/level, you simply cannot survive higher levels in 3.5. Something like a Ring of Protection in LL, however, which are DOUBLE powerful (in that they give bonuses to your AC and your saves) would be super-rare.

I started DMing back with Basic Red Box (Moldvay) and on through 3.5. If you asked my players, they'd all agree that I was a stingy DM. I'd never let them run down to Ye Old Magic Shoppe to get a +1 sword. Potions, you bet, but I felt permanent magic items would never be ubiquitous. These, they'd have to earn through blood, sweat, and tears. Once the players had found an elven sword which turned out to be an heirloom. The elves were very interested in having it returned. One of the players did just that and his reward was a laurel wreath! We still laugh about that..but the wreath was symbolic of elven friendship and alliance. In roleplaying terms this would mean much more than a magic sword.

I say, to each his own. It is the DMs own responsibility to judge how powerful an item may be. I enjoy having folks create new and clever magic goodies to consider for my campaign world...