So I just got done reading an article by Monte Cook on the D&D website (links below). He recently picked up writing this article, and the question he poses is a good one, as well as bring up some issues that I’ve had with 4th ED of D&D. With that in mind maybe this should be part of my “What I miss about 3rd ED” articles?
Anyway, Mr. Cook writes about the state of magic items in 4th ED. He makes the statement that “Magic in the game doesn’t seem, well, magical.”, and I think that he’s right, and the players that have said the same thing. Magic doesn’t seem magical anymore. It just seems to be something that is a through away, a need of the system, with nothing special about it. At the end of combat the DM hands out a parcel with a magic item attached. And if the players don’t get said item, soon they will be getting their butts handed to them.
There used to be a time when the DM could develop magic items that meet the needs of each character, while at the same time keeping the mystery of magic in the world, Mr. Cook touches on this as well. A DM could spend a few minutes making up a fun, powerful, yet simple, weapon or magic item that the characters would find very useful. It was a simple process and added a lot to the adventure. 4th ED just doesn’t allow for this kind of originality. This system is so complex that if you change one thing the wrong way the whole thing comes down.
When it comes to making magic items its even worse. Gone is the simplicity of a +3 weapon with the ability to make a fire ball on a critical hit. No, no. The DM has to work out how it will play with the other abilities that the characters have. Then there’s having to work out if it’s going to be an ‘at will’, ‘encounter’, or daily, and how that will balance, it’s a tiny nightmare. The DM resorts to just telling the players that their characters have found a level 3 magic item of... some... kind...!? What’s the mystery in that? Oh yeah, there is none. Magic items have become as Mr. Cook says in so many words, a mere function of character advancement, and this is said.
I could go on for much long, but there is always plenty of time later. So what do I miss about 3rd ED, the mystery, personal nature, and ease of magic items.
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