Dark Sun magic tiems and 4E? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dark Sun magic tiems and 4E?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Knight_Marshal
Sep 04, 2010 8:02:12 We are looking at playing our first 4E game and have been waiting for the Dark Sun stuff to come out.

As I understand it there probably isn't a whole lot of magic items laying around like in other worlds.

However D&D and 4E is set up for you to have a certain amount of magic items of X power level by Y level(s). The encounter building mechanism is designed for this so players would have the amount for magic items by the levels they would need them in order to over come the monsters and challenges of that level.

I just don't see Dark Sun as having that amount of magic items laying around. They would have been scooped up by the sorceror kings ages ago and drained or locked away. Maybe I am wrong and there is some explanation for the existance of items in the amounts the players will need.

If not, then how can a Dark Sun campaign be run with little magic items, while still preparing the characters for higher levels?
#2
Wolf505
Sep 04, 2010 8:50:11 That's why it's recommended that you use the inherent bonus system. Magic items should be incredibly rare and IMO things that have a story attached rather then the standard, "Oh look, the orc chieftain had a level 5 magic item of some type" thing. With inherent bonuses the PCs should have no trouble taking on enemies of their level and if they DO get magic items it feels like something significant rather then something very ho-hum.
#3
cretaross
Sep 04, 2010 9:35:23 I think it was written on the Inherent Bonus page on the DSCS, but it suggest taking out the level +4 and the level +1 magic items from treasure parcels, so in essence, every level the party gets all of 2 magic items, it's worked out pretty well in my game, and the bonuses pretty much keep the party where they should be.
#4
Duke5150
Sep 04, 2010 9:43:39
You can use the inherent bonuses like wolf said and alternate rewards found in the dscs or you can use your own method of rewards. But magic items are not nearly infrequent enough to be remotely "rare". In your own game, you can do what you want, which is obvious. But:

Marauders of the dune sea contains magic item rewards.
Lost cistern of aravek contains magic item rewards.
Bloodsand arena contains magic item rewards.
Fury of the wastewalker contains magic item rewards.
The new dungeon adventure contains magic item rewards.

There is a nice selection of magic items in the dscs for a reason, along with alternate rewards. In 2e, magic items were not that rare, nor in the revised material.

Magical items are as common or as rare as the group wants them to be, as has always been the case. Whatever your group enjoys the most. You also have to remember that magic item doesn't always mean "arcane". Primal items and Psionic items are still magic items. But if you want to run through a campaign with mostly mundane items, you can do that too.
#5
Akriel
Sep 05, 2010 15:04:08 A easy way to scale down magic items, use inherent (dropping parcel 1 & 4) as suggest in DSCS.
Simply focus to avoid neck, armor or weapon magic items and give those alternate rewards in DSCS.

That will only be 2 ''magic'' items per level, more spread and exotic.
#6
Knight_Marshal
Sep 05, 2010 16:07:19 OK, I never saw that part of the book. I just looked at the character creation stuff. They should have put that before the magic item pages.
#7
OneWeirdCat
Sep 05, 2010 16:24:29 I agree, the veiled alliance creates magic items, sorcerer kings n their toadies create magic items, merchant dynasties surely create magic items, psionic and primal items come from other places. Their are plenty of magic items to be had, just get creative with them.
Wolf505 has a good point, we always remember magic items with stories, or ones that enemies used against us.
#8
rothe
Sep 06, 2010 5:54:19 Inherent bonus system is basically there to make sure that if you don't give out items frequently, the math behind hitting and defenses keeps up.

I plan to use boons as rewards to replace some actual "items" so that the characters can have special rewards without carrying a round a ton of magical equipment.

Gaining rewards other than experience and levels is still something that players look forward to. The PC's could be motivated by the story goals and by mundane wealth they might gain, but most players still like to see some "toys" for their PC to make them more unique.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Knight_Marshal Sep 04, 2010 8:02:12	We are looking at playing our first 4E game and have been waiting for the Dark Sun stuff to come out. As I understand it there probably isn't a whole lot of magic items laying around like in other worlds. However D&D and 4E is set up for you to have a certain amount of magic items of X power level by Y level(s). The encounter building mechanism is designed for this so players would have the amount for magic items by the levels they would need them in order to over come the monsters and challenges of that level. I just don't see Dark Sun as having that amount of magic items laying around. They would have been scooped up by the sorceror kings ages ago and drained or locked away. Maybe I am wrong and there is some explanation for the existance of items in the amounts the players will need. If not, then how can a Dark Sun campaign be run with little magic items, while still preparing the characters for higher levels?
#2 Wolf505 Sep 04, 2010 8:50:11	That's why it's recommended that you use the inherent bonus system. Magic items should be incredibly rare and IMO things that have a story attached rather then the standard, "Oh look, the orc chieftain had a level 5 magic item of some type" thing. With inherent bonuses the PCs should have no trouble taking on enemies of their level and if they DO get magic items it feels like something significant rather then something very ho-hum.
#3 cretaross Sep 04, 2010 9:35:23	I think it was written on the Inherent Bonus page on the DSCS, but it suggest taking out the level +4 and the level +1 magic items from treasure parcels, so in essence, every level the party gets all of 2 magic items, it's worked out pretty well in my game, and the bonuses pretty much keep the party where they should be.
#4 Duke5150 Sep 04, 2010 9:43:39	You can use the inherent bonuses like wolf said and alternate rewards found in the dscs or you can use your own method of rewards. But magic items are not nearly infrequent enough to be remotely "rare". In your own game, you can do what you want, which is obvious. But: Marauders of the dune sea contains magic item rewards. Lost cistern of aravek contains magic item rewards. Bloodsand arena contains magic item rewards. Fury of the wastewalker contains magic item rewards. The new dungeon adventure contains magic item rewards. There is a nice selection of magic items in the dscs for a reason, along with alternate rewards. In 2e, magic items were not that rare, nor in the revised material. Magical items are as common or as rare as the group wants them to be, as has always been the case. Whatever your group enjoys the most. You also have to remember that magic item doesn't always mean "arcane". Primal items and Psionic items are still magic items. But if you want to run through a campaign with mostly mundane items, you can do that too.
#5 Akriel Sep 05, 2010 15:04:08	A easy way to scale down magic items, use inherent (dropping parcel 1 & 4) as suggest in DSCS. Simply focus to avoid neck, armor or weapon magic items and give those alternate rewards in DSCS. That will only be 2 ''magic'' items per level, more spread and exotic.
#6 Knight_Marshal Sep 05, 2010 16:07:19	OK, I never saw that part of the book. I just looked at the character creation stuff. They should have put that before the magic item pages.
#7 OneWeirdCat Sep 05, 2010 16:24:29	I agree, the veiled alliance creates magic items, sorcerer kings n their toadies create magic items, merchant dynasties surely create magic items, psionic and primal items come from other places. Their are plenty of magic items to be had, just get creative with them. Wolf505 has a good point, we always remember magic items with stories, or ones that enemies used against us.
#8 rothe Sep 06, 2010 5:54:19	Inherent bonus system is basically there to make sure that if you don't give out items frequently, the math behind hitting and defenses keeps up. I plan to use boons as rewards to replace some actual "items" so that the characters can have special rewards without carrying a round a ton of magical equipment. Gaining rewards other than experience and levels is still something that players look forward to. The PC's could be motivated by the story goals and by mundane wealth they might gain, but most players still like to see some "toys" for their PC to make them more unique.