So...For those of us who've started playing....
Besides the couple items in Hoard of the Dragon Queen and the smattering in the Monster Manual Quick Rules...is there anywhere else that has items? I'd love to acutally reward my players with something beyond, you know, +1 armor all the time...
-Sahir
I think you have to wait for the DMG.
Lost Mine Of Phandelver has some in it. You could always steal from the Next playtest packet as well.
Aside from what's already been pointed out I would suggest you use your imagination and draw from other editions or other games, just make them fit within the 5e game. No item should be higher than +3 and try to use advantage where applicable instead of +Xs from previous editions.
I saw a comment in the Players section, The Fighter Guide thread, about Gauntelts of Ogre Kind giving 19 str. They said it was in the Starter set which I am still working through. I never understood in 1st/2nd edition why they gave a straight score (18/00) when other items gave a bonus, ie Pearl or Periapt of Wisdom gave a straight bonus to wisdom.
When it comes to magic I think a bonus is a more ballanced way to go vs a set ability score.
Chuculain wrote:
ankiyavon wrote:
Chuculain wrote:
I am pretty sure ioun stones gave flatout attribute bonuses in adnd. Thats why everyone and his dog had them
woif wrote:
Chuculain wrote:
Hi, from an AD&D'r.
There is indeed a Pearl of Wisdom in AD&D that raises your wisdom by a point - after having it in your posession for one month. There are also manuals and a few other items that raise your other abilities, though they were rare. The Gauntlets of Ogre Power set your strength to the highest naturally attainable (for fighter types only) of 18 / 100. Only fighters, rangers, paladins, and later barbarians could attain exceptional strength - if they had an 18 in strength there was also a percentile roll which made them, well, exceptional. An ogre has a strength of 18 / 100, thus the gauntlets grant that strength. Some of the other items were pretty interesting - gloves of dex for instance would raise your dex by a variable amount based on your natural dexterity.
All ability scores were capped at 25, but the max attainable without magical assistance of some sort was 19... 18 for humans, who had no ability bonuses due to race. An elf could have a 19 dex, for instance. All of the races also had negatives. Elf: dex +1 / con -1; Dwarf: con +1, cha -1; Halfling: dex +1, str -1, etc. There were also prerequesites for both race and class in ability scores!
As for ability score generation, yes original D&D and AD&D both mention using 3d6. It's not always specified as in order, but it's there. In the first edition books however, Gary notes that a playable character has at least two 15's. So, there was often a lot of rerolling. In late 1e and into 2e you started getting different options for rolling, the most common of which still hangs around today, 4d6 drop the lowest.
Just a little background for you. 
Any info on stacking bonuses? If we have a fighter with full plate +3, a shield +3, and a +3 ring of protection along with the defense fighting style...that would add up to a max possible AC of 30...which nostalgically is mathematically the same as the 2E max AC of -10.
I'm not certain magical shield will work the same as magical armor in order to prevent stacking. U have not yet seen a ring of protection, but the only magical shields I have seen don't have a + modifier. I would imagine rings wil lbe more charge based now, as that seems like something they were keen on bringing back and perfecting. Bracers of Armor only apply when not wearing armor.
In addition, in 5e now the items seem to all give flat scores instead of bonuses. The amulet of health just gives a set Con score, for example.
And yes, in 3nd ed Some Ioune stones gave a +1 to a stat.