Short Circuit's Journal: RPG: Magic Device Distribution

In your campaigns, how do you distribute magical items? Frequency? Method? Reason? Number? Kind?
How frequently do you give your players access to magical items? When it's useful for an adventure? Deux ex machina for a specific encounter? Randomly?

How do you provide them? Are they normally treasure in a monster's lair? Loot from a heist? On loan for a job?

Why do you provide them? Do they serve as rewards more than as tools, or as tools more than as rewards. (The perception of which probably differs from player to player.)

How many do you provide? In one encounter, does the party get enough items to share equally, or do they tend to have to negotiate to see who gets the one or two they do find?

What kind of magic items do you provide? Weapons? Shields? Armor? Potions? Scrolls? Wands? Or something more unusual?

See also:

• Brew-Masters article mirror
• RPG: Column Index
• I'm looking for ideas for additional articles. If you have ideas or questions, possibly something you're having to deal with in your own campaign, email me.
• This article suggested by FortKnox.

As I mentioned...

[FortKnox]

I rarely give them out. I feel the players 'respect' the items more when they only have one. My fav way of giving them out is having to 'fight against it.' Give the ring of invisibility to a great rogue... they have to find and kill him to have it for themselves. This works great for many weapons (minus the Paladin's Avenger, that is). I also LOOVE giving out cursed items. That crazy man that killed the traders that go through the path with a 'magic sword' is finally slain! Then you find out its just

Magic is fairly common

[limpdawg]

In the games I have played in (2E AD&D), magic is common. Everyone in the party has magic armor, weapon, and rings. For example I have a 10th level anti-paladin in one world who has a Girdle of Titan Strength, +4 Unholy Avenger, and he's wearing normal armor only because we walked into a trap that destroyed some of our magical stuff. Otherwise he would have +5 full plate. And about once every three or four games we get a big stash of magic items and gold that we can sell for better stuff.

Rarities

[daniil]

My DM's hand out magical stuff quite rarely. My Sorcerer, currently level 7, has managed to lay his hand on five magical items (not counting some potions and a few scrolls) -- a fiery crossbow, a blinding buckler (gave it to another player), a ring of Change Self, and two items that i haven't had time to identify yet. The other party members (there's five of us) have none :H They have some masterwork stuff, though.

Most of the magical stuff we have was acquired from a temple that we, erm, looted in a hurry

subject

[FroMan]

As a GM I typically am pretty stingy. Mainly because I am forgetful, I
think. Most encounters I try to make up work well with mundane items,
but unique uses. When I do get around to giving items they tend to be
relatively low power items with limited uses. Even then I'll try to
find a way to consume the item before I forget that they have it since
there is nothing more frustrating for a GM to have a great story and
plot ruined by an item that over simplifies the plot.

Reminds me of a friend who ran some games

Re:subject

[Short Circuit]

Mainly because I am forgetful, I think.

If you're able, keep copies of the character sheets, and reference them when planning adventures.

Kind of burned the game that night I guess.

Ouch. Too bad you couldn't do that to the emerald ash borer in Michigan.

A couple of possible solutions to that type of scenario:

• Add a permanent Dispel Magic field to the area. You can explain it later, if necessary.
• Make it a diseased forest, instead of just a diseased tree. Burn that down, and all the druids and lu

Re:subject

[FroMan]

Ouch. Too bad you couldn't do that to the emerald ash borer in Michigan.

Or dutch elm, huh? I spent the spring before getting married cutting down dead elm around my in-laws house. We are hoping whatever we plant around new house this year doesn't wind up with some tree-killer in the few years too.

Btw, you are in the GR area, do you have a group that you are actively gaming with? My wife and I are figuring around the new year we'll be looking for a gaming group again as our last group disolved about a

Re:subject

[Short Circuit]

No, I'm not part of an active group. The closest thing I have is e-Tale [brew-masters.com]. But that's not even rolling yet. Are you in the Grand Rapids area?

Yikes...I didn't realize the page looked so bad. Jay was made some changes to the tags allowed by Drupal, and apparently disabled one of the tags I was using for that page.

Re:subject

[FroMan]

Yeah, north side right now. Next month we are moving to coopersville, but its in the area, just a little closer to muskegon out 96.

Re:subject

[Short Circuit]

Coopersville, eh? You'll live about 10 miles south of me. I only work in Grand Rapids. My mail comes out of the Ravenna Post Office.

Hee Hee

[temojen]

We encountered the big, bad Lich Necromancer and his army of minor zombies and skeletons... I pulled out a scroll of Mass Heal (all undead drop to 1d4 hit points)... The fighter punched the Lich in the nose... Someone else let off a sound burst (area effect 1d8 damage)... No more undead.

I'm logical about it...

[temojen]

PCs would never leave a magic sword, armour, or wand at home, so neither do the bad guys. Once the characters get it, it's likely to be slightly used (and have blown some holes in the PCs). If they encounter an organized force, they're likely to have identical items (all not very powerful) except the leaders. The only items they find in a horde are likely to be valuable but useless like magically shiny jewelry.

One of my favourite NPCs is an Agent Q like gnome who lends various constructs and devices (non