Quote Originally Posted by logic_error View Post
On the magic items conundrum:

I feel that wholesale magic items kinda destroy the uniqueness of magic. Magic should feel potent and useful but not "Common". Did anyone play NWNs? Those games make magic Mundane. Then again I think the biggest culprit here is the rules about material components that use mundane stuff to power magic. If the components themselves were rare (Pearl for the Identify rare), both spells and magic castings should feel much more flavourful. I understand why this is not the case. But I *do* also believe that it is a fixable issue. Whether it can be done within the *current* framework of D&D is another problem.

If I were the king (DM) I would actually have no +1 magic swords. Every item would be unique and *made* useful via specific story around it. A decanter of water would be a holy artifact that you'd only gain with immense investment. A headband of intellect +2 would not exist. Spells like wish, miracle, planar binding, the
plane shift, raise dead, resurrection would be guarded by archmages and gods and would be the purview of epic level characters only.

More importantly, I would agree with people pointing out about working for the magic item. You encounter a unique monster and then go on a quest to equip yourself to fight it. Mages go on a quest to acquire spells, feats and prestige classes and materials for the feats, weapons, armors and prestige classes. This would act to justify the power these character options add to the player characters.
Sure... if you're playing an E6 game. If you expect them to go up against archfiends and great wyrms, though... don't blame me.

Also, magic abundacy depends on the genre and setting. If you're playing an Eberron campaign or a setting based on the Tippyverse, then magic should be dirt cheap(at least low-level magic). If you're running a game where people over level 3 are world-famous, on the other hand... you get the idea.