Dungeon Mastery: Giving Out Magic Items in DnD

money Power Glory nothing quite motivates players like the promise of magic items while delving through dungeons or perusing a bizarre bizaar you'll probably hand out your fair share of magic items throughout a campaign gearing up is a great way to reward your players for completing quests and giving them even more options to tackle all the different problems that you'll be throwing at them but knowing how to hand out magic items can be tricky for both new and Veteran dungeon Masters and once you give your player that plus4 long sword they're not giving it back so in today's video I want to give you tips for how to give your players cool and fun magic items without breaking your game without further Ado let's get started I won't lie it is fun crafting magic items coming up with cool Powers trying to match them to each of your players thinking of all the awesome ways they'll use that new robe or sweet boots you can really let your imagination run wild when you're crafting magical Creations for your party but especially when you're first starting out with the game it is really easy to make an item that seems safe but it's actually way too powerful until you've played for a while and have a better grasp of the game it's hard to know what will be balanced and what will be broken for example when I was first starting out of the DM I gave a druid an amulet that would let them wild shape into a bird whenever they wanted well before the level when Druids would normally get that power that is busted but because I was newer I had no idea books like the dungeon Masters Guide and Tasha's cauldron of everything are full of really cool well-balanced magic items that you can give to your players even for more experienced DMS who still sometimes need inspiration because they craft absolutely insane magic items me using pre-existing ones for an easy bit of loot that you can throw in can make your life so much easier everyone wants their game to feel different and unique but do not sleep on the magic items that are already out there your players will love them all the same let's be honest players aren't the only ones who get really excited by magic items when putting together your next adventure dreaming up all of the powerful items that your players could someday acquire is a big part of the fun it can be really tempting to drop some super powerful items into your game early like plus three long swords or rings of invisibility if your players are happy then who cares right be careful about going too big too quickly even one really strong magic item can completely change the game for lower level parties making them punch well above their weight but if you throw stronger monsters at them in return you risk hitting them with something that could down them in one blow or even lead to a tpk and that's not even considering the fairness of it all if you give your Paladin a holy Avenger at level three well why don't the sorcerer Rogue and cleric get really cool weapons Too part of what makes long DND campaign satisfying is the buildup the story is growing more complex with time your players getting stronger and stronger the more monsters they slay starting the party off with simple magic items and then giving them progressively more powerful gear as they level up will help keep the progression of your campaign feeling natural and worthwhile the legend Legendary Weapons can wait even if they are super cool D and D is not a perfectly balanced game and anytime you add a magic item to the mix there's a potential for that balance to fall even more out of whack but on the whole each player should be progressing at about the same rate and feel pretty evenly matched that's where sta boosting items come in weapons that add to a player's attack roles or a headband that increases their wisdom score step boosting items could be a great reward for your party and really let your players feel like they're gaining strength but if you're not careful they can very quickly tip the scales too far in your player's favor in D and D there's only 20 potential numbers you can roll each time you pick up that D20 when your players are rolling dozens of times a session sometimes even more in combat a difference of just one or two can have a real impact on their overall results that's doubly true for items that modify their ability scores adding two to their dexterity or intelligence might not seem like much but that bonus is going to all of their skills saving throws attacks and spells that are made with that stat even small bonuses can have far-reaching effects another aspect is that despite your best efforts you can never really know who's going to claim a specific magic item sure some are locked between classes but the vast majority of them are up for grabs for example I once gave my players a belt of frost giant strength expecting that my already very strong Barbarian would take it to increase his strength score even higher he's already succeeding on any strength checks or saves I throw at him so what's a little more right well that party thought the same thing and figured instead of the Barbarian why not max out the strengths of one of the characters who struggle with it so my party ended up with the strongest Rogue in existence not at all what I had planned for I'm not saying you should never give out items that boost your player stats I'm guilty of doing it probably more often than I should but make sure that you put them thought to it first that you can live with your Rogue never failing a strength saving throw again sometimes you need to teach the party a lesson and that lesson might be don't pick up strange artifacts and haunted tombs that are surrounded by death traps and blood stains cursed items are a lot of fun and having your players try to get the most out of their new toy while dealing with its cursed nature can be a great challenge to give to your party but sometimes DMS can overdo it a bit with the cursed items if every other item that you give your players is cursed eventually they're either going to start casting identify on literally everything they touch or they're going to stop going after magic items altogether getting new gear and upgrades should be fun for your party if you hit them with a curse every time they try and take something that looks cool they're going to just feel stupid and stop wanting to take anything that you give them when you do give players a cursed item if they have a means for breaking that curse let them and if they want to go on a quest to try and get free of the items grasp even better in the meantime I'd suggest using curses that have some sort of gameplay effect that isn't too debilitating but instead is a challenge that they can try and work around or something that will mix things up and keep them on their toes giving them a minus two to everything isn't nearly as fun as forcing them to make a wisdom save so they don't attack their allies with their shiny new ax or making a random wild magic effect happen each time they roll a natural one curses can be fun for both you and the player but make sure you're still giving them plenty of regular not desecrated items too there are some game mechanics that when you put it into a magic item will be more balance shattering than others things like flight invisibility and unlimited spell usage will completely change up how your players interact with the world often times making it way more difficult to challenge them and place obstacles in their path that will be little more than a minor hassle instead of giving your level one party that broom of flying or ring of invisibility don't forget that consumable items can be just as fun too of course everyone thinks of healing potions if your players are anything like mine the first thing they do when they reach a new town is see if they have an apothecary but consumable magic items can do so much more than just heal the party for a limited time you can give them access to to all sorts of fun powers and abilities that would be game altering if they had them 24/7 becoming vulnerable to fire damage for a minute great for that dungeon in the nearby volcano ability to breathe underwater sounds good for reaching that shipwreck that their latest Quest point is at flight for 1 minute now they really have to decide when the best time to pop that potion is don't forget that consumables can be all sorts of things besides potions too they could be little mushrooms sold to your players by a friendly roadside gnome rare fruit that they pick up in the jungle because the ranger rolled really well in survival or honey they collected from the nest of giant bees that attacked them because the bar rolled poorly on Survival they all don't need to be edible either beads that contain spells or a small rod that they snap to unleash an effect work perfectly fine too you can get really creative with their effects and forms but don't forget about consumables when you're handing out magic items in the King Arthur mythology the title hero is given the powerful sword Excalibur by the lady of the Lake signifying his right to rule the land the sword is a symbol of his royalty and strengths on the battlefield nearly as iconic as the king himself so it' be a little weird if halfway through his Tails he found another sword in a cave that gives him a plus two to his attack so he Chucks Excalibur in his bag of holding and never thinks of it again sometimes either for character or story reasons it makes sense for one of your players to carry around some gear for a long time maybe it's the shield that was given to them by their mother with her dying breath carried by night of their household for centuries or a wand that contains the essence of the warlock's fish Patron granting them the powers that they now covet rather than letting those precious items stay stagnant you can consider giving items different stages to help them evolve with the player instead of giving them something new every time they delve into a dungeon you can have the magic item increase in power or gain new abilities to help the player you could tie these upgrades to player level certain Milestones they achieve in the story or even a cumulative score B based on skill check roles in one of my games I had a player who wanted to become the best angler in the land so I gave them a fishing rod that would level up and give them bigger and bigger bonuses on Survival checks made for fishing and when they made a check using it I would add what they rolled to their overall score and see when it would upgrade it's fine to give your players something entirely new to test out when it comes to those magic items that they've grown really attached to consider letting them evolve along with your players rather than being sold for some extra drinking money down the line no matter how many players you have and how many abilities they possess no party will be able to do everything there will always be gaps in your player's options based on which classes they chose how many Feats they take and of course which magic items they have at their disposal magic items can help you fill in those gaps and expand what your players can do but they can also make some of your players abilities redundant meaning they'll feel less useful to the party as time goes on for example say you have a circle of the Moon Druid in your party who loves to Wild shape they use it in combat to sneak into places or to scout ahead of the group while traversing dangerous terrain well if you give your parties warlock or ring of animal forms that lets them shift into little creatures at will you're basically making the druid's powers no longer necessary for the party to succeed when you're crafting magic items or handing ones out from the books be careful that whatever powers and abilities they have won't step on your player's toes everybody wants their character to feel useful and like they have a role in the team don't let them get replaced by magic item instead those are my tips to help you give your players all sorts of fun and exciting magic items without completely destroying your campaign thank you so much for watching and if you have tips of your own for giving your party New Gear or favorite magic items that you love to pass out let me know in the comments and if you enjoyed the video I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave a like and consider subscribing to the BS College I make content all about DND and dming and I always appreciate the support but for now good luck and remember criter players

Channel: The Bard’s College

Views: 5,534

Keywords: DnD, Dungeon Master, Magic Items, DnD magic items, magic items for DnD, giving out magic items, how to be a dungeon master, how to be a DM, game master, how to be a game master, giving out magic items in DnD, giving players magic items, running DnD, Dungeons and Dragons

Id: PuBuCp9a5yc

Length: 11min 1sec (661 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 08 2024