Time Out! is designed as a way for players to step away from the game for a minute and think about strategy and teamwork. Like a coach advising his team from the sidelines, I hope that the people reading this will gain a mental edge as they head back into the game. In each installment I will dispense my sage advice by comparing an in-game situation to a real world situation. Sports analogies will be used often but not exclusively.
In this month's installment we are looking at gold, platinum, large gems, rings, bracelets, necklaces, medallions and anything that blings. Magical baubles are a standard of fantasy role-playing and I'm gonna show you how to get your shine on. Since this kind of loot has to be divided up among the party members, it makes sense to apply a little strategy to the allotment of treasure. Not only does a strategy settle arguments between party members, it maximizes the effectiveness of the individual characters.
This column is dedicated to the ins and out of magical jewelry in d20 fantasy. We're going to talk about what's good and bad when it comes to trinkets and adornments of the mystical quality.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Magical jewelry and other trinkets can come in handy in a variety of situations. While most people don't think about it, there are disadvantages to owning magical jewelry. The major liability of gaining magic from baubles and gems is that they'll always be the first things stolen from you. Everybody says that a magic dagger isn't worth having, why would someone waste a spell on a weapon that does 1d4 damage?
Say what you want, but a magic dagger will never get lifted off of you in the night, or swiped while you're unconscious and bloody. Most people will take a look at the +1 dagger of Wounding on your belt and figure that you cut your bread with it. However, all of your rings, bracelets and pendants are going to end up missing if you have a random encounter with a 1st level rogue. That Gem of Seeing is going to be the first thing gone if someone actually gets to run through your belongings.
A smart player doesn't flaunt his treasures, in fact, you might want to take steps to hide your valuables. Keep all you rings, etc. in your bag of holding when you aren't out adventuring. The same goes for weapons and armor, too. That one item is all you have to keep track of, and a hapless thief might accidentally get sucked in if he messes with it.
The other main disadvantage is that most of the magical stuff you see in D&D books is gaudy as hell. Did you see the helm of brilliance or the ring of three wishes?
The advantage to magical jewelry is it's light, doesn't get in the way and you can wear lots of it. Think about this, you're only going to use one main weapon, you can only wear one suit of armor, hold one shield, etc. But you get two rings, one necklace, two bracelets, and a circlet or helm. If you count belts and boots that's a lot of high-dollar magic that you can carry around with you. Another good thing about magical jewelry is that it can do just about anything. I can see someone trying to get a d20 Modern GM to OK his magical gold teeth, "+4 Grill of Charisma." But seriously, you've got rings of jumping, climbing, rings that make it so you never have to eat, rings that grant wishes and summon elementals. There's rings of blinking and force shield and rings of the ram. You can get a Protection bonus or X-ray vision. You can have two of those on top of a circlet of blasting, an amulet of natural armor and bracers of archery, all without interfering with you weapons, tying up a hand or weighing you down.
Another thing to note about jewelry, it's portable wealth. Magical rings and such can be used as bargaining chips, especially when you have extras. Drug dealers view jewelry and everything else they buy as an investment, "This is stuff I can sell if I fall off and run out of money." Smart PCs should do the same, don't be so quick to exchange your extra rings and gems into gold.
Bonuses and Stacking
It's a true waste when you end up with a couple of magical items that give the same bonus. If they don't stack, and usually they don't, you end up getting cheated. That's why the free trading of magical items among the character is so important. Sure everybody ends up trading to their disadvantage once in a while, but in the long run everybody wins. Look at the logic behind losing something that's valuable, but not really helpful, in exchange for a lesser item that you can actually use. Making a teammate more effective in combat results in a greater chance that everybody lives to complete the mission, get the treasure, etc. Even if you're Chaotic Evil and not very bright, you can see the benefit of, "This make us all stronger, more kill-kill! You get next big magic."
>Generally bonuses don't stack unless they're of different types. However there are so many types of bonuses that a few random treasures should make everyone happy. Characters often seek certain items out of need, and completing this collection means looking for different types of bonuses. For example, a character who isn't proficient with heavy armor may look to magic for help. There are nine types of bonuses that add to a character's AC and a smart character could get one of each all working together if he got at it long enough. Trading helps in this regard as well. A character interested more in damage than defense will gladly give up Bracers or Armor for Gauntlets of Ogre Power. This trade makes the warrior deadlier and gives an unarmored character a better chance of staying healthy.
When it comes to bonuses, remember that luck can pretty much add to anything and it stacks with whatever else you've got, from your +1 longsword to your +2 shield, your cloak of resistance and your boots of elvenkind. Morale bonus adds to everything but your AC. Insight and sacred bonuses are also multi-purpose. Also remember that anything with an armor bonus is pretty useless to a heavily armored fighter. That character is looking for a suite of plate mail with a +1 enhancement bonus. There are six kinds of bonuses that add to a character's attack roll. At +1 or +2 each it doesn't take long to figure out what the right combination of magical items can do. That isn't including items that increase your character's Strength, either.
What to Wear
When you see a monk who doesn't wear shoes suddenly get decked out in head to toe gold, it's sure to be a sight to see. When a character who owns a royal outfit and a signet ring does the seem thing, it doesn't register a shock. Finding a mix of magic goodies that fits your character and doesn't mess up your image of him/her can be difficult. Not all magic jewelry is made of gold and silver, items made out of lesser materials don't seem quite as out of place with your Explorer's Outfit. A dusty-looking stranger strutting around with a collection of fancy gems might set off alarm bells in some people's minds. Most likely the character would seem to be a thief or a grave robber. >And then we wonder why the NPCs never really like having wandering adventurers around (unless there's trouble of course).
Matched Sets
If you want to get the most out of your bling-bling then you need it to all work together. If you want to max out your AC then you need rings of force shield and protection. Top it off with an amulet of natural armor and it's a done deal. Everybody knows that a ring of blinking is also an incredible asset to defense. The offense-oriented characters are going to want to match anything that grants them a Strength bonus with magical items that allow them to cast spells, such as a necklace of fireballs. Something that increased the warrior's ability to survive, like an amulet of health or ring or regeneration.>
Other Types of Baubles
Some characters aren't interested in treasure in the form of gems and gold coins. I once had a character that opted out of most of the wealth in exchange for his pick of souvenirs. A golden dragon comb, an engraved sword, an ivory statuette, a large black pearl. These items weren't always the most valuable pieces of loot but it was about defining a character, not amassing wealth. I ran a half-giant fighter who was a mercenary soldier. He wore a platinum coin for an earring, the coin that was the first payment he ever received for his services.
Generally PCs don't have a hard time getting rid of mundane treasures, non-magical and the like. Generally these objects are easier to carry than gold and easier to trace if when stolen. NPCs of means might not be tempted by bribes in the form of currency. However, a rare bauble, trinket or novelty makes a great collector's item and can be more of a bargaining chip.
Again, it really explains why NPCs never seem to really like wandering adventurers in their towns, unless they've done something really good recently. To the eyes of the typical person the characters appear as a band of vagrants. A roaming gang that makes their living crawling through tombs and ancient temples to steal gold and valuables.> They blow into town, tear up all he taverns, sell their loot, spend all their gold, spend a few nights in the inn and they're gone again. Time for the villagers to count the women and the sheep.
They didn't mind the coin you spent at the blacksmith when you were 1st level, did they? But after awhile even a big city has nothing of value to offer a character except wine and virgin daughters. What do you spend thousands of gold pieces on if the DM doesn't allow you to buy magic items and you have no interest in building a friggin castle?
What the hell, you guys figure it out.
All right, now get back in there and play!
