Since the value of a scaling item is based on wealth for an entire level, apply this adjustment to every treasure allotment the character receives.
#Weaker magic swords dnd 5e Pc
For example, a PC with a wonder and a prize would receive 45% less treasure, because the PC has effectively already received that amount of treasure in the form of the items’ increased values. If the character has multiple scaling items, combine the percentages before adjusting the amount of treasure.
Reduce the treasure received by a character with a scaling item by the percentage listed for the item’s category (5% for baubles, 15% for prizes, and 30% for wonders). Per Character: If you apply the scaling item treasure reduction for each character, do so after dividing up shares of treasure for the characters. The adjustments to treasure awards are the same for all items in a category. Note that the original level and price of a scaling item don’t matter once the character’s level exceeds the minimum caster level of the item, since the item accrues value based on its category (bauble, prize, or wonder), not on its original price. This can be done per character or for the whole group, as described below.
To balance this out, the Gamemaster should reduce treasure awards in proportion to how many scaling items the party has. Since scaling items improve as characters level up, they effectively add wealth to their owners over time. Such items approach the power of minor artifacts, though they’re not indestructible and can still be created normally. Wonders exceed the normal cost assumptions of the game at their highest level. An item of the most valuable category, wonders, represents 30% of a PC’s suggested wealth and corresponds to a major magic item, such as a fighter’s most beloved and powerful sword. Items in the middle category, prizes, represent 15% of a PC’s suggested wealth and correspond to magic items of moderate power. The weakest items, baubles, represent 5% of a PC’s character wealth at her level and can be compared to consumable magic items (even though baubles aren’t destroyed by use). The values of such items fall into three categories (baubles, prizes, and wonders), which indicate the rough percentage of the character’s wealth a scaling item represents. As the item’s caster level increases in the hands of a more powerful character, the item’s value increases as well. For instance, if an item has a base caster level of 5th and additional abilities at 7th and 9th levels, it’s treated as caster level 8th in the hands of an 8th-level character, but is treated as only caster level 9th in the hands of a 10th-level character.Įach scaling item has a base price that represents its value to a character whose level is equal to or less than the item’s caster level. A scaling item’s effective caster level is its listed caster level or the character level of its wielder, whichever is higher, to a maximum of the item’s highest-level ability. The caster level of the item scales up as well. Additional item powers appear in a scaling magic item’s entry with a header indicating the character level at which they unlock. Scaling items work like normal magic items, but they gain new powers as their wielders gain levels, and their existing powers sometimes also improve. Scaling items, however, increase in power along with the characters who carry them, allowing an old and cherished item to develop and retain its utility rather than being sold and forgotten. Items come and go from each character’s inventory with such frequency that they hardly have the chance to impact the game’s story. Typically, player characters find themselves buying and selling magic items as they gain levels to keep up with the increasing threats they face. This section presents numerous examples of scaling items to add to your games. Scaling items are magic items that grow with your character and unlock new special abilities as she levels up. Sometimes an inherited weapon turns out to be more powerful than it had seemed at first, and the hero refuses to give it up even when given the option of flashier blades or when facing overwhelming foes.