High Magic or Low Magic item DnD Campaign

(Followup to Toob's threads)

Do you prefer a campaign where the characters have lots of magic items or where magic items are scarce?

I'm a bit tired of magic solving everything. Though I've played plenty of high magic. I want to see a game where we have to use tools and clever tinkering to solve problems. That, and the less people with innate darkvison the better.

I prefer low magic fantasy games more, but I can get into both. I made weak magic item generator for 5e once upon a time for low-magic D&D 5e games.

In my campaigns, magic items are rare and wondrous. No mages are toiling away in magical sweatshops making +1 swords. Every permanent magical item has a story behind it, from the lowliest +1 dagger to a Holy Avenger; they have a name (possibly) and a reason they exist. These items don't just spring to life unbidden. They are made for someone, by someone, and these details can be learned with some effort. Why give a character a +1 sword, when you can give them Fedinsor, created for King Jacob IV and used in the battle of Carnicut, where it was presumed lost? Sure, it's "just" a +1 sword, but by giving it a name and a history, you've made it something worth holding onto!

low magic items for sure

I come from playing Earthdawn, where all magic items of significance are named and storied, even the lowliest +1 sword equivalent, because they draw their magical power from the legend associated with them (in Earthdawn the most powerful magic is collective belief, so legendary characters and powers are not just powerful because of what they did or how they were made, they are powerful because more and more people know of their legend.). That makes them rarer and more impactful to the character because they have to learn aspects of the legend behind the item to unlock its powers. Their powers often also are specialized in part. So for example, while the sword gets a little stronger as you increase your bond with it, it gains bigger bonuses when wielded against a specific kind of enemy. Or there's a shield that can reflect spells, or a corrupted helm that gives you the power of some of the big bads, at the risk of corrupting you utterly (and permadeath is not rare in Earthdawn so it's a real risk). Oh, and unless you got real lucky on finding a detailed account of what the item does, you have no idea what your item will do until you increase your bond with it and unlock the new power. That makes them far more exciting.

There's also plenty of magical items from hot pots and light crystals, but those are low-power items. Then there are blood charms, which are basically the fantasy equivalent of cyberware, which draw on the wielder's life force (blood magic). Earthdawn is the fantasy brother of Shadowrun by the way, so it has a few similar concepts.

So in the end, you can have plenty of magical stuff. You'll be happy to have light crystals when exploring a dark dungeon (no, ancient underground cavern ruins don't conveniently have lit torches) and your cold storage pot keeps your food fresh so you don't have to forage all the time as you travel. But when you find a magical weapon or item of significance it's a big story-changer. The party has to decide who gets to use the item (no, not everyone gets one at the end of every dungeon like a good boy treat) and then the legend has to be researched in some way, before the character can bond with the item and unlock its power.

So yeah, I find D&D's +1 sword a bit boring although I appreciate its simplicity. It always found wondrous items far more interesting because they open new options. Artifacts are the only items historically which have those super-cool powers, but of course you don't get those unless you play to the epic levels and even then it's rare, and they often focus more on power than utility.

I like this philosophy.

In my experience, it seems like D&D is an arms race of magical weapons and gadgets. You need to keep acquiring these things in order to keep up with the ever escalating range of foes or just to proverbially keep up with the neighbors.

Beyond needing a magic weapon to bypass damage reduction on a lot of enemies. I don't think the newest edition is as gear reliant. I went through an epic level campaign with a +1 Rapier for the most of it.

I get around that with scaling magical items that grow in power with the PC. Reddit has these suggestions, and I think I like them a lot.

* Upgrading via Crafting: The updated crafting system in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) allows players to improve existing items. To scale a weapon or armor, you pay the gold cost difference between the base rarity and the target rarity, spend downtime, and make appropriate tool and Arcana checks.

* Legacy Items/Artifacts: Instead of replacing a beloved weapon, introduce story-driven "milestone" objectives (e.g., bathing a blade in dragon blood). This naturally unlocks dormant properties, shifting an Uncommon item into a Rare or Very Rare status.

* DM Encounter Adjustments: Because a PC's power scales as they gain levels, you must calculate how magic items alter Challenge Ratings (CR). Items like weapons with flat bonuses or the new non-attunement Resistance Rings significantly affect player defenses and offensive capabilities.

* Class & Feature Integration: Certain classes naturally scale or create magic items. For example, Artificers scale by swapping their Replicate Magic Item infusions as they level. Additionally, many magic items now come with "Magic Item Special Features" in the 2024 DMG, giving them minor, scaling properties.

My head is swimming after reading that. Part of the reason why I don't play D&D anymore.

You're right the 2024 monster manual has removed the resistance to nonmagical weapons. It's a welcome change.

>>>I always found Resistance to Non-Magical Weapons to be over-used in later editions but I guess that was a response to the prevalence of magical weapons in the possession of PCs. I'm glad to see it removed rather than being slapped on everything.

>>>Used properly, Resistances can add a lot of menace to otherwise 'ho-hum' monster types. It worked really well in E6 style 3rd Ed. games I've ran in the past.

I'm not crazy about high magic, but I do like having a magic item that has a special attachment or meaning for the character. Magic items are also useful for shoring up some of the glaring weaknesses/imbalance that some classes have.

It depends on the game system.
- In AD&D 2nd edition, your characters special abilities came from the magic items they had.
- In D&D 5e, your character has special abilities, regardless of the magic items they have.

I hated the magic items economy there were in D&D 4th edition, there the magic arms race was mandatory. I would rather have fewer but significant items. Give me a sentient short sword over a +2 short sword any day.

I also feel that there are some older players, me included, that expects magic items that boosted my character like in the good old AD&D days, but D&D5e is actually designed, according to the CR calculation, to have characters with few or no items.

In the end, its a question that has to be solved at the table, will items be plentiful, or rare? And how does this affect your character? Will the artificer have a rare edge with his homemade items?

While I'm all for the significant magic item thing, I really like a lot of magic items that aren't just a +1 to something.

Example: Cloak of Billowing or Ear Horn of Hearing

Same! I am all in for low magic, but in my local group I am trying to make space for "diffused folk magic items".

Which means that some form of magic is common, but it's probably not the kind of magic players are lusting for.
If you have seen Frieren you have an idea. Players had the opportunity to learn a cantrip that can keep tea warm overnight. A quest may reward the party with a wooden spoon that can stir polenta by itself. and so on

I must say having a weapon that grows with the character or has significant meaning has more appeal.

My favorite magic weapon is a Maul which has the captured soul of a great enemy.