As part of my return to playing Dungeons & Dragons, I'm rethinking a lot of the game mechanics, and this week I decided to take a closer look at magic items.
According to the 2014 edition (aka 5th Edition), magic items can be explored through spells with evocative names like "Detect Magic" and their properties revealed by a spell called "Identify."
You dont really need to describe them so much as list their properties, such as a Sword +1 (to hit and damage) but + 3 vs librarians and harmonica players (I jest, but only slightly).
To put it another way, magic items are pretty much just exploits, tactical gear for squad-level fantasy combat. There is some scope for role-playing, but much of D&D has always been along the lines of the original parent company's name: Tactical Studies Rules.
"Detect Magic" is fairly low cost, but it does draw down a spell-caster's power. "Identify requires a 100 gold piece pearl for each use, in addition to the cost in magic. The rule note that good-sized towns have wizards who can perform low-level spells for a feel, so "Identify" could be bought for 110-150 gold pieces.
What this amounts to is a tax on magic items, which is just odd. Yes, there is a no-cost way to find out what magic items do: use them! This was the original way to figure it out, but of course founder/designer Gary Gygax also included cursed weapons because he saw the game as primarily a contest between the referee (Dungeon Master) and the players to see who can be the most annoying. Indeed, Gygax's name has become synonymous with a style of play that emphasized dirty tricks that attempt to wipe out all the players.
The problem with Gygaxisms isn't just that they are annoying, they are stupid. Magic sword and rings and wants are supposed to be rare and powerful, not a bunch of enchanted joy buzzers and dribble cups. What is the point of making a cursed sword or ring? Obviously its user doesn't want it, so we must supposed that there are creatures of immense power who have a practical joke fetish – one that it should be noted, will only kick in after they have been killed and their stuff stolen.
I've been aware of it for years of course, and games I have been in have generally shied away from such nonsense, but it has observed the "magic tax" of having to pay to find out what you just captured.
Well, I'm done with it. It is stupid and unrealistic. Giving people treasure just to make them pay a fee is s jerk move, and I won't have it. Similarly, magic items should feel magic. That it is have runes, sacred or arcane symbols on them that those with knowledge can decipher. They should also have physical properties that can be perceived without a spell.
"Gosh, that shield you captured feels light, easy to move. You also notice that despite that combat, there are no dents or blemishes on it, and runes rune the entire circuit of the rim."
A lot of D&D conventions have just been taken for granted, and perhaps because of my age or experience of other games, this time I'm rethinking how we played and what mechanics we used.
Some might accuse me of following Tolkien in having lore masters explain weapons, but Tolkien didn't make that up. All sorts of mythologies magic weapons, forged by the gods or legendary craftsmen, and while there is space for ones that are simply well-made, it's fun to add something extra.
The other aspect I like is that I can use less overall magic items because as characters level up, they can unlock new features, which make magic items much less of a commodity, which is effectively what they become.
I just introduced the first magic ring and magic sword, so we'll see how it goes.
Chateau Lloyd 
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