Thread: Why Magic Items
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Old 07-03-2020, 07:57 AM   #3
Shostak
 
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Join Date: Oct 2015
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Default Re: Why Magic Items

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Bofinger View Post
All these items, except perhaps for Category 4, take the focus off the capabilities of the characters and put it on the capabilities of their toys. And there aren't many items in 4.
Consider mundane weapons and items: they expand the capabilities of a character. Take the armor and sword from the hero, and he's not going to be all that impressive. The weapons and armor, torches, and boats, are all technology that expand the capabilities of characters. I don't think that they take any spotlight away from the characters. Functionally, magic items are also technology.

You are right that taking gear away (even mundane gear) can rub some players the wrong way. But if you provide ways for them to get out of their predicaments with what is at hand, they might ultimately enjoy the process more than just hacking and blasting through it. The closest thing TFT has to signature gear (a GURPS term) is the staff, which is darned hard to take away from a wizard using RAW (for my staff nerfs, read here). Taking away signature gear is a staple of the kind of fiction that serves as a touchstone for games like TFT.
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