Magic Item Compendium Review
The name pretty much speaks for itself. The Magic Item Compendium
Probably the coolest part of Magic Item Compendium
Chapter One is Armor. You get a bunch of new effects for both armor and shields as well as some specific sets of armor. Spearblock armor helps deflect damage from ranged weapons while magic eating armor allows you to actually heal yourself when you make a save against a targeted spell. Foxhide Armor allows you to hide a little better and an overhead shield comes in really handy against an opponent that’s in the air. The chapter closes things out with some augment crystals, which can be attached to your armor for an extra effect. A restful crystal allows you to get adequate rest despite wearing your armor while a crystal of aquatic adaptation allows you some bonuses when you’re in the water.
Chapter Two has the weapons and it’s set up just like the armor section. You get magical effects, then specific weapons and then augment crystals. This is a much bigger chapter then the armor section and you get a lot of magical effects. If you’re into crossbows, you might like a quickloading variety which can hold up to 100 bolts and a warning weapon helps out your initiative.
Chapter Four has clothing. Robes, boots, amulets and just about anything worn on your body is in here. You get low end items like Armbands of Might which help you on strength based skill checks to some pretty high end items like the Amulet of Second Chances, which basically lets you restart an entire turn once per day as if it never happened. The most powerful magic item in the book is also in this section, the Vest of the Archmagi, which comes with a 200,000 price tage and a 20th caster level.
Chapter Four is tools, which is pretty much everything else. The portable foxhole is kind of neat and a play on the portable pit. There also several types of psychoactive skin, which would be similar to Spiderman’s black suit that eventually became Venom. In this section are the runestaffs, which are a pretty neat new item. Each runestaff comes with the capability to cast three or four spells. Then every day, you can replace one your memorized spells of equal or greater level with one of the spells the rune staff allows you to cast. It gives your spellcaster a bit of flexibility and basically gives him a handful of spells in the bag.
Chapter Five deals with magic item sets. Somewhat self explanatory, they’re individual magic items that give additional benefits if you complete the entire set. Kind of neat and it’s the kind of thing you could throw in a tomb, spreading out the magic items so the party has to find them. The Regalia of the Hero is a neat set for someone being groomed as an eventual military leader while the Wraith’s Woe is a set that is pretty impressive against undead.
Chapter Six deals with using magic items. It starts off with the identification process and then it gets into how to activate magic items. It then closes things out with crafting magic items.
Then there’s some interesting appendices. Appendix one lists all of the magic items by price (from both the DM’s Guide and the Magic Item Compendium
All in all, there’s a lot of useful stuff in the Magic Item Compendium
November 24th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I agree for the most part, a lot of these items are novel and indeed more sought after than standard DMG ones, my problem with it is BALANCE. In my opinion, a lot of the items simply are not balanced against those of the DMG.
Of the armour gems, lesser ironguard gives DR 3/- to stop up to 30 damage a day. On a fighter thats effectively
30 hp. Cost: 2000 gp. For the same amount of gold you get +1 natural armour. 30 hp or a 5% chance to stop an attack? I know which item my players will buy.
Runestaffs are a cheap way for Sorcerers to diversify their spell lists. They can put a bunch of basic utility spells they would never take as spells known and plonk them on a 5000 gp staff which then goes in a quiver of ehlonna with 3 or 4 other staffs.
Knowstones also grant more spells known and cost the sorcerer little more than what the wizard pays to put a spell in his SPELLBOOK.
Then theres the headband of scouting. I nearly choked when i saw what this 3400gp wonder can do.
+2 spot, 3 charges per day. For one charge you get darkvision for an hour, for 2 charges you get see invis for 10 minutes, ffor all 3 you get truesight for a minute.
Huh? Truesight? isnt that a 5th level spell? Gem of seeing costs a whopping 75 000 gp and requires you hold the damn thing in front of your face! Now sure it only lasts a minute and can be used once a day. But you can buy 5 of these things for a fraction of the gems price and just sweep over any suspected illusions, shapechangers, invisible enemies, not to mention foil a DMs attempt to incorporate darkness into an encounter. This item means the players will never have to memorise these seldom used spells again because they can go and buy items that grant the spells per day at a tiny cost.
In the DMG the lens of seeing costs 3500 and gives +5 to tracking and search. My problem isnt the power of the items in these books, its their tiny cost in relation to DMG magic items, which then completely confuses party level power and wealth by level guidelines. My campaign for one has been significantly damaged by this book and i plan to complain formally about it.
Lots of items in this book replicate spells and reduce the need for players to memorise utility spells or even be casters. Belt of healing: 2d8hp healed 3 times a day for 750 gold. Who needs clerics or potions? Lets all buy 5 belts of healing each!!
The replication of spells and highly customisable nature of many of these items takes away from the mysterious nature that magic items should embody. Rather than creating effects few spells or class abilities that can rarely be found elsewhere, it opens the doors for players to have any ability they want for a cheap cheap price. Thanks Magic Item Compendium.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I have to agree with Mr.Boots, this compendium obviously didn’t follow the rules they set for making magic items.
for example (and i’ll use the same one as Mr.Boots) The belt of Healing. Now it cost them 750 GP, but making the same item using the rules in the DMG cost 6480 GP. Bit of a difference in price eh? I think so.
how about the Headband of scoutings. with all it’s abilities calculated it sould cost minimum 11,000 gp.
So in conclusion i agree with MrBoots. The book screws everything up.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Agreed – but you guys are forgetting the cardinal rule of DMing – you make the rules, not the books.
The first thing to do, once you realize how screwed up these prices are, is to change them in your game world. Just because some supplement has something listed at a said price does not mean it should be available in your game world.
By the way, is it just me, or does it seem a little strange to have shops easily available for players to buy 5 belts of healing?
January 19th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
well they could have it made for them, ofcorse it would take time
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:16 am
t_catt11, ironically you are both correct and wrong at the same time. You’re right that, if the guidelines and rules and up unbalanced, you should change them. What you’re missing is that that’s exactly why the Magic Item Compendium exists! Seriously, when have you ever, EVER seen players buy a gem of true-seeing? Even though True Seeing is, in many ways, a necessity for remotely high-level play, even a 20th level character that blows 75,000 GP on the gem ends up crippled.
There may be some minor balance issues, but on the whole, this book plays a vital role: giving important flexibility to parties lacking the four iconic roles without breaking their bank.