One of the bigger changes they are attempting to do in 4.0 is the way you and your magic items co-exist. I was exposed to D&D when 3.0 came out, so I can’t recall exactly how magical gear was worked into your character. But I do know how it was treated in 3.#, and the one downside, the more magical items you had, the better you were then another person, or even some NPC’s. Magical gear is what gave you your edge in combat, and this is sort of a theme they are trying to direct away from.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love magical items as much as the next dungeon crawler, and it always feels good when you have that long sought after magical weapon, clutched in your players hand, ready to creep around a corner to defeat that blasted troll.

The goal is, for magic items to still have an impact on your character, but not as much as 3.# did. The main categories you’ll want to worry about that will have that sort of impact on your character will be, weapon, armor, and neck (necklace/cape). Some of the other categories will tend to focus on a certain type of attribute, like footwear will lean on movement/speed.

I wish I could find the original article where I read their example, but with the books coming out in just a few days, we can all see together. They are wanting your character to be more about their skills and abilities instead of your base stats, and then enhancing them with gear. From what I can see, it’s looking like it will shape up well.

Wizards Excerpt: You and your magical items

Tomorrow, the different class tiers and multi-classing. Oh, and just to let you know, they have gotten rid of prestige classes!