Hi guys I've been researching when and what magic items should be accessible by PC by a level. PHB II Table A–4: PC and NPC Wealth by Level Code: +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | Character Level | PC Wealth | Income | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 1st | Varies by class | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 2nd | 900 | 700 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 3rd | 2,700 | 1,800 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 4th | 5,400 | 2,700 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 5th | 9,000 | 3,600 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 6th | 13,000 | 4,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 7th | 19,000 | 6,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 8th | 27,000 | 8,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 9th | 36,000 | 9,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 10th | 49,000 | 13,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 11th | 66,000 | 17,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 12th | 88,000 | 22,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 13th | 110,000 | 22,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 14th | 150,000 | 40,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 15th | 200,000 | 50,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 16th | 260,000 | 60,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 17th | 340,000 | 80,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 18th | 440,000 | 100,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 19th | 580,000 | 140,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | 20th | 760,000 | 180,000 | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ MIC Table 6–3: Item Levels by Price Code: +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | Item Level | Market Price | Sample Items | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 1/2 | 1–50 | potion or scroll (1st-level spell), alchemist’s fire | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 1st | 51–150 | masterwork armor, scroll (2nd-level spell) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 2nd | 151–400 | masterwork weapon, potion (2nd-level spell) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 3rd | 401–800 | wand (1st-level spell), potion (3rd-level spell) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 4th | 801–1,300 | +1 armor | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 5th | 1,301–1,800 | brooch of shielding, full plate armor | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 6th | 1,801–2,300 | +1 weapon | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 7th | 2,301–3,000 | cloak of elvenkind | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 8th | 3,001–4,000 | +2 armor, gauntlets of ogre power | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 9th | 4,001–5,000 | wand (2nd-level spell) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 10th | 5,001–6,500 | boots of striding and springing | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 11th | 6,501–8,000 | +2 weapon | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 12th | 8,001–10,000 | +3 armor | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 13th | 10,001–13,000 | boots of speed, wand (3rd-level spell) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 14th | 13,001–18,000 | +3 weapon, +4 armor, gloves of Dexterity +4 | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 15th | 18,001–25,000 | +5 armor, wand (4th-level spell) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 16th | 25,001–35,000 | +4 weapon | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 17th | 35,001–48,000 | amulet of health | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 18th | 48,001–64,000 | +5 weapon | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 19th | 64,001–80,000 | robe of the archmagi | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 20th | 80,001–100,000 | amulet of mighty fists +4 | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 21th | 100,001–120,000 | robe of eyes | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 22th | 120,001–140,000 | holy avenger | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 23th | 140,001–160,000 | efreeti bottle | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 24th | 160,001–180,000 | staff of passage | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 25th | 180,001–200,000 | +5 vorpal weapon | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 26th | 200,001–220,000 | staff of power | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 27th | 220,001–240,000 | ring of elemental immunity (ELH) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 28th | 240,001–260,000 | boots of swiftness (ELH) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 29th | 260,001–280,000 | staff of mighty force (ELH) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | 30th | 280,001–300,000 | mantle of epic spell resistance(ELH) | +------------+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+ I'm convinced, that all Monster Manual books were designed with these tables in mind.
My experience regarding wealth and item access in 3.5 - sometimes from organized play, sometimes from being a PC, sometimes from being a GM = has been thus: -There are 2 main types of items, ones you can easily get based on your wealth/level/etc., and ones that are a stretch, requiring most or all of your resources, like a +2 weapon at level 4 or 5. The Magic Item Compendium's items by level chart - to me at least - seemed like it was designed around the end of 3.5 and didn't account for real optimizer data. (A +1 weapon at level 6 minimum?! Level 3 or 4 is far more likely! That level 6 figure may be if you're crafting it as a Cleric and you just took Craft Arms & Armor as your L6 feat!) From my perspective, players generally want a small number of higher-power permanent items because they're easier to track and help them be the characters they want to be. The Holy Dowry (+1 Holy Longsword) from Hommlet is a striking and likely overcompensating example of this because it's available when a new party may be level 1 or 2.
I think the table makes more sense if you read it as a minimum bound rather than a tight one. I.e. at level 6 ALL characters will have +1 weapons/equipment etc, whereas at level 4 when your party finds the first +1 weapon you hand it over to the fighter and it's a big deal, while the rest still use masterwork stuff etc. It even says in the example that a 2 level difference can be okay - I'd interpret that as such. It looks like ToEE the original module even adheres to that, the crazy departures in the computer game are Troika's doing.
Also consider what the item does. A +1 weapon is only +1 accuracy and damage (and has the ability to negate DR/magic) compared to a mundane version of the same weapon, and is only +1 damage compared to a masterwork version of that weapon. In contrast, a level 1 wand of mage armor or cure light wounds costs less but may be more useful at that same level. (I felt that consumables in general were overpriced.)
I might add runes from PF2e seem to be a logical out growth of that thinking too. Not that I'm comfortably with PF2e yet. The three action economy is throwing me constantly.
