So, I'm looking through the Magic Items section of the DMG, to decide what goodies to stick in the next hoard and I come across this anomaly. Boots of Levitation are listed as 'rare', but Winged Boots are listed as 'uncommon'. Does that seem reversed to anyone? Levitate is strictly up/down, with no lateral motion possible (except by pulling oneself along a wall or ceiling, etc). Winged boots grant motion on all three axes. The only justification I could see for this would be that Winged Boots have limited duration per day v the Boots of Levitation being at will, but I assert that 4 hours of flight per day is sufficiently unlimited for adventuring purposes. The only person I can imagine that would prefer unlimited levitation over limited duration flight would be a librarian working long shifts.
D&D 5E Rarity: Winged Boots v Boots of Levitation - Huh?
- Thread starter Quixote
- Start date
mach1.9pants
Hero
Correct so nobody makes boots of levitation, they make winged boots. Thus winged boots are found more often. So makes perfect sense to me
Hmm. It's true, but 5e conflates rarity with complexity -- it's also quicker, cheaper and easier to get the recipe for winged boots than boots of levitation.
I just assume there's some bugs on the rarity table and move on with my life
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?462510-Sane-Magic-Item-Prices had a re-worked table of item/price/rarity which you might use if this really bothers you!
FormerlyHemlock
Hero
Yes. That is an excellent reason to decouple rarity and cost of production.
The DMG's item-creation and spell-research guidelines are one of the weakest parts of 5E.
Jester David
Hero
I prefer to think of it as a reason not to allow universal access to all magic item recipes.
No system is perfect, and even if each item had a unique set price based on its value and power (likely as decided by one designer) there'd still be some that were unusually expensive or cheap.
FormerlyHemlock
Hero
That's a good point, and to be honest that's what I've done so far in my games: just not handed out any recipes, vs. revamping the magic item creation system. No PCs have yet expressed an interest in creating magic items.
That doesn't stop me from thinking that those DMG guidelines are overly simplistic and not well-thought-out, best treated as a throwaway placeholder for real rules. When someone does express an interest in magic item creation, I'll probably pull out my AD&D 2nd edition materials and whip up an actual formula, minus Enchant An Item and Permanency requirements.
Jester David
Hero
I don't disagree. But the magic item creation rules were all of half-a-page, it'd be hard to have simpler rules. They needed *something* but I don't think they had the time or space to expand them. (The DMG was delayed as it was.)
It's perfect territory for optional rules, but Unearthed Arcana hasn't hit that concept yet and there's no 3rd Party licence for someone willing to publish a varian.
FormerlyHemlock
Hero
Agreed. I don't blame the DMG writers either.
just want to say; boots of levitation, while providing up down means a person can "run" along walls bouncing from wall to wall, improving urban running. Just saying.
Great point: a related pet peeve of mine is that Ring of Feather Fall is also rare, and it is not even functioning like the first-level spell.*
*affecting only self; that's actually the "right" answer, in my book, and there is a related issue with the amping-up of Feather Fall to affect groups. It used to be one of my favourite spells (and the ring one of my go-to magic items); in this edition I have no interest in either.
*affecting only self; that's actually the "right" answer, in my book, and there is a related issue with the amping-up of Feather Fall to affect groups. It used to be one of my favourite spells (and the ring one of my go-to magic items); in this edition I have no interest in either.
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