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Most groups i have played in, +1 items were common for L1/2 to around L4/5. Then +2 for L5/6 to around L8/9. +3 items came (often) after 9th...
What about you and your groups? When do you usually start seeing +3 magic armor/shields/weapons? What of +4 ones?

With one or two crazed exceptions during my earliest days of DMing, my experience pretty closely follows yours. Especially for weapons. I might consider something this powerful for armor if the group was taking on especially tough/dangerous missions but they would have to be pretty crazy hard. As a player, I've been in groups that made it to 10th+level and were grateful for a +1 weapon but those were usually exceptions and took place in low magic worlds.

I don't have any hard rules for it. I'm actually terrible at rolling up treasure, so unless I specifically lay out magical items for the party to pick up, it is not uncommon for them to hit level 5 and still not have even +1 gear yet. (True story: I once had to roll for the hoard of a mated pair of green dragons three times. The first time I came up with nothing. The second time I came up with a few hundred copper pieces and nothing else. The third time I got nothing again. At that point, I stopped rolling and just chose what I wanted the hoard to be. )

garhkal wrote:Most groups i have played in, +1 items were common for L1/2 to around L4/5. Then +2 for L5/6 to around L8/9. +3 items came (often) after 9th...
What about you and your groups? When do you usually start seeing +3 magic armor/shields/weapons? What of +4 ones?

Without looking at everyone else's posts. Let's do this!

Nobody sees +1 anything until at least level 4, maybe 3 if they are really lucky.

+2's come in around levels 4-6
+3's coming between 7-10
+4's in around 11+
+5's basically never, unless again VERY lucky or dragon horde etc. (they are a 1 in a million item)

Cole wrote: +5's basically never, unless again VERY lucky or dragon horde etc. (they are a 1 in a million item)

Agreed. I would go so far as to say "unique". Anything this powerful is essentially an artifact and should be treated as one.

For note, part of the reason i brought this question up, was cause in a new G1 campaign journal over on DF, someone mentioned one of his characters waltzed through 10 giants hurling rocks at him all cause of his -9 AC.. From wearing +4 plate +4 shield and his 17 Dex.. ONE +4 item i might see on a 9th level fighter.. BUT two?? IMO that's munchkin like level right there.

garhkal wrote:For note, part of the reason i brought this question up, was cause in a new G1 campaign journal over on DF, someone mentioned one of his characters waltzed through 10 giants hurling rocks at him all cause of his -9 AC.. From wearing +4 plate +4 shield and his 17 Dex.. ONE +4 item i might see on a 9th level fighter.. BUT two?? IMO that's munchkin like level right there.

Never get tired of hearing these stories. Haven't we all played in a Monte Haul dungeon at least once in our gaming days? "Munchkin-like" indeed!

I think I read in another post here that 5th Ed limits magic items to +3 now. This actually makes sense to me.

Striking a balance for powerful magic items is a tightrope we all walk as DMs. Players greedy for power will never go away and we need to find a way to keep players wanting without becoming frustrated at what might be perceived as a lack of progress in finding these elusive treasures.

Billy_Buttcheese wrote:

garhkal wrote:For note, part of the reason i brought this question up, was cause in a new G1 campaign journal over on DF, someone mentioned one of his characters waltzed through 10 giants hurling rocks at him all cause of his -9 AC.. From wearing +4 plate +4 shield and his 17 Dex.. ONE +4 item i might see on a 9th level fighter.. BUT two?? IMO that's munchkin like level right there.

Never get tired of hearing these stories. Haven't we all played in a Monte Haul dungeon at least once in our gaming days? "Munchkin-like" indeed!

Maybe as a kid i did... BUT those days are long past.

My level breakdowns would typically be as such:

Levels 1-3 - No magical items.
Levels 4-6 - 1x +1 Magical Item.
Levels 7-10 - 1x +1 Magical Item, 1x +2 Magical Item.
Levels 11-13 - 2x +1 Magical Item, 1x +2 Magical Item.
Levels 14-15 - 2x +1 Magical Item, 1x +2 Magical Item, 1x +3 Magical Items
Levels 16-17 - 2x +1 Magical Item, 2x +2 Magical Item, 1x +3 Magical Items, 1x +4 Magical Item
Levels 18+ - Anything Goes.

This is a basic rubric. I have broken this, tried to stick to it and failed, and done less than this sometimes. But that would be the average, I'd hope.

Tiger