This episode features David Weinberger from the Shonen Flop podcast to talk all about introducing magical items into your Dungeons & Dragons campaign. It becomes apparent quickly that David and I run very different games when it comes to dishing out loot, which leads to some interesting discussions! Some DMs, myself included, can display a preciousness towards their campaign; a concern magic items will topple the delicately balanced spinning plates. Turns out, magic items are actually one small piece of a much larger puzzle, and can have as much or as little impact as you want. Should they cause the plates to wobble, well that's a perfect learning opportunity for the DM. An additional concern is the power creep and impact to CR magic items can have, but being aware of this and accommodating with the item and other design can allow you to have interesting and powerful items. We also discuss how items can be used to aid in designing puzzles, which is often tricky as it is! In the same vein, they can also be a vehicle for divine intervention - assisting the PCs to resolve tricky encounters. 02:39 - How Items Affect Campaigns Differently 09:35 - Item-Based Puzzle Design 13:23 - Balance & Reuse 24:26 - Considering Wealth as an "Item" 29:41 - Rarity & Recycling 46:24 - Mandatory Adventuring Gear 51:14 - Roll Tables and Trinkets Find David on Shonen Flop: Shonen Flop Podcast: https://shonenflop.libsyn.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shonenflopcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shonenflopcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shonenflopcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClupR5kLtuIqt9jE0BV4_kQ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@weareshonenflop Find me on: Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThinkCritDnD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_BSgazjwyshzo1jazHeaQ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thinkingcritically Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thinkingcritically References: Against the Dark Master Patrons: Matt Street @mpstreet88: https://www.virtualtimehustle.com/ Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod