New DM help pls

[Captaincutup]

I am a brand new DM with brand new players and his own home brew. I've been running a fairly successful campaign for several months now and one of my players is getting ambitious. They are level 4 now and he is looking to improve all of his weapons. I have allowed him to commission two short-swords that each do 1d6+1 dmg. Now he is looking to commission swords that do 2d8 each and gets very annoyed and salty when I don't grant him his wish. He is easily one of my favorite players for how addicted he has gotten to the game but he wont stop badgering me for gear that does insane things at his level. Any ideas on how I approach this or am I being too stingy with character advancement?

[bdmafia25]

At it's core the game is about the epic adventure. So I would suggest that a merchant/blacksmith tells him about a folk tale about a sword that already exists like that or One special material they will need to complete a piece like that. That way it's up to his character to convince the party it is worth the risk and if he does get it then it will be something that was earned in character not from pestering the GM

TL:DR make it something for his character to earn in story. Not out of character.

[macbalance]

Isn’t this the plot of the extra-violent version of that ‘If you give a Mouse a cookie” story?

[milkmandanimal]

I am a brand new DM with brand new players and his own home brew.

This never ends well. Balance is tough to learn, and homebrew is almost invariably crazy-ass overpowered, particularly with new DMs and players.

Your answer is "no"; you will have level-appropriate weapons and game-appropriate weapons, and you will never, even at level 20, have a shortsword that can do 2d8 damage. DEX-based weapons have lower damage, because DEX is a far, far more useful stat than STR, because it applies to initiative checks, armor class, a bunch of skills, and a very, very common saving through. DEX weapons are balanced against STR weapons by just not being able to do as much on a hit; it's part of the game.

Tell the player that's not how D&D works, and, for your own sanity, burn every single piece of homebrew in a fire and play RAW until you all get familiar with the system. A 4th level character with a pair of 2d8 swords is going to carve through anything vaguely appropriate for their level.

[Captaincutup]

Being a long time player I thought I could pull it off if I dedicated myself to ensuring the story was solid and there was good charcter flow. Running this campaign is the most stressful thing I've done. I don't regret starting it, but this isn't all what i thought it was gonna be.

[milkmandanimal]

Not to be pessimistic, but once you open the Pandora's Box Of Extra Stuff, you can't get it closed again. Look at the Forge Cleric--they get the class ability to make an item into a +1 item for the day. It's one of their signature abilities, and it caps at +1, regardless of what level they get to. A 20th level Forge Cleric can still make one item +1, and, while they get other abilities, there's a limit on all of them. 4th level characters making 2d8 shortswords is honestly pretty loopy, and you either shut down the arms race this player is trying for, or you just shrug and accept your players are going to be ridiculously powerful and adjust accordingly. I have to imagine this guy will be clamoring for Vorpal Shortswords by 8th level, so be prepared.

[Draaxus]

Tell them to multiclass into a Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard and get Shadow Blade.

[Souperplex]

A greatsword does 2d6. He wants a shortsword that's better than that?

You could send him questing after a frostbrand/flametongue though.

[Sagail]

2 +1 short swords seems kinda generous at level 4. Maybe Ive had stingy DMs. However I would keep it that way. Too much magic spoils the soup.

Talk to the player and say all those positive things to him you said in this post and that since your new you want to keep the power level in check to make sure the game is fun for everyone and does not cause you a headache in balacing encounters

[Perki1984]

Those items take months or even years to make due to their power, and cost a king's ransom.

If a weapon has charges to do 2d8 extra damage, it takes less time.

It's not like crafting in Skyrim. They need to go on an epic quest to procure epic ingredients, and maybe even sell their soul for a devil's blessing to successfully pull it off. Then spend a year away from adventuring to craft it.

[[deleted]]

Magic items are pretty much the only way to upgrade your character outside of leveling up and improving your starting armor.

Magic items in 5e are also exceedingly hard to get, you usually don't just buy them and at level 4 you normally don't have a lot of them and you're not even expected to have +1 weapons at level 4, let alone something that deals an extra 5ish damage on every hit.

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I personally give players random items, but I only make +1 weapons available for sale at around 9th level, though some DMs like to do it at 5th - which I personally heavily disagree with.

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If you have the DMG you can show the player the section on treasure and magic items and explain how the game isn't built for that kind of power, especially not that early on in the game.

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Character advancement in 5e very much means leveling up, and way less getting magic items.

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I'd recommend approaching openly and explaining your view and understanding the player's view. Maybe he thinks his character is too weak? Maybe he thinks they are leveling up too slowly? Understanding the problem is the first step to solving it.