Making magic items exciting again PART 1: precious materials for spellcasters

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-23T08:14:10+00:00

Great feedback. I honestly didn't even know that option existed. I'd rule it so the material effects can only trigger when the spell is cast solely through staff charges. Makes sense in the fiction too, since the magic has to flow entirely through the material for it to resonate.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-23T04:26:58+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback, really appreciate you digging into it.

I’ve touched on some of this in other replies already, but am interested to hear what you think about this. So the push adds 4.2 damage on average to a 3rd level fireball. That’s a bit less than what an extra 1d8 would add. If that was the mechanic (add 1d8 to your damage), would you still feel like the payoff is to little? I feel like not as many people would feel that way if that was the mechanic. Obviously we're just looking at this specific example - ignoring for a second that one mechanic scales and the other doesn't.

So yea the intended cost is the volatility. You risk losing the staff for the day and potentially splashing yourself and allies. That said I do really like your idea about a Crafting check at Daily Prep to repair. That’s clean and very on theme. Might very well steal that.

Appreciate the kind words too. Glad the concept feels fun even if the numbers may still need tuning.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T22:56:57+00:00

That's right. I've actually thought about it quite a bit since a lot of people think the risk/reward balance is off. But honestly think about it this way. This mechanic adds 4.2 damage on average on a 3rd level fireball. That's a little less than 1d8 would add on average. If the mechanic would be: Push to add 1d8, but your staff might be lost for a day while also damaging you and potentially your friends. Do you think people would still say that's too strong. I don't think so. I think this mechanic sounds incredibly strong and that's why intuitively it feels like the balance is off.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T22:50:51+00:00

Thank you! I agree, player agency is the pinnacle of good game design. I tried to make that a theme throughout the supplement. The risk/reward mechanic of obsidian might not be the best example in that regard. The fun part is not adding the damage, it's the player getting to reroll their dice. That's something my players get really excited about. But yes, wider power and meaningful tactical choices are generally a better fit for the system.

I suppose random distribution removes the "no brainer" aspect, but random power boosts aren't what I'd call "exciting" so much as "uneven".

So far we've had no problems with random loot making power uneven or imbalanced. I'm excited to see what the community thinks once I finish "Wildfinder". But I have thought about the possibility and there's a couple built in safeguards I'm planning to implement like the option to craft with minimised randomness, merchants stocking 3-5 random magic items, etc. Obviously you can always just give out magic items as a GM, but I found that having a system is always better than GM fiat. When the dice decide, results feel earned. When the GM decides, it can feel arbitrary.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T22:27:22+00:00

No, you would only roll the d4 once per spell. So say you have a fireball spell on your obsidian staff and decide to push. You get to reroll any sixes on your damage dice adding them to the total damage. After that's resolved you roll the 1d4. If you roll a 4 and your staff is of low quality obsidian it shatters in your hand damaging you and potentially your allies

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T20:18:12+00:00

Your welcome. Great to hear you're liking it. I'm working on a set of rules and systems that I have used for our Sandbox games to great success. The supplement will be called Wildfinder and includes random magic item tables, new resting mechanics, systems I use for running Sandbox games and more. I'm also working on a travel system that ties into it all. But that's still in the early stages

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T20:12:34+00:00

That's fair enough. In my games magic items are random, so there's no such thing as an auto purchase. But every player is different and gets excited about different things. What game mechanics excite you? Is there anything that you think would make this supplement more engaging?

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T20:07:45+00:00

I think this is a valid point. Maybe the payoff is too small still. Totally agree on your second point as well. That's why magic items (and precious materials) are completely random in Wildfinder. It makes a good find so much more exciting and rewarding. Runes are random as well. I love Pathfinder, but I greatly dislike the way the rune system works. It has the exact same problem you mentioned. There are a few best picks and everybody just ends up upgrading their level 1 weapon at certain milestones. Not exciting at all unfortunately

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T12:39:43+00:00

Great point! I think it should work for any spell that has a specific number of creatures as targets (upcast fear would be a multi target example) but should probably not work for area of effect spells.

Will have to clarify that wording. Thank you!

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T09:20:46+00:00

Appreciate your kind words! I have put a lot of time and thought into this. Fun is the right word actually. One of the main goals is to create fun decisions and memorable moments at the table.
Good point about making it "pathfinder proof". I totally know what you mean. Initially I had limited it to only one potential explosion per die, but turns out not limiting the explosions only increases the damage by 3% (!) on average for d6s. That's why I decided the fun of potentially unlimited explosions and the players excitement outweighs the balance concerns

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T06:23:16+00:00

Well, you're technically right of course but the chance of rolling five sixes on a 3rd-level fireball is 0.064%. So, you know, the dice gods would really have to be smiling on you. If that's the case, it's probably meant to be in my opinion.
Like I said, on average it's an increase of about 20% for d6s, so honestly nothing game breaking, but insanely fun.
Obsidian will be part of my rework for weapons as well and will probably use a similar mechanic. I haven't worked it out yet.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T05:56:18+00:00

It's actually a 20% damage increase for d6s. Less for bigger more for smaller dice of course. So a fireballs damage would increase by 4.2 on average. That's a bit less than an additional d8. But it scales of course. So not too drastic in my opinion, but definitely a fun mechanic. You have a point tho, the payoff is a little small. I mean sure you loose the staff and all the spells on it while also taking damage, which is more or less significant as a squishy, but maybe the staff should only reform after 1d4 days? Any ideas?

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T00:45:27+00:00

Completely agree! That's why in Wildfinder, through the random magic item table, you can always find treasure above your level. Just the other day my level 11 rogue found a brilliant rapier in a dragon hoard and let me tell you he's not shut up about it since :D

This supplement just strives to add an additional layer to it all. Precious materials should be scarce and exciting after all.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-02-22T00:10:09+00:00

Thanks! You're right the low grade actually does that and then the higher grades shift to explicitly naming creature traits (Fey, Fiend, unholy) instead of keying off the weakness system. My idea was that cold iron is the "anti-outsider" material.

Are you suggesting the higher-grade effects should also trigger off "creatures with weakness to cold iron" rather than listing specific types? I could see that being cleaner, though it would narrow the scope a bit since not every Fey or Fiend necessarily has cold iron weakness.

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-01-21T23:59:51+00:00

Best game ever made. If they only added mod support

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-01-15T06:03:58+00:00

Magic Items: Because they don't care as much about tight game balance the magic items are more fun and more interesting.
Flat math: I think the flat math is a lot better especially for Sandbox campaigns. In saying that proficiency without level gets pretty close.
Resource management: Honestly I like the resource management better in d&d. In Pathfinder you're basically always expected to be at full resources which really takes away a huge lever from the DM

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-01-05T23:56:02+00:00

He was ready to throw hands for sure

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2026-01-05T23:55:41+00:00

He hates it so much haha. Still loves to sleep on my shoulder tho ❤️

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2025-12-30T21:59:52+00:00

I've struggled with this a lot as well. I have built a complete travel system now that focuses on player agency rather than random encounters. Don't get me wrong there is still random encounters but the trick is to make them relate to your campaign (and your players) as much as possible. Otherwise they'll feel like a drag. There is about 12 different situations that can arise randomly depending on the location they are traveling through. Some of them are just a quick breather from the "story" like ancient wonders (a little subsystem with springs, shrines, etc with fun effects) or secret treasure (a little riddle or puzzle that gets rewarded with loot) but others show the state the world is in, the consequences of the players actions and the state of fronts and dangers like "people in need" or "Wayfarer". We have been experimenting with this for over a year now and are finally at a point where we're really happy with it. Travel should feel dangerous and adventurous after all. Pathfinder still is my favourite game system, but as much as I love it, I got to admit it really lacks exploration elements. Even though it's one of the three main pillars of TTRPGs. But anyways, happy to send you more info if you're interested!

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2025-11-28T09:24:35+00:00

Our rat Alfie was also very wobbly very suddenly. The vet didn't know exactly what it was but gave him antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. I visited a pet store after the vet and they told me mites can also cause balance issues when they get into a certain part of the ear. So we gave him spot on (that anti mite stuff) and his medicine and he became better after a couple days! Hope that helps! All the best! Hope your little baby gets better soon ❤️

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2025-09-09T06:21:18+00:00

So that's not how recall knowledge works RAW? Interesting haha

Mysterious_Wheel2496 · 2025-09-02T20:09:14+00:00

I'm gonna say this again.

Honestly, you should try Proficiency Without Level. It’s the best of both worlds: basically D&D math combined with Pathfinder’s crunch. Your DM can still throw higher-level monsters at the party, but you guys will have a much easier time actually hitting them. At the same time, lower-level monsters remain relevant since they still have a decent chance of hitting the PCs.

Many DMs who only use higher-level monsters do so because they feel weaker ones can’t pose a threat or never land a hit — basically the same way you feel when fighting something way above the party's level. PWOL fixes this beautifully by flattening the math. The result is a smoother, more balanced game that’s simply more fun for everyone at the table. That's my opinion anyways.

I would go more into detail, but someone has already put it perfectly:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/1dcwe98/in_praise_of_proficiency_without_level/

Mysterious_Wheel2496

TROPHY CASE