Ep 60: Mailbag of Holding 02

Regarding - Picking up on an old game -

Taking a break for the holidays etc is fine, this is where recaps are great for players, and if its the players that need the break then the DM gets more time to flesh out current and future campaigns.

But for a game that happened a few years ago, i've offered this a few times and every time people said no. They liked what they did but figures its like nostalga for an old computer game, it fades quickly.

What I have done is use their pcs as mentors. Eg first campaign of my world had a group of casters who did a bunch of adventuring in one country and the feywild. During the third campaign the game was based in a mystic college (like Harry Potter) and the pcs from the first campaign were teachers at the college. They hired the new heroes to go on a few quests, and later asked them to help cleaning up the effects of encounters that did not work out from the first campaign. Just like in comics and movies, cameos from recurring characters is awesome.

Regarding - Improving existing magical items
They did this in Earthdawn, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthdawn
'One of the most innovative ideas in Earthdawn is how magical items work. At first, most magical items work exactly like a mundane item of the same type. As a character searches for information about the item's history, performs certain tasks relating to that history, and spends legend points to activate the item, he unlocks some of the magic in the item. As the character learns more about the item and its history, he can unlock more and more power within the item.

Each magical item, therefore, is unique by virtue of its history and the scope of its powers. For example, one magical broadsword may have only 4 magical ranks and only increases the damage of the blade. On the other hand the legendary sword Purifier, has 10 magical ranks and grants its wielder numerous powers.'