Well, in LFR, we have a maximum amount of reward per adventure, which means virorous looting or passively waiting have the same result. Some adventures assume you are looting and others do not.
It should be a combination of the ways listed above. The PHB recommended players give a "wish list" to the DM to put those items in the various treasure parcels, or the DM can just say "you find a level 4 common or uncommon for Bob the fighter." The various monsters will have some items and gold, the DM may let them buy stuff, or the party can actively quest for specific things-which helps the DM create adventures with hooks.
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I was wondering how other players go about seeking new personal items for their characters?
Do you wait for encounters to collect trash items from enemies to sell?
As a DM, I never award "vendor trash." King Arthur did not pull a Weapon of Shared Wrath from the stone and sell it to have enough money to buy Caliburn. I always award treasure that the players either want or could use (or provide the gold equivalent of the same). I hate vendor trash in MMOs, and see no reason why vendor trash needs to be in our roleplaying games.
Do you wait for the DM to sporadically reward you somehow?
I take wishlists from players so I have an idea of the kind of items they are looking for. I let the players find some of their wishlists over the course of the next few levels, in the hands of appropriate monsters or their hordes.
Or, do you actively seek out items in some other manner?
If the players wish to quest for a specific item, I'll make it the focus of a story (in fact, I have one such quest coming up), and then boost the power of the item a little to make it a unique item worth questing for.
If the players wish to quest for a specific item, I'll make it the focus of a story (in fact, I have one such quest coming up), and then boost the power of the item a little to make it a unique item worth questing for.
I really like this idea! Though I don't know how I could coerce my DM to write a story just so I can be selfish.
In a very long campaign I played with my buddies years ago, the world setting had a central market hub that served basically as a center for all things. The DM actually set up an arena as a part of the plot progression, but we continued to compete off-and-on, for the opportunity of collecting items from the fallen. We took it upon ourselves to expand the arena idea with side wagers to the equivelent of horse races, where odds multiplied winnings.
Obviously gambling was too powerful to leave unchecked so there was a DM ruling to hard cap how much we could win, and how often. However, some of the most memorable encounters I played in were the high stakes arena battles.
In the Player's Handbook there is the ritual Enchant Magic Item. With this ritual characters who can perform rituals can create magical items. Actually the ritual is level 4, so the character needs to be level 4 or higher.
Items made with the Enchant Magic Item ritual require components equal to the cost of the magic item being made, so it's not cheaper to make magical items than it is to buy them, unless the DM increases the cost of purchased magical items or lowers the cost of the ritual.
The Dungeon Master's Guide 2 has options for spicing up magical item creation. As a side note some players/DMs hate the idea of PCs making magical items, so your DM may or may not allow the ritual.
I just stride up to the guy in charge, soften him up with a couple of punches and swift kicks, and demand the specific items that I want. The guy in charge being the DM, of course.
In all seriousness, my group gives the DM a wishlist, and he usually sticks to it quite well, even going the extra step to make some items extra-special with thier own questline and thread into the story.
