This post is in response to a somewhat common Facebook question, a question I am glad to answer.
There comes a time in many DnD games (and other RPGs) when the DM (or GM, if you prefer) sits back and thinks, 'well, shit. That thing I gave the party is far more powerful than I anticipated. How do I get it away from them?'
In most cases, the 'thing' involves one or more potent magic items. One can be an issue, but in large groups - even without clever players - the power magic items grants seems to compound exponentially. This is even more of an issue in 5e, which is 'balanced' based on PCs having no magic items at all.
Now, it doesn't matter how the party gained all these items, be it through generous loot or the existence of magic item stores, because the PCs have them now and that is the problem.
Thieves in the night (or capricious Wishes from greedy NPCs) works once or twice, and is overall an unsatisfying way to remove magic items from the game. This is because it is too often a temporary fix, as PCs will scry the item and pursue the thieves until the item(s) is/are safely where they belong - in the PCs' hands.
So a more permanent solution is necessary.
Earlier rulesets had rules about items needing to make saves if their bearer failed a save, so a barrage of fireballs could generally prune the party of lesser items. Mordenkainen's Disjunction was another means to permanently destroy a magic item. Even the lowly Disenchanter and its appetite for magical auras provides a DM with a means to remove bothersome magic items from players.
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