But these are ones who haven't lost a character, so I'm not sure they'll have the same point of view if it happens... I'm finding AV to be just about right for challenging, while not being a death trap. The only Paizo AP that has been really deadly has been Age of Ashes....
In paladium, having a magic item is usually your whole character. A magic sword lets you fly and gives you super strength and lets you cast spells and turns you invisible and shoots fireballs and talks to you and blah blah blah. He said D&D (2e) was the first time he ever saw a ...