So im trying to pick out equipment treasure for my players...magical items ans such. I'm trying to figure out how the gear levels work though. If a player is a Lvl 7 PC, and i give them a +9 piece of gear, does that mean they can use it, but cant use the +2 bonus to AC until they reach Lvl 9??

The equipment levels are just suggestions on what lever that the player would use it on. You can give out higher level gear if you want but it might cheapen of reward gear. I think that the stranded that some people use is one two levels above one a level above and one or more at level depending on the number of players. Wizards web site has lodes of helpful info for DMs look for stuff by Chris Perkins.

The other thing to rember is that it is you game world. If you want the item to work on after the player reaches a certain level then that is how it works. Just rember that you should keep things consistent or your players' enjoyment will suffer.

T

Also, a typical level's worth of treasure has parcels that are above the party level.

Thanks for the help!! I think I got it now