Comments on: DM’s Guide to Dealing With Treasure http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure A blog for all fans of Dungeons & Dragons. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:00:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Aiden http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-100973 Aiden Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:44:11 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-100973 I'm glad that the community is finally paying scrutiny to this problem. I think that there might be something to your treasure-is-components plan. For your detractors: I started playing back in the old old days and we never really got this right. There are really an amazing number of gear issues that compete with good storytelling. Some examples where "value" is poorly defined: a short bow is almost certainly less useful than a long sword; a dead character leaves behind a whole dump of gear that the replacement character can't use; new armor might be useless if nobody in the party can wear it; a new divine mace might be worthless to the only character who can use it; or, an item that fits well mechanically might be out of theme for a character and not "make sense". Imagine a party made up of fun, well-themed characters where one wears heavy armor and nobody uses a long sword. They might never really enjoy the fruits of the dungeon, but whatever success they do find may worsen their predicament: more experience leads to harder challenges and the uphill fight gets steeper. So, what should the DM do? Replace some loot with better fits? Tell the players to act more like WoW stereotypes? I propose a compromise: the three major item slots get 50% trade value, the rest get 20%, and residuum is freely available as a currency. Weapons, armor, and neck slot items are given at fairly balanced points so it is a real problem if the party can't use them. The rest are more about specific flavor and only serve to tweak a character's effectiveness. I’m glad that the community is finally paying scrutiny to this problem. I think that there might be something to your treasure-is-components plan.

For your detractors: I started playing back in the old old days and we never really got this right. There are really an amazing number of gear issues that compete with good storytelling. Some examples where “value” is poorly defined: a short bow is almost certainly less useful than a long sword; a dead character leaves behind a whole dump of gear that the replacement character can’t use; new armor might be useless if nobody in the party can wear it; a new divine mace might be worthless to the only character who can use it; or, an item that fits well mechanically might be out of theme for a character and not “make sense”.

Imagine a party made up of fun, well-themed characters where one wears heavy armor and nobody uses a long sword. They might never really enjoy the fruits of the dungeon, but whatever success they do find may worsen their predicament: more experience leads to harder challenges and the uphill fight gets steeper. So, what should the DM do? Replace some loot with better fits? Tell the players to act more like WoW stereotypes?

I propose a compromise: the three major item slots get 50% trade value, the rest get 20%, and residuum is freely available as a currency. Weapons, armor, and neck slot items are given at fairly balanced points so it is a real problem if the party can’t use them. The rest are more about specific flavor and only serve to tweak a character’s effectiveness.

]]> By: Dileeria http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-97535 Dileeria Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:35:29 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-97535 Is it really REALISTIC to hand the players their wishlist items in every game????? Nope. That's what the word "Adventure" is for! You have to Adventure for the items. You want a better chance to find the Sword of Legends? You better be ready to search for it! And if you have good players... they will not complain. The spoiled brats that MUST have the sword aren't good for gamming anyway. Sorry if you guys have to handle those types! I run my games with the understanding that there will be NO demanding. If they want it, they work for it, the poor babies! Is it really REALISTIC to hand the players their wishlist items in every game????? Nope. That’s what the word “Adventure” is for! You have to Adventure for the items. You want a better chance to find the Sword of Legends? You better be ready to search for it! And if you have good players… they will not complain. The spoiled brats that MUST have the sword aren’t good for gamming anyway. Sorry if you guys have to handle those types! I run my games with the understanding that there will be NO demanding. If they want it, they work for it, the poor babies!

]]> By: Steam http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-92406 Steam Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:32:24 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-92406 What happened to good old fashioned story telling? Let the characters have a wish list? Or dump "trash" magic items that they can sell to get what they want? That sounds like one screwy economy. How about they find the old sword that legend says killed the big bad troll who was haunting the countryside? What happened to good old fashioned story telling?

Let the characters have a wish list? Or dump “trash” magic items that they can sell to get what they want? That sounds like one screwy economy.

How about they find the old sword that legend says killed the big bad troll who was haunting the countryside?

]]> By: Friday Roundup | Level 30 Yinzer http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-87343 Friday Roundup | Level 30 Yinzer Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:12:02 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-87343 [...] we apparently have items on the brain, here’s a handy few ways to help pick out and distribute those magic items from D20source.  Additionally, not all magic items are about adding those bonuses, and we love [...] [...] we apparently have items on the brain, here’s a handy few ways to help pick out and distribute those magic items from D20source.  Additionally, not all magic items are about adding those bonuses, and we love [...]

]]> By: mike http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-86931 mike Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:36:13 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-86931 Another thought, the loot you bring back will likely have symbols and engravings that may not be to popular to be displayed. Defeat a cult of Orcus, get a nice +4 sword. It's going to have a marking relating to Orcus on it as well as something like "I love Orcus" engraved on it. Wearing/using such gear may not make to statement characters want. Another thought, the loot you bring back will likely have symbols and engravings that may not be to popular to be displayed.
Defeat a cult of Orcus, get a nice +4 sword. It’s going to have a marking relating to Orcus on it as well as something like “I love Orcus” engraved on it.
Wearing/using such gear may not make to statement characters want.

]]> By: mike http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-86930 mike Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:29:16 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-86930 Think about this: the more rare and powerful a magic item it will attract attention of thieves' guilds, cults, powerful wizards, rulers of the realm, etc. Everybody would like to have the item, great means to start new adventures, gain allies or foes. Also, walking out of the shoppe with 100,000 gp attracts its own attention too. You might have it where a +3 sword is rare enough for the item to have some kind of history and cause someone to expend effort to acquire it. You just don't pawn Stormbringer like an XBox. Think about this: the more rare and powerful a magic item it will attract attention of thieves’ guilds, cults, powerful wizards, rulers of the realm, etc.
Everybody would like to have the item, great means to start new adventures, gain allies or foes.
Also, walking out of the shoppe with 100,000 gp attracts its own attention too.
You might have it where a +3 sword is rare enough for the item to have some kind of history and cause someone to expend effort to acquire it.
You just don’t pawn Stormbringer like an XBox.

]]> By: Jenny Snyder http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-86831 Jenny Snyder Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:41:08 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-86831 I'm playing an artificer in one campaign, and I've arranged it with my DM that I get to make most of the magic items. We find convenient piles of residuum, and voila, I'm off to the races. It's one less thing he has to worry about, and I get to feel like the mad scientist inventor type for my character. Win-win! I’m playing an artificer in one campaign, and I’ve arranged it with my DM that I get to make most of the magic items. We find convenient piles of residuum, and voila, I’m off to the races. It’s one less thing he has to worry about, and I get to feel like the mad scientist inventor type for my character. Win-win!

]]> By: Ravenous Role Playing » Blog Archive » Friday Five: 2010-03-26 http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-86745 Ravenous Role Playing » Blog Archive » Friday Five: 2010-03-26 Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:18:46 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-86745 [...] DM’s Guide to Dealing With Treasure I’m in the camp of random treasure is the best kind of treasure. It can sometimes point a game in new directions or give the players abilities outside their strengths, which will make them stronger characters. Having the players give a wish list to the GM for what they want to find just seems wrong to me. I realize that with D&D 4e this is almost a requirement because of the stated book rule that an item can only be sold for 20% of its full value. Instead of tossing out items that the players want the most as “treasure”, I’d rather see the 20% rule tossed and go back to the traditional 50% market value rule. Jonathan over at d20 Source has some other alternate systems that can be put into place to replace the “wish list syndrome” that drives me batty. [...] [...] DM’s Guide to Dealing With Treasure I’m in the camp of random treasure is the best kind of treasure. It can sometimes point a game in new directions or give the players abilities outside their strengths, which will make them stronger characters. Having the players give a wish list to the GM for what they want to find just seems wrong to me. I realize that with D&D 4e this is almost a requirement because of the stated book rule that an item can only be sold for 20% of its full value. Instead of tossing out items that the players want the most as “treasure”, I’d rather see the 20% rule tossed and go back to the traditional 50% market value rule. Jonathan over at d20 Source has some other alternate systems that can be put into place to replace the “wish list syndrome” that drives me batty. [...]

]]> By: Guia do mestre para lidar com tesouros | TRAMPOLIM RPG http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-86605 Guia do mestre para lidar com tesouros | TRAMPOLIM RPG Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:59:23 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-86605 [...] original: DM’s guide to dealing with treasure Postado em: 23 de março de 2010 Autor: Jonathan Drain Site: D20 [...] [...] original: DM’s guide to dealing with treasure Postado em: 23 de março de 2010 Autor: Jonathan Drain Site: D20 [...]

]]> By: Stormcrowe http://www.d20source.com/2010/03/dms-guide-to-dealing-with-treasure/comment-page-1#comment-86592 Stormcrowe Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:01:33 +0000 http://www.d20source.com/?p=1748#comment-86592 The D&D game i'm running right now i've tried to keep it a low magic game. They find minor items along the way but most of the major stuff is either handled in quest rewards allowing me to choose what they get or they can research and quest for a particular item. Its worked well so far. The D&D game i’m running right now i’ve tried to keep it a low magic game. They find minor items along the way but most of the major stuff is either handled in quest rewards allowing me to choose what they get or they can research and quest for a particular item. Its worked well so far.

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