Tailoring treasure to the party

[Arcane Runes Press]

Re: It all ties together...

If you design an adventure or encounter that makes sense, has a purpose and is internally consistent (why does this tribe of kobolds live here, who are their rivals, and how would they react to various situations), then it is 'believable'. If you consistently use the EL guidelines and tailor everything to the party, the campaign will be like a poorly written, predictable novel.

This is just gross oversimplification. No one is suggesting that "everything" has to be tailored to the party. The question at hand is whether or not you should occasionally tailor things to the party.

There is a fighter character in the campaign that I DM that has weapon focus with short spear. She has not seen one since she created her charaacter, and the chances of me rolling one on the treasure tables is infinitesimal. Certainly a wasted feat. Even if she took longsword, but later found a "+1 short sword of laying waste to entire regions", it would have been a wasted feat. Not even the fighter gets so many feat that he/she can afford to waste even one. It is just like a sorcerer picking a really stupid spell (permanency, for example).

It's only a "wasted" feat because you are looking at it with blinders on. Does it fit the character? Not wasted. Is it what the player wanted? Not wasted. Honestly, if your fighters have to sit in limbo for 9-10 levels before they take advantage of ANY weapon specific feat, then you as a DM are crippling their power. Honestly, a 10th level character is already at the midpoint of his career. How realistic is it that he spends roughly 50% of his adventuring career afraid to concentrate on any type of weapon for fear that he'll find a different one in some treasure pile? Weapon Focus, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Specialization- all three are powerful feats in their own right, not to mention that a good deal of the warrior PrCs require one or more of them. The Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat, while not particularly powerful, can be invaluable for giving any character a unique twist.

Do you want a programmed, predictable video game, or something that has the random chance of real life.

I don't know. Do you take a sack lunch or do you ride the bus to school? Nobody wants a "programmed" campaign, but every DM can learn an important lesson from video games. In a GAME, fun is more important than reality. Does that mean you're held hostage as a DM to the weird whims of the players? No. Not every item needs to be perfectly tailored to the party members.
On the other hand, should you endeavor to accomodate players who want characters with a strong, consistent central theme (whether that theme be longsword and shield fighter or scimitar and buckler fighter)? Yes, because that means more fun for everyone.

 

[EOL]

I think some DM's (myself included) get caught up in realism and making sure that the ecology works out, that the weapons are consistant, that I clearly understand the relationship between the Kobolds and the Ogre in the next room. So of course obviously if I'm striving for realism there's not going to be a lot of magical spiked chains or keen, flaming, holy picks.

But what if I was writing a novel and the main character had spent his youth practicing with a double sword. Assuming that this character later finds (as part of a quest or something else) a magical weapon is it going to be a Battle Axe? Not it's going to have something to do with the story, whether it's an actual double sword or two magical longswords that he straps together with leather.

I think RPG's have to strike a balance between realism, the telling fo the story and player enjoyment, and of the three only one of them is oppossed to sticking in the occasional player-specific magic item.

 

[nopantsyet]

My name is Andrew...and I tailor...

Yeah, I tailor. And I'm not ashamed of it. I do not tailor everything or even a majority; as a rule, monsters have random treasure and villainous NPCs have equipment that fits their character concept.

Having said that, I think there is something to be said for creating interesting and unusual magic items for the characters. That doesn't mean a player tells me, "I want a +2 Holy Defender longsword" and next session they get it. I do not take requests. But I do like to come up with interesting items (including leveled items) that I think they will find useful and fun. The items are not about min/maxing, but about making magic items something fun and interesting.

My campaign so far has taken place in small towns and areas around small towns with no place to traffic high-value magic items, so this approach helps compensate for that.

Actually, I think the idea of taking whatever is there and using the item with the highest bonus is much more like Diablo. In Diablo, you may start using a short sword, but when that Falchion of Ice appears, suddenly you are using that. Then when the Club of Paralyzing appears, you're using a club. Items are just about maxing bonuses. This way, I can create items that add their own flavor to the game and are interesting enough that players aren't just waiting for the next item with a higher bonus. These are items the players like to keep, even when the bonus isn't the highest available.

Again, these items are the exception rather than the norm so are rare; but they are highly valued by my players

 

[Kichwas]

I prefer to tailor the game to the goals the players have for their characters while at the same time balancing this off against a sense of believability.

Make it possible for characters to grow within their concepts. But don't get silly about it. Treasure should be logical to those who were using it before the PCs stole it; but you can always tailor those NPCs a bit and or provide options for them to trade the loot around with other objects made or bought for their conveniance.

Once you've accepted a PC concept into your game; you've taken on a responsibility to ensure the player has the ability to enjoy playing that character in your game.