Treasure parcel guidelines: maximum or expected value?

[msherman]

I have a question about how to best apply the treasure parcel guidelines. Should they be used as the maximum amount of treasure placed in an adventure, assuming that the party will miss or lose some of it due to less-than-successful searching and other problems they encounter? Or should I add in extra treasure to compensate for stuff that they miss or lose?

An example: my PCs have just been arrested, and everything they had with them has been confiscated. They have allies among the authorities, so their next adventure will be a no-gear prison-break, and they will find the vault where their gear has been stored (carefully catalogued and tagged). They'll be able to retain their magic items and other gear, but among the confiscated items were 3 barrels full of silver and copper coin (proceeds from a raided goblin mine and dragon's den, respectively). I doubt they'll try to carry that out with them while trying to escape from prison undetected -- should I compensate them for the loss by adding more cash treasure later on?

 

[Mengu]

I find myself constantly adding treasure as the PC's miss stuff. The guidelines are a ballpark for what the PC's should have. A little more or a little less won't make a huge difference, especially when it comes to coin, but I think it's important to make sure they don't feel under equipped. So if they miss some coin, no big deal, you can decide if you want to make up for it later, if they miss some magic items, just find a new place to insert them.

I've started putting the same item in multiple places the past few adventures, if they find it in the first place, I remove it from the second treasure lot. If not, they'll find it later in an obvious place, call it Doom style.

 

[Bayonet_Chris]

Treasure parcels

I'll give you the conclusion I came to after messing with it for months - play it as directed until you're comfortable moving out of it. I started with it, played around with variations, and decided to go back into that structure after getting a better appreciation for how it works.

 

[Kalbutt]

I have a question on this topic.
Magic Item have enhacement bonuses based on their level : +1 for 1-5, +2 for 6-10, +3 for 11-15 and so on.

In the treasure parcels chapter in the DMG, players are supposed to find magin items up to their level +4.

So is it ok for players of say level 2 to get weapons or armor with enhancement bonuses of +2 already (item level 6) ? It seems kind of overpowered at this level.

Do you wait for your players to be in the good 'semi-tier' to give them magic items with the next enhancement bonus ?

 

[WalterKovacs]

Based on the way things go, there will be quite a few +2 items in the party before they get to level 6, however those items will probably be "only" +2 [level 6], or have other low level effects. It you are really worried about it, you could have the first few level 6/7 (11/12; 16/17; etc) items be something other than weapon/armor/neck slot. However, in that the items that are above the PCs level are decided upon by the DM, so you can make sure that the person that didn't min/max, and might need a boost powerwise can get the +1 bump earler than the rest. Also the set up for treasure parcels is that you only give out 4 items for a group of 5, so someone getting the "best" item at one level is likely missing out on an item the next level. During the course of level 2, 1 PC would get a +2 item. During level 3, two more. By the time it's up to level 5, they should all have at least one +2 item. Of course, since they are trying to keep three items "up to date" ... having only one of them "above tier" isn't that bad.

 

[Kalbutt]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Skallgrim]

I have a question about how to best apply the treasure parcel guidelines. Should they be used as the maximum amount of treasure placed in an adventure, assuming that the party will miss or lose some of it due to less-than-successful searching and other problems they encounter? Or should I add in extra treasure to compensate for stuff that they miss or lose?

This isn't a rule, but I try to make sure that the party gets, by the end of that level, the monetary treasure involved, plus magic items of the levels listed. If I can't (or don't want to) give out magic items of those specific levels, I convert the difference in price between the magic items to money and add it (or subtract it) to the treasure (often in the form of consumable magic items, or even additional low level magic items).

This often means that if they bypass one loot area, another one is a bit richer, or if they press someone unexpected for a reward, another area is a bit slim on treasure. I never tell them this. I don't think anyone has cottoned on. It's pretty easy to do, so I've just been doing that.

 

[Duelpersonality]

As a tangent, has anyone else tried a "treasureless" game?

By this I mean simply giving enhancements at appropriate levels to the three expected categories and giving rough estimates of coin found, earned, stolen and otherwise stockpiled for the purchase of more abstract items (strongholds, alliances, libraries, etc.). This of course means little to no consumable magic outside of what the players make themselves (and brew potion is a popular ritual among my PCs).

 

[Chris Knapp]

One of the other things I learned to do soon after we started was to convert a lot of the coin/art type parcel suggestions into Ritual Components, often things like: "You find a wild dingleberry bush; its leaves are worth 100gp in Rare Herbs."

The problem I'm running into now is with coins, gems & art that I do give. In the current campaign, the players are on the run through a war-torn area and there is nowhere to convert all the misc. loot into magic items. It seems like the treasure system expects you to buy magic items with your other loot in order to maintain parity.