When characters loot the bodies of other characters

[JacktheRabbit]

It is one thing to take the holy sword that helps you defeat the big bad evil you are all warring against. (It should still be laid to rest with him afterward unless he willed it to you)

It is another to loot the body down to the last sunrod in his backpack and throw the corpse down the nearest chasm.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

I think I will though go with the vastly reduced gear for new characters if the old characters continue the looting trend.

 

[Numion]

I gave my players a choice: either they can loot the bodies of fallen comrades, but then new characters come in to game with very little eq OR they don't loot the bodies and any new characters get the equipment they should have according to level.

They chose the latter option.

 

[Hand of Evil]

In a world where bad guys routinely dig up bodies and use them for nefarious purposes, you'd better believe I'm not going to bury my friend with his +5 Holy Crapping Bastard Sword and his Rod of Unimpeded Global Domination. It's just not going to happen.
Grave robbing in D&D is infinitely more profitable than in the real world. It's a no-brainer for anyone who wants a leg up in world, whether it's wealth, power, or just cheap and mindless labor that they seek.

If the PCs are too greedy to gie the extra equipment to the new replacement PC, they may soon find themselves without his services when they need it most.

"Duh. Well, I guess we should have given Cambraal's old cloak of resistance to Jolavan. Without his magic these shocker lizards have us totally outclassed. Grab his corpse and we'll make a run for it."

History Channel had a great show on grave robbery (1800s). Bodies could be taken as that was not a crime but if you took items that was taboo and would get you the lock up. Most grave sites were controlled by gangs and if you were caught you would be beaten.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I think the issue seems to boil down to creating a culture in the game world that either condones or condemns such behavior. Pick one and make them live with it.

After all, if your Dad owned a Porsche, and he died, and suddenly your Dad's best friend was driving around the Porsche that by all rights should belong to you - how would you feel?

Magic items are incredibly valuable, and in a world that has inheritance laws similar to ours, they should go to the legal heirs. Anything else would, and should be punishable in a court of law.

On the other hand, in the Greek myths, it was routine to pass those weapons around, if I remember my Homer well (it's been a while). I seem to remember Achilles' stuff getting passed around after his death - but in that tale, the $$ value wasn't something to consider, really. The sword and armor had no value to Achilles family, really.

 

[Zappo]

In the game I'm currently playing in, we have solved both the problem of item inflation and of logic (ie, why would you lose valuable items?).

Since all the PCs currently work to protect a small town, when one of us dies, we get his weapons and armor and take them to the village's leader, to use as he sees fit. It usually goes to the town's militia and leaders or other powerful NPCs.

Basically, the stuff goes to an NPC and is never seen again; that's fairly logical and prevents party item inflation.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Part of this depends on how 'real' your game is. By this, I mean are the characters part of something else are is it more or less a tactical game?

If the characters have other things that they belong to, then those items usually have a home awaiting them, usualy by will or something of that nature.

If the party is a member of a mercenary group, for example, everything might fall back to the mercenary group to be distributed as they see fit with a few exceptions.

 

[RedSwan78]

Hmm, very good thread!

One thing that I've thought of, is if the PC's loot the bodies of their fallen comrades, you as the DM just have to take that into account when handing out future treasure. Sure they're getting alot right now from the old character's stuff, but, they *won't* be finding anything worth much on the new things/people that they kill. ::shrugs:: That way you as the DM can still keep their "character worth" somewhere close to that chart that they are suppossed to have.

I also like the idea about if you have some greedy players that just loot the corpse and leave it there to rot, that it comes back as a Revnant or some such to haunt/harm the party at the most innapropriate times, because they where greedy and just stole his stuff and didn't bury him. He's now in a limbo and can't get to his god because he wasn't buried and seeks revenge against his previous "friends". (We've taken some things from fallen comrades before, but we at least buried them and had the cleric perform a burial ceremony! hehe)

 

[S'mon]

Don't start new PCs with tons of equipment. Ignore the wealth-by-level table, or give out 1/10 of what it says, or similar. The table is not bad as a guide to what long-established PCs should have, or for creating PCs for a one-shot adventure, but for an ongoing campaign I don't find it workable.

 

[Benben]

As a DM I'm still learning this mantra: "Third Edition Magic Items are expendable."

Sundering not only evens the field of power, but also engages the players emotionally in more battles. Large size creatures will definitely not want the gear of medium or smaller creatures and should remove the threatening weapons with zeal.

Once the players get a little famous, have their weapons disarmed and stolen. This however will make players, very angry so it shouldn't be used often.

The DMG gives the AC and HP of every magic item type for a reason.