Beard in the Sky said:
I have read the entire thread, so forgive me if this question has been asked and I missed it.
I have noticed in many 3.0 and 3.5 modules I have run that the party ends up with far less money and treasure than the DMG suggests. Are you using the treasure tables from the DMG or some semblance thereof?
While I can't speak for other designers, the reason published modules don't match the DMG, is because the DMG's numbers are really high and I for one disagree with the rate of exchange.
That said, an adventure with 1,612 encounters MUST set a differrent standard. DMs of course can alter things as they see fit, but we've trimmed the encounters back, so people aren't throwing away +3 swords 1/4th the way through the dungeon.
In all honesty, we probably could have put more potions and trinkets in the dungeon and I intend to write up something for our website (and this one) as soon as the book is in my hands, to give DMs a helping hand in this. But, my experience with 3.0 and 3.5 puts lots of healing into the hands of clerics.
I'm sure everyone will approach the product differently, because their gaming tastes are much different than mine. However, I believe that our approach and my edits show a dungeon full of rough/challenging encounters that PCs will not be able to waltz through with a few "secret" magic items. So, whether we gave them to you or not, the dungeon will hopefully be a useful tool for DMs and PCs, whether we give out a lot of treasure or not.
Gah. Sometimes I feel like a politician answering questions on here. You never know what answer people are going to have an adverse reaction to, so you just ramble in the hopes of giving a vanilla response that doesn't offend anyone.
Haha.
Your question was simple and my answer should be too.
Are we using the table from the DMG to determine treasure?
No.
But, the reasons are complex and mentioned above. I hope I've answered your question without being a complete ditz about it.
Peace.
btw
The book is at the printer and I should have a copy in my hand in about 2 to 3 weeks.