Xeviat
Hero
Sounds like a good solution!
D&D 5E Frustrated with 5E magic items
Sounds like a good solution!
MikalC
Explorer
Hiya!
If your Player's Character's are walking around with tens of thousands of GP's (in various forms) and "don't know what to spend them on", well, imnsho the problem isn't that THEY don't know what to spend them on...but YOU (the DM) don't know what to spend them on.
PC's stagger back to town, wounded, depleted of equipment, and ready for a rest...
Guards: "Ho ho...! Looks like adventurers have returned...barely! Congratulations! You look like you all need a good sleep and some food and wine in your bellies, no? Well, we'll make this quick then. Standard adventuring treasure recovery tax is a nice, flat 20% here in our fine, prosperous country! Be glad you didn't go to Yonderville, it's in Uthercountry...they're on rough times...heard their adventuring treasure recovery tax is at 50%! Heh...probably know that, huh? Probably why you came here. Anyway...lets get this done. Gotta keep the tax man happy, right?"
..
PC's get to the Golden Horn Inn:
Proprietor: "My Stars! You folks look downright disheveled! Here, let us get you the finest rooms...in fact, it's an entire floor, all to your selves. Four bedrooms, a spare one you can use as another bedroom or for storing gear, two private bathrooms, full hot-bath services and laundry, food, two sitting rooms and a large room with a large fireplace...even get a healer to come help you guys if you want. No no no....don't worry about the price! I'm sure you fine adventurers can easily pay the meager fees! You won't regret it! Finest service in the city!"
..
PC's are having Brunch at Golden Horn Inn after a nice nights rest:
Proprietor: "Good sir's and madam's, sorry to intrude, but I have been inundated with messages from some of your...friends? Favoured shopkeeps and artisans? Here's the list of them...14 to be exact! Busy...and popular you are! And don't worry about paying for brunch. I've managed to get some good deals on that Sweet-Honey-Wine that Mistress Beatrice was sipping on last night! You staying here has brought in new customers, for sure! In fact, I have two free bottles of that Sweet-Honey-Wine for you from the local winery...'Teebles Brews and Distilleries'...best alcoholic craftsman...er...crafts-halfling...in the country I'd bet! ...I believe he's number 3 on your list there..."
..
...and so, the PC's pay taxes, pay for room and board, get requests from other patrons/businesses offering "deals" on their wares, and I'd fully expect various religious people to come a'knocking, as well as artists, bards, torchbearers, porters, etc...etc. The PC's should have no trouble at all finding things to spend their money on....because others will help them. (or at least try!)
If your Players are anything like mine, they'll be out of coin in a matter of days. Spending it on food, wine, parties, new equipment, hirelings, fancy new clothes, getting their various pieces of equipment "fancified" (coated in silver, gilded, gem-encrusted, carved/engraved, etc). Oh, sure, they have have a few thousand left, but that won't last either.
If you want to really make your Players "get into" the world...you need to provide them the means to, uh, 'invest' in it. The best way to do that, in my experience, is to offer them opportunities to spend it on 'the world' in stead of a boring new magic item. You can always find a +2 Dagger in a dungeon...you can't find a good carpenter who is willing to help build your new house for 25% off!The dagger won't help develop "ties" to your campaign setting or it's NPC's...that potential friendship with a good carpenter will. And, IMVNSHO, the later is infinitely more desirable than the former!
(in other words, "Ye Old Magic Shoppe" is a cop-out if you ask me...which is why there are almost none in any of my campaigns...ever...).
^_^
Paul L. Ming
yeah this is what causes players to create murder hobos. When they’ve done the hard work and earned the cash and weak npc peons think they can chisel the PCs, you’ll soon have dead npcs and newly minted murder hobos.
pming
Legend
Hiya!
But not for long. Folks in civilized (or even uncivilized) countries tend to get a bit "defensive" when murder hobo's start killing all their friends and family members.
But, on the plus side...I guess?... this will fix the 'problem'; the PC's will be far to busy trying not to get killed by all the bounty hunters, avenging angles (possibly quite literally), and other adventurers intent on succeeding at their latest adventure (re: "THE MURDER HOBO'S, An Adventure for 4 - 6 Characters. // A group of savage PC's has been ravaging the countryside! The poor townsfolk are no match for them, the trained soldiers can barely hold their own...but the Kings and Queens of three countries want these murder hobos stopped...and they are willing to grant money, fame and land to those who can bring The Murder Hobo's to justice. Is your party up for the task?" ).
Or the Players could luck out with a bad or lazy DM who just lets it slide. Anything's possible.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
But not for long. Folks in civilized (or even uncivilized) countries tend to get a bit "defensive" when murder hobo's start killing all their friends and family members.
But, on the plus side...I guess?... this will fix the 'problem'; the PC's will be far to busy trying not to get killed by all the bounty hunters, avenging angles (possibly quite literally), and other adventurers intent on succeeding at their latest adventure (re: "THE MURDER HOBO'S, An Adventure for 4 - 6 Characters. // A group of savage PC's has been ravaging the countryside! The poor townsfolk are no match for them, the trained soldiers can barely hold their own...but the Kings and Queens of three countries want these murder hobos stopped...and they are willing to grant money, fame and land to those who can bring The Murder Hobo's to justice. Is your party up for the task?"
).Or the Players could luck out with a bad or lazy DM who just lets it slide. Anything's possible.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
G
Guest 6801328
Guest
If you're looking for a money sink, have the PCs receive a strange note: "Greetings! I am the prince of (insert country) and I need your assistance in moving a large quantity of gold to Waterdeep. For your efforts you will earn 10%...."
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
Heh. My two favorite scams were from before internet scamming took off.
The first one was a letter I got informing me that I had won more than 100 million in the Mexican lottery. All I had to do was mail a small processing fee to Amsterdam. No red flags there!
The second was one I got from New Mexico or Arizona. It contained an ace of spades, one dollar, and a letter telling me that I had psychic powers. If the card I got was a spade, it meant I had the most powerful type of psychic gift. If it was an ace, I was the strongest in that suit. Then it asked me to mail back the dollar and wait for more instructions. I pocketed the dollar and went on with my business.
Matrix Sorcica
Hero
And thus one dollar saved the world from the thralldom of the Mind Tyrant.
MikalC
Explorer
Hiya!
But not for long. Folks in civilized (or even uncivilized) countries tend to get a bit "defensive" when murder hobo's start killing all their friends and family members.
But, on the plus side...I guess?... this will fix the 'problem'; the PC's will be far to busy trying not to get killed by all the bounty hunters, avenging angles (possibly quite literally), and other adventurers intent on succeeding at their latest adventure (re: "THE MURDER HOBO'S, An Adventure for 4 - 6 Characters. // A group of savage PC's has been ravaging the countryside! The poor townsfolk are no match for them, the trained soldiers can barely hold their own...but the Kings and Queens of three countries want these murder hobos stopped...and they are willing to grant money, fame and land to those who can bring The Murder Hobo's to justice. Is your party up for the task?"
Or the Players could luck out with a bad or lazy DM who just lets it slide. Anything's possible.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
yeah the point went over your head.
It doesn’t matter what happens as a consequence, you know why? Because your behavior as a dm has caused the players to get into the murder hobo mindset.
instead of creating constructive ways to spend cash that allow the players to be involved with the world, you literally try and shake them down, making them protective of their gains and seeing these npcs as only enemies seeking to steal from them.
pming
Legend
Hiya!
Hehe...no, no it didn't.
I decided to play it "straight faced" to give you a chance to reflect on what you said 'between the lines'. Which was basically what you just said now.
My behaviour as a DM has done the exact opposite of what you said. Two of the 6'ish players (it fluctuated between 3 and 7, but usually there were 5 or 6 players) were definitely of the "murder hobo" mindset when they first bellied up to my table back in 2005. They were used to 3e, where money and magic are plentiful. The world I DM is Greyhawk or one of my personal campaign settings...and in them, large cities with walls have taxes/tithes. Entry into the city costs a certain amount of coin, usually based on the wealth of the individual entering. Adventurers are typically rich. My players PC's were not...I'm an admittedly stingy DM, but my players were NOTORIOUS for getting so excited and wrapped up in a battle or situation that after it was all over...treasure was the last thing on their mind. They wanted to 'bask in the glory of victory', or quickly get home so they could lick their wounds and recover. It was only after I started pointing out all the times they just "found the leader...defeated said leader...and left". It was a very amusing after session, for sure. They all suddenly realized that for YEARS (literally...YEARS) they were just 'leaving'. We discovered it was likely because their previous DM used only "adventure path style" adventures (3.x and even 2e before that). Things were always "handed to them" or they were "spoon fed" where to go next. They never actually ever played a real (IMNSHO) Campaign...just 'adventure paths' and 'single, long adventures'.
Anyway, once I started to get them used to thinking for themselves, they started asking normal questions...like... "Can I buy some land in this town? Maybe a nice house in the Garden District?", which lead to the details of taxes/tithes, expected military support from them due to their particular "expertise" (re: actual Adventurers with actual Levels in an actual Class), and all that stuff you so wonderfully described as...ahem... "..you literally try and shake them down...".
Did you ever stop to think that the reason YOUR players may perceive this style in such a negative way is because you have 'trained' them to just accept only things you 'give' them and only positive things? That any negative/detrimental 'thing' that is out of their hands that happens to their PC's is seen as a direct attack by you, the DM? My players didn't and still don't. They understand that I'm the DM...I run "the world". They understand that the world doesn't care about their feelings, and it sure as heck doesn't "owe them anything"; they are not "destined to be hero's, loved by all" simply by writing down "Cleric, 1st Level, NG". .. .. .. Maybe ask yourself why you think of my suggestions as "screwing with the PC's and turning them into murder hobo's".
In a Nutshell: If the Players are fixated on hoarding everything they get...or see any non-positive thing that happens to them as the DM trying to 'screw with them'....perhaps everyone at the table needs to sit down and talk about how they see the game and the role of the Players, and the DM, when playing it.
EDIT: I just thought of another thing that might be a factor: player age/maturity. My players are all in their late 30's or 40's. They have/had significant others, husbands/wives, kids, jobs, responsibilities, car payments, rent/mortgage payments, food bills, fuel costs, etc. So maybe the idea of paying taxes/tithes isn't seen as 'stealing' or 'getting screwed', but just something that simply "is". It adds believability to the world and helps them relate to their PC's and NPC's. .. .. Maybe you and/or your players are younger and not used to doing that yet? Anyway...just a thought.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
Hehe...no, no it didn't.
I decided to play it "straight faced" to give you a chance to reflect on what you said 'between the lines'. Which was basically what you just said now.
My behaviour as a DM has done the exact opposite of what you said. Two of the 6'ish players (it fluctuated between 3 and 7, but usually there were 5 or 6 players) were definitely of the "murder hobo" mindset when they first bellied up to my table back in 2005. They were used to 3e, where money and magic are plentiful. The world I DM is Greyhawk or one of my personal campaign settings...and in them, large cities with walls have taxes/tithes. Entry into the city costs a certain amount of coin, usually based on the wealth of the individual entering. Adventurers are typically rich. My players PC's were not...I'm an admittedly stingy DM, but my players were NOTORIOUS for getting so excited and wrapped up in a battle or situation that after it was all over...treasure was the last thing on their mind. They wanted to 'bask in the glory of victory', or quickly get home so they could lick their wounds and recover. It was only after I started pointing out all the times they just "found the leader...defeated said leader...and left". It was a very amusing after session, for sure. They all suddenly realized that for YEARS (literally...YEARS) they were just 'leaving'. We discovered it was likely because their previous DM used only "adventure path style" adventures (3.x and even 2e before that). Things were always "handed to them" or they were "spoon fed" where to go next. They never actually ever played a real (IMNSHO) Campaign...just 'adventure paths' and 'single, long adventures'.
Anyway, once I started to get them used to thinking for themselves, they started asking normal questions...like... "Can I buy some land in this town? Maybe a nice house in the Garden District?", which lead to the details of taxes/tithes, expected military support from them due to their particular "expertise" (re: actual Adventurers with actual Levels in an actual Class), and all that stuff you so wonderfully described as...ahem... "..you literally try and shake them down...".
Did you ever stop to think that the reason YOUR players may perceive this style in such a negative way is because you have 'trained' them to just accept only things you 'give' them and only positive things? That any negative/detrimental 'thing' that is out of their hands that happens to their PC's is seen as a direct attack by you, the DM? My players didn't and still don't. They understand that I'm the DM...I run "the world". They understand that the world doesn't care about their feelings, and it sure as heck doesn't "owe them anything"; they are not "destined to be hero's, loved by all" simply by writing down "Cleric, 1st Level, NG". .. .. .. Maybe ask yourself why you think of my suggestions as "screwing with the PC's and turning them into murder hobo's".
In a Nutshell: If the Players are fixated on hoarding everything they get...or see any non-positive thing that happens to them as the DM trying to 'screw with them'....perhaps everyone at the table needs to sit down and talk about how they see the game and the role of the Players, and the DM, when playing it.
EDIT: I just thought of another thing that might be a factor: player age/maturity. My players are all in their late 30's or 40's. They have/had significant others, husbands/wives, kids, jobs, responsibilities, car payments, rent/mortgage payments, food bills, fuel costs, etc. So maybe the idea of paying taxes/tithes isn't seen as 'stealing' or 'getting screwed', but just something that simply "is". It adds believability to the world and helps them relate to their PC's and NPC's. .. .. Maybe you and/or your players are younger and not used to doing that yet? Anyway...just a thought.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
Benjamin Olson
Hero
Somehow I've never met a person in real life who couldn't find ways to spend money and I live in a world without any magical items at all.
Matrix Sorcica
Hero
If monsters were very real you'd be spending some of that money on the best anti monster equipment available, and a market would emerge. So I don't think using real world analogies really solves anything.
