D&D 4E 4e's Inorganic Loot System: Yay or Nay?

[Spatula]

They're expected to get it for overcoming challenges. Finding a secret passage or compartment certainly qualifies as being part of a challenge, no?

Sure, but the system assumes the players receive X amount of loot each level. If they miss some treasure in one spot, in theory they should somehow find that treasure later on (tacked onto a quest reward, added to another treasure reward, etc.). There was even an example earlier in this thread from a DM doing just that. There's nothing wrong with the concept; it's what ensures that the group sticks to the expected wealth levels. But it is very a very metagame way to approach handing out rewards, and that will rub some people the wrong way.

 

[Ipissimus]

I think the parcel system is useful. If you're a new DM and you're wondering what to give out, it's a great way of organizing the loot. Quick and easy, no mess no fuss, get on with playing the game. Also, if you're wanting to play in the RPGA then it's a great idea keeping everyone on equal footing.

It's not so good for my table. The other day I caught one of my players ticking off the packages the party was receiving from the back of his character book. To be sure they got them all. And it did seem to me that it was breaking suspension of disbelief a bit - mine if not the players. We don't do conventions or the RPGA so we agreed to drop the parcel system and go back to more organic treasure placement.

Yeah, they're probably getting more treasure out of me this way. I don't mind that, the more that tips the balance in their favor the less I have to worry about TPKs over bad dice rolls.

 

[bardolph]

This is exactly it. Just because an NPC has a magic threshhold of +2 doesn't mean it's carrying a +2 weapon and wearing all +2 armor. What it means is that the NPC or monster is less competent with a +3 magic item than a PC would be with the same magical weapon.

No. It means that D&D 4e is not meant to be a simulation. Players are players. Monsters are monsters. They follow different rules, because they serve different functions in the game.

 

[AllisterH]

re: Players missing treasure

There's nothing wrong if the players actually miss some treasure (a.k.a the level +x magic items).

The DMG states that as long as the players are at the +2/-2 range of expected value, you won't see much difference in actual battles. Basically, if the "expected" value is that a PC hits on a 11, the weaker guy hitting on a 13 and the stronger character hitting on a 9 isnt going to "break" the system.

The PCs only NEED 3 slots filled out and with 5 PCs, this comes to 15 slots.

The treasure reward system insures that for evey level, the party gains the equivalent of 2xmagic items of their level in monetary reward.

Across 5 levels, this means that 10 of the 15 slots can be filled by the players themselves. The 5 slots not filled would still only be under by +1 which the DMG itself statees won't make a difference that much.

Thus, you don't actually have to give out the entire 10 parcels for every level.

 

[Vempyre]

The arrogance and condescension in your post only highlights your trollish, inappropriate comments earlier in the thread that have undoubtedly gone ignored.

Sigh, somebody give this robot a mirror?

 

[Vempyre]

That doesn't make any sense.

The threshold rules aren't there to feel real. You certainly weren't around when we all discussed the simulationism gaming preferences that 4E certainly isn't there to give ground to.

Here's a resume : 4E isn't built to be a realist simulation at all. It's built to a game where players all have an equal chance of having fun and where the DM has an easier time to prepare games. It's built around the action movie/novel theme. The parcel treasure system is part of that ideology as well as the threshold for monsters having items.

For a "realist game", play games built to try to reflect that.

 

[greyscale1]

In practice I have found the new system to be both easy to use AND organic.

So



YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!

 

[Plane Sailing]

Ahh, it's much clearer now that you simply have failed to understand how the parcel system works.

Insulting people in a thread isn't allowed. You're banned from this thread.

The same will go for anybody else I see doing it.

Make your point without being condescending to anyone please.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I've actually banned three people from this thread in total now.

Psychic Robot - if you think someone is trolling, don't respond to them, just report the post to the moderators.

Everyone else - discuss an issue, but don't throw around "your are blinkered", aka "you are stupid" comments in an attempt to provoke someone.

Ordinary, nice, polite discussion == everyone wins.

 

[Cadfan]

That doesn't make any sense. Why would a level 1 kobold receive more a benefit from a +4 weapon than a demon lord? Is it because the demon lord is so powerful that the magic weapon doesn't affect its abilities nearly as much as it would a kobold's? Because I could see the reasoning behind that.

The key is that these things all take place behind the DM's screen, so their realism doesn't matter.