Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 9384841" data-attributes="member: 6801228">I don't know if Tomb of Horrors is a good example. It is infamous for killing characters, but if my memory serves it was designed to punish players who had gotten too much loot. I remember it was also used in tournament play. One detail I remember is that there are three main entrances into the Tomb.. and if you go into any of those three your character will instantly die, the only actual way into the Tomb is through the secret 4th entrance. And that entire concept rubs me the wrong way, because it ends up feeling very much like attempting to play the game is punished. If you die for going in the door, then why would I want to even create more behind that door? None of my players will want a take two. This isn't to disparage OS as a whole as being like this, but just to explain why I think the Tomb is a particularly bad example to hang the style off of.I tend to agree with your assessement. I do want to give an example though that I think highlights a significant difference in perception. Ammo tracking. A single Quiver holds 20 arrows. It would not be unreasonable for an adventurer to have two full quivers, that is 40 arrows, and costs at worse 4 gold, with a recurring 2 gold for the 40 arrows. Starting at level 1, you can only make a single attack. Most combats take approximately 3 rounds, so for ease of use we will say that you shoot 4 arrows a combat. Why is that easy? Because per the rules, you can recover half the arrows you use in combat, so that means you are spending 2 arrows per combat. 2 arrows per combat, 40 arrows, means that you need to get through 20 combats before needing to replace a single arrow. This does not include looting arrows from enemies, which stretches this out even further. It is completely possible to go from level 1 to level 5, tracking ammo, and never have to buy a single arrow during that entire time. And if you do, it is a single gold piece to add another 10+ combats to the log. This does speed up at 5th level, where most archer characters will now go through a quiver approximately every 5 fights, with no looting arrows from enemies.So, it ends up being that, unless you taking deep treks where you will have 20 or more combats between visits to any town, and no enemies carry arrows, and you can't fletch your own arrows at camp... then it is just the occasional 3 to 5 gold in town every few levels. And this is with the strictest ammo rules. Even something as minor as letting a quiver hold up to 100 arrows (something I've seen) renders this an even more moot point. This isn't to say that people can't have fun tracking their ammo, I've never stopped anyone from doing so if they wanted, but they all tend to fall off doing it, because just due to the structure of hitting a village or town every level or so, it doesn't end up mattering. They never actually run out. And this ends up applying to most resource tracking. The only one that ever gives any grievance is water, simply due to the sheer weight the game lists for it, and the staggering amount required daily. And, if you do track and handle everything perfectly... then nothing happens. But both the player and the DM need to track it, keeping a close eye on these numbers on the seemingly rare instance where something does happen. It always feels like a lot of effort, for very little pay off.</blockquote>

Verification