(Discussion) General Part IV

[doghead]

Thanks.

 

[Uriel]

Uriel brought this up in the Feral Smackdown thread. I thought I would second Keias suggestion that a characters GP value be put on the sheets. It would be a handy scrap of info for DMs to have when they are giving out rewards.

The problem that I see with this is that some wealth that a character has isn't from treasure earned.

If Borgo Battlehammer earns 780 Gp worth of loot in his adventures and
Celia the Quick earns 780GP and 250 from her Roleplaying labours via Gambling,scams etc... I personally still rate her at 780GP. The fact that she made an extra effort and was rewarded by the last few DMs that she played under should in no way affect how I (as the current DM) award things.
As well, it shouldn't be the case (and it will happen) where another player points a finger and says 'You have XXX GP and I only have XXX. I should get the Ring of Free Action.

In my RL campaign (now on Hiatus due to work/schedules), none of the characters are at the same treasure mark. It is almost impossible to account for equity in these situations without destroying the flavor of the game.
"Wait a sec...if Kozan wants that Amulet of Natural Armor (calculator buttons fly...), then he is in to the party for 3200 GP...that'll come off of your total at the end. Let's see, I want the +3 Bracers and I'll return my +1 Bracers to the pot, so I should get gold from the party treasury a total of..."

That sort of playing kills the atmosphere for me.

That little rant said, I am for a line on the characters with a Treasure Awarded Tag. As I mentioned this should not reflect side endeavors, which will get messy with a few folks talking about wanting to start businesses making magic items (ugh).

Oh, and to reiterate, could everyone PLEASE switch to the format of the template that we agreed upon and reduce your backgrounds to a Link?

Off to search for the Template...if someone else knows where it is, please post it.
It's the one that most of the characters on the first page are lised in (Silvercat,Zoe Clearwater,Aranel,Troi Delmontes, etc...)

 

[dpdx]

I'm the last guy who wants to turn this into Dungeons and Accounting. What's next, the meticulous comparison of Trail Rations?

Lemme throw something out there: It's already plainly visible on each PC's sheet (which SHOULD be linked in each player's sig) both what level a PC is and what they own. If a DM's overly concerned about the balance of treasure, which SHOULD correspond roughly to both level and XP, they could look at said sheet. I don't think it's necessary for a player to keep a running total unless their PC is of the type to be inclined to do so. I'm certainly not going to require it when/if I DM. I'll have enough to worry about.

Also, while I'm on the box, players are going to naturally gravitate to DMs they get along with and whose style of conducting a game matches their style of playing/posting to one. That's just natural. But one sure way to lose players (and seldom regain them) is to be a DM who never follows through. In a world where everyone will eventually know everyone else, ideally, word will get around.

It floors me that DMs in this campaign world are taking flack for actually posting at a regular rate, and finishing an adventure. God Forbid. :|

Like I said before in a discussion thread similar to this one, DMs and PCs who do the work deserve to be the pioneers of LEW. One should get what they put into it, in direct correlation. Those who do not do the work would be best advised to stop whining and start striving to be that way themselves.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

I must say, the only reaction I have to Uriel's fast paced adventures is envy. Would all my play-by-post endeavors proceed at such a speed, I could rule the world!

 

[dpdx]

See, I don't think it's hard, Thomas. If you do a compelling adventure, with PbPers who like to post or who can otherwise invest in the game they volunteered to join, your game will move along through sheer force of will, and it will get done.

Now, I'm the last guy to exemplify that quality in a DM, after my Star Wars game bit the dust by Scene Three to make me 0fer 1 in the big chair. But I've played in such games, am still in other such games, and I've seen it happen/ing.

But the idea is that LEW needs each PC to bear a tag that punishes him/her for the amount of adventuring s/he has done, so that eventually, DMs can compensate slower/newer/lazier players with more of the treasure for doing just as much or less in any given adventure - an idea borne from the same crack pipe that gave us, 'Finishing games at a regular pace is wrong/unfair.'

To me, they go hand-in-hand, and belong in the same dumpster.

 

[The Goblin King]

But the idea is that LEW needs each PC to bear a tag that punishes him/her for the amount of adventuring s/he has done, so that eventually, DMs can compensate slower/newer/lazier players with more of the treasure for doing just as much or less in any given adventure - an idea borne from the same crack pipe that gave us, 'Finishing games at a regular pace is wrong/unfair.'

To me, they go hand-in-hand, and belong in the same dumpster.

Errr...that wasn't really what I meant. I guess I didn't think things all the way through. The reason for bringing it up was so that DMs could tell at a glance if the party had too much or not enough treasure for the level of the adventure. I was just remembering my personal experiences DMing. I didn't keep track (at all) of the treasures I was handing out. I was mostly just making things up as I went along. Finally, I decided to use a published advenure. Lets just say that the Banewarrens are not nice to characters who have the gear of a third level party. It wasn't until later that it dawned on me what was wrong. I really should have caught it but I didn't and the players were all newbies too so they didn't know.

I do see your point. However, since everything your character is carrying is on your sheet anyway whats to stop greedy players from doing the math at home and saying "Oh look, if I had that ring it would make us even GP value wise."

 

[The Goblin King]

On another tangent: how IS making magic items going to work in LEW? I vaugely remember reading something about taking days of downtime?

 

[dpdx]

I do see your point. However, since everything your character is carrying is on your sheet anyway whats to stop greedy players from doing the math at home and saying "Oh look, if I had that ring it would make us even GP value wise."

Good point: my answer would be hopefully, other non-greedy players with nad, if the character hadn't earned it or hadn't presented a valid IC reason to have it. Last time I checked, greed was still a sin, and was still not okay.

All respect for the messenger of it (as in, No, you're not a crackhead.), I'm squarely against this idea. Maybe it's because I have a tough time computing my grapple check, I dunno. But more numbers to keep track of can't be the answer. We need to dig a little deeper than that.

I haven't noticed a Judge posting in-thread once, except to pull the plug on a game that wasn't going anywhere. Perhaps this is something they could rule on?

 

[The Goblin King]

Oh, and to reiterate, could everyone PLEASE switch to the format of the template that we agreed upon and reduce your backgrounds to a Link?

Off to search for the Template...if someone else knows where it is, please post it.
It's the one that most of the characters on the first page are lised in (Silvercat,Zoe Clearwater,Aranel,Troi Delmontes, etc...)

You mean this ?

The link is also in the first post of the sticky character thread.

 

[Uriel]

I haven't noticed a Judge posting in-thread once, except to pull the plug on a game that wasn't going anywhere. Perhaps this is something they could rule on?

Hey now, I've posted as Judge in two games. Granted, they were 'Just letting you know that I'm here' posts, but still...

Just got home from work,
Off to bed...