Excerpt: Economies [merged]

[keterys]

If the rules say "A 20th level fighter at full health cannot die from falling from his horse" (to use an example in a thread over on rpg.net), then I'm not going to start an adventure with that happening to an NPC. What DOESN'T happen is that the Commoner-1 barmaid becomes a Rogue-7 overnight just because the PC needed a cohort.

Someone of 2nd level or higher can't die from falling off a horse in 3.x, but I don't think that would stop me from having it happen. The rules also don't model losing fingers, arms, eyes, legs, etc... but it does happen.

Similarly, if I had a cool npc that had gotten to know the party and they wanted to adopt her as a cohort, it seems like a shame to let the game system stop the story from flowing naturally and in a more enjoyable fashion.

I think I can safely say that the rules are important for providing a framework for actions the party takes, and that otherwise the story and enjoyment of the group should win out over the rules. I'd go a step further and say that's often true _even for the PCs_.

 

[Wolfwood2]

Things usually do change according to the story needs of the PCs, in the context of the rules. If someone takes Leadership, cohorts of the proper level appear. What DOESN'T happen is that the Commoner-1 barmaid becomes a Rogue-7 overnight just because the PC needed a cohort.

Not even if we do a training montage?

 

[TwinBahamut]

Honestly, I don't think this excerpt is very good at all... I am probably going to have to just ignore all of when I run the game.

The big problem with this entire section is that it seems completely caught up in trying to be a fix for 3E's economic issues, and completely ignores how all of those problems have already been fixed by the addition of magic item levels. In 4E, so long as your players have their primary magic slots covered and no one has magic items very far in level above character level, there is no problem. Any arrangement which fulfills those two conditions would work well in 4E. However, rather than try to provide advice for that directly, this article just dodges around the main issue by giving a lot of advice assuming a particular campaign style and world concept, and in doing so practically reintroduces the absurdity of 3E "Wealth by Level Guidelines".

Honestly, I never understood why people hated the buying and selling of magic items. I certainly don't understand why WotC decided to go with that mentality and make the buying and selling of weapons a ridiculously poor choice. The only effect of the "you sell items at 1/5 value and buy them at 6/5 or 7/5 value" rule is that it encourages players to try to become merchants themselves. It means that players should go out and try to find other people to sell magic items at full value to, and that they are rewarded for doing so. Honestly, I prefer merchants to be useful for the PCs, so I would much rather have the difference to be closer to 9/10 value and 11/10 value or less. After all, if you are talking about something that is worth a king's ransom, a difference of just 5% of its value would still be a killing for any merchant.

I really do like the fact that the book provides useable pre-built reward progressions by level, but I just don't like the "parcel" system very much. I really prefer more free-form approaches to giving out rewards, and I this system is useless advice for me. I don't think the book will be providing any advice that is useful to me, actually...

The whole thing is a bit disappointing.

 

[DandD]

If you look up, way up, way way waaaay up, you can see something.

It's the joke.

Flying overhead.

Apparently, "Detect Humor" is a ritual in 4e, 'cause it sure ain't an at-will power 'round these parts...

Then I'm glad that you used the "Detect Humor"-Ritual to find out that hong was being humourus after I pointed it out to you.
After all, you're quite resistant to it.

 

[Cadfan]

Things usually do change according to the story needs of the PCs, in the context of the rules. If someone takes Leadership, cohorts of the proper level appear. What DOESN'T happen is that the Commoner-1 barmaid becomes a Rogue-7 overnight just because the PC needed a cohort.

...but contents of the villain's treasure vault change depending on whether the Fighter picks Weapon Focus: Greatsword or Weapon Focus: Falchion.

I'm ok with that. I just can't figure out why you're ok with that.

What is the difference between a treasure vault of unknown contents that "just happens" to contain gear the PCs actually need when its opened, and an NPC of unknown character class who "just happens" to have the class the PCs need when they seek to hire a cohort?

 

[Thaumaturge]

...but contents of the villain's treasure vault change depending on whether the Fighter picks Weapon Focus: Greatsword or Weapon Focus: Falchion.
<snip>

It's a Schrodinger's vault. Very expensive.


Thaumaturge.

 

[Rex Blunder]

Meanwhile, in another thread, Schroedinger's Orc (is he a minion or not? we'll find out when we stb him) is not acceptable.

 

[drjones]

Not even if we do a training montage?

Only if it has a kick-ass sound track.

This 'if it does not exist in the rules it cannot happen' thing is crazy though. A book defining a game that models a 'real' world in a 'real' universe would be longer than anyone here could ever read in their lifetime.

 

[WhatGravitas]

As an aside from the economy hick-hack: Has anybody a clue how to scale the treasure rules for non-5 PC parties?

Or have I simply overlooked it?

Cheers, LT.

 

[Cadfan]

Meanwhile, in another thread, Schroedinger's Orc (is he a minion or not? we'll find out when we stb him) is not acceptable.

Below is a paraphrase from memory. In Feng Shui, if you shoot someone with two pistols at once using a particular Gun Schtick, you do special damage. The method of calculating this damage requires telling the player what the Toughness value is of the target. This is a break from the normal way the game works, where things like an enemy's Toughness are kept secret from players. Imagine it like a D&D attack that, for whatever reason, requires telling the PC the numeric value of a target's AC.

Pseudo quote: "If anyone complains that this ability results in the player knowing the Toughness of the target, remind them that shooting someone twice in the chest with a pair of berettas is a good way to find out how tough they really are."