How can I avoid a Monty-Haul campaign in DnD?

[Neonchameleon]

My players are lvl 1 and they have +1 equipment! I can't tell them to give it back, and I'm not good at telling them they've been robbed. They also have a horse and carrage with 200 gold! This is my first campaign! PLZ HELP!

Honestly don't worry about it. Don't rob them (and never rob them without giving them a sporting chance to protect themselves). Just let them have it. +1 equipment means +1 on a number of d20 rolls - or about a 5% difference in performance. It's nice, it's flashy, and it's useful. But it's not going to seriously alter the game.

Monty Haul would be if they had +3 or above stuff at level 1 at a minimum. And the first rule of DMing: Relax. You'll worry about things going wrong far more than the players do. There are only really three ways to get your first campaign wrong. Starting with the most likely:

1. Turn the players into spectators by disempowering them and having the NPCs run rings round them whether by solving the quests or robbing the PCs without a chance, or simply offering only one solution. The game is about the PCs.
2. Make it too much of a cake walk (which is hard to do in 4e at low level as long as you have Monster Vault and follow the encounter building guidelines). Monty Haul is an example of this - the biggest problem Monty Haul games have is that the PCs end up effectively playing Iron Man, but anything that can crack Iron Man's armour is realistically going to turn Tony Stark into strawberry jam.
3. Letting whatever fetishes and kinks you have overrun the game (yes, this does need pointing out because people actually do this).

If you aren't doing anything on that list for your first campaign you're good. As long as you and your players are all having fun.

+1 isn't going to break anything and they should be starting to pick up first +1 items at level 1 anyway. The 200GP carriage is fine. It's a carriage. It just means when they go from villiage to villiage or across the town they get to travel in style. Who cares? Well, they do (obviously), and some of the NPCs do. Have a couple of NPCs complement them on it - or try to ask for money because they are obviously rich if they own that. But fundamentally the carriage won't do anything for them that they couldn't do by walking where they are going (and there are places they can walk they can't take it) unless it's pulled by pegasi and can fly or it's pulled by elephants.

And the first rule of DMing is the same as the first rule of a lot of things. Don't sweat the small stuff. If the PCs are taking the game in directions you didn't expect that just means you're doing well.

 

[Shorudmaster]

The "TARGETS" comment is good. When the party rolls into town with shiny perfect weapons, armor and shields, people see them as an opportunity. They will try to get one of them alone and simply take their stuff. At first level, the local barkeep is actually a match for 1st level PCs.

 

[TerraDave]

They've got an extra +1 to a couple things. Don't sweat it for now, and just pay attention to what treasure you give out in the future. It'll solve itself within a couple levels, if that.

Its this.

 

[Hussar]

Wow, look at all the "If the PC's have nice stuff, just use your DM power and strip it from them ASAP." type posts.

And people wonder why I have a fairly negative opinion of DM's.

 

[Sunseeker]

Wow, look at all the "If the PC's have nice stuff, just use your DM power and strip it from them ASAP." type posts.

And people wonder why I have a fairly negative opinion of DM's.

Sure, and worse it gets boring when everything that attacks you wants nothing more than to take your stuff. It's reasonable that greed-oriented creatures will see a few very shiny humans and think: WANT!! However at some point, the PCs need to be going to the enemies and risking all those shiny things of theirs, else look like paranoid, selfish jerks to all the poor stupid townsfolk in need of help.

 

[S'mon]

Wow, look at all the "If the PC's have nice stuff, just use your DM power and strip it from them ASAP." type posts.

And people wonder why I have a fairly negative opinion of DM's.

I count two such posts in the thirteen prior to yours. And lots of good, non-screw-the-players advice in the rest.

 

[JamesonCourage]

I'd support either riding it out and handing out less wealth (eh, +1 bonus isn't a huge deal, and after a couple levels you'll be fine). But that requires tracking wealth, and I've never been a big fan of that.

You could always do what's happened to me before, with two different GMs (one was the best I've ever played with, and one was mediocre): say "guys, I think I messed up. Is there any way we can transition these weapons out? I think they might be unbalancing. What works? Maybe a thief robbing you, or you giving them as a gift to a noble, since you don't have much else of value?" Just talk to them about it, and see what you think. If you're afraid your game is going to get ruined, then speaking about it frankly with your players is a good way to go. Just for future reference, even if you decide to "wait things out" for now. As always, play what you like

 

[S'mon]

[*]Letting whatever fetishes and kinks you have overrun the game (yes, this does need pointing out because people actually do this).

Perhaps chastened by this admonishment, this morning I offered several fully armour-covered, non-chainmail bikini pictures as possible replacements for the PC pic on the pregen Warlord character I'd previously given to my new female player...

 

[Hussar]

First three replies in the thread:

/snip And session four had them lose equipment and have to bribe their way out of a situation so they lost money on that one.

/snip. And, if the carriage is that valuable, it could well attract bandits! After all, only someone wealthy would have something so expensive.
DMG has a pretty good set of examples of treasure packets.

Well armed and wealthy adventurers are called......TARGETS! /snip

Your adventurers are well armed...that means they're cocky! Give them more powerful foes and more dangerous dungons and of course, reward less awesome loot. I mostly give people minor gems and a small handful of gold in any given fight.

Hrm... Yeah, S'mon, totally my imagination.

 

[Libramarian]

I think of Monty Haul as being more about whether or not the treasure feels to your players in your group like a satisfying and appropriate reward for the risk undertaken to get it, which is more subjective and something you will get better at with time and practice.