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How to do a "low" economy game?
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<blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1721753" data-attributes="member: 3146"><p>It seems to me like you're asking for two different and mutually incompatible things:</p><p></p><p>1. You want advice on running a low-economy game where PCs scrape and struggle to find enough money to pay for a night at the inn and some watered down beer.</p><p></p><p>2. You want advice on running a low-economy game where the PCs will have something like the assumed amount of equipment per level and will be able to handle level appropriate challenges.</p><p></p><p>Option #1 precludes option #2. You can run a lower-economy game. However, without modifications to the system, it will nerf all of the non-magic using classes tremendously. When nobody can afford fullplate, the fighter/wizard who casts mage armor and alter self (troglodyte) and the fighter/cleric who casts shield of faith on himself while wearing a breastplate and shield are the only characters who can get a decent AC--maybe the rogue can too if it's a very high stat game. So, multiclassing with spellcasting classes is very much encouraged. Similarly, among the fighting classes, barbarians outshine everyone else and two-handed weapons are dramatically favored over one-handed weapons. Why? Because when all you've got for defense is a heavy shield and scale mail and your foes have +9 to hit (troll, CR 5) or +8 to hit (Human War 4 with weapon focus, CR 3), you have to resign to getting hit on at least every other attack. At that point, the only defense you can have is a good offense. A Barbarian with a two handed weapon does offense better than other classes. As you will soon discover running that kind of game, jumping out of barbarian and into fighter for at least four levels lets you do offense even better. D&D pretty heavily favors two-handed power attacking types anyway, in a low-treasure game, they're the only viable non-magical fighter class.</p><p></p><p>Similarly, the low-economy, scraping to survive system heavily favors sorcerors over wizards. With no money to scribe spells into their spellbook, wizards are just sorcerors who get their high level spells one level sooner and who have slightly more spells known and fewer spells per day. . . and who don't cast spontaneously.</p><p></p><p>And, it probably favors druids most of all, since they are generally less reliant upon equipment than other spellcasters up until mid-levels.</p><p></p><p>So, if you want to do #1 and you want a balanced party, you probably need to look at some non-D&D rules systems. Wheel of Time might work for you. The Midnight setting reportedly has some options that enable it to work as a low treasure setting.</p><p></p><p>Option #2 is somewhat easier--ancestral relics, imbued magic items, weapons and equipment that progress with their wielders or simply slowing xp and treasure aquisition by the same rate work fine. The Book of Exalted Deeds Vow of Poverty feat would probably work pretty well too. However, it's unlikely that a character with a +1 flaming ancestral longsword and armor that advances with him is going to be scraping to get enough coppers to pay for a beer at the inn and searching for a shopping cart without a broken wheel to carry his stash around in. Nor is a character who takes the vow of poverty feat going to be clawing after money like a rat in a gutter. Those options seem much more appropriate for a more heroic low-treasure game.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Elder-Basilisk, post: 1721753, member: 3146"] It seems to me like you're asking for two different and mutually incompatible things: 1. You want advice on running a low-economy game where PCs scrape and struggle to find enough money to pay for a night at the inn and some watered down beer. 2. You want advice on running a low-economy game where the PCs will have something like the assumed amount of equipment per level and will be able to handle level appropriate challenges. Option #1 precludes option #2. You can run a lower-economy game. However, without modifications to the system, it will nerf all of the non-magic using classes tremendously. When nobody can afford fullplate, the fighter/wizard who casts mage armor and alter self (troglodyte) and the fighter/cleric who casts shield of faith on himself while wearing a breastplate and shield are the only characters who can get a decent AC--maybe the rogue can too if it's a very high stat game. So, multiclassing with spellcasting classes is very much encouraged. Similarly, among the fighting classes, barbarians outshine everyone else and two-handed weapons are dramatically favored over one-handed weapons. Why? Because when all you've got for defense is a heavy shield and scale mail and your foes have +9 to hit (troll, CR 5) or +8 to hit (Human War 4 with weapon focus, CR 3), you have to resign to getting hit on at least every other attack. At that point, the only defense you can have is a good offense. A Barbarian with a two handed weapon does offense better than other classes. As you will soon discover running that kind of game, jumping out of barbarian and into fighter for at least four levels lets you do offense even better. D&D pretty heavily favors two-handed power attacking types anyway, in a low-treasure game, they're the only viable non-magical fighter class. Similarly, the low-economy, scraping to survive system heavily favors sorcerors over wizards. With no money to scribe spells into their spellbook, wizards are just sorcerors who get their high level spells one level sooner and who have slightly more spells known and fewer spells per day. . . and who don't cast spontaneously. And, it probably favors druids most of all, since they are generally less reliant upon equipment than other spellcasters up until mid-levels. So, if you want to do #1 and you want a balanced party, you probably need to look at some non-D&D rules systems. Wheel of Time might work for you. The Midnight setting reportedly has some options that enable it to work as a low treasure setting. Option #2 is somewhat easier--ancestral relics, imbued magic items, weapons and equipment that progress with their wielders or simply slowing xp and treasure aquisition by the same rate work fine. The Book of Exalted Deeds Vow of Poverty feat would probably work pretty well too. However, it's unlikely that a character with a +1 flaming ancestral longsword and armor that advances with him is going to be scraping to get enough coppers to pay for a beer at the inn and searching for a shopping cart without a broken wheel to carry his stash around in. Nor is a character who takes the vow of poverty feat going to be clawing after money like a rat in a gutter. Those options seem much more appropriate for a more heroic low-treasure game. [/QUOTE]
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