How to handle adventuring loot outside of a strong economy?

[Lackofname]

I'm afraid that's not really going to work in this situation, @Umbran. I could pick apart each reason why, but that takes a lot of words and usually that ends in frustrated parties, so I'd rather cut to the apology.

 

[Umbran]

I'm afraid that's not really going to work in this situation, @Umbran. I could pick apart each reason why, but that takes a lot of words and usually that ends in frustrated parties, so I'd rather cut to the apology.

You don't need to apologize. But do realize that you've given us very little information, so that we are shooting in the dark.

I started my post with some questions - you might get some better suggestions if we have answers to them.

 

[Lackofname]

You don't need to apologize. But do realize that you've given us very little information, so that we are shooting in the dark.

I started my post with some questions - you might get some better suggestions if we have answers to them.

Yeah I was going to edit that reply out and actually reply at length to you, but you replied before I even got through the first couple of questions. So, incoming.

 

[tetrasodium]

It sounds like you just want to throw out ant semblance of an economy rather than replace it with something pretending to be something a little different. You can look at how systems with a wealth type stat like d20 modern & fate handle it, but trying to port that sort of thing into 5e is a mess so goodluck

 

[akr71]

I highly recommend Grain Into Gold when wrestling with 'real' costs of things and an agrarian economy. From the description on Drive Thru RPG:

70 pages of discussion on the basis for the economy and how the drivers of labor, materials and demand interact. Grain Into Gold is written in a more light hearted and casual tone. This is NOT a text book, but a very common-sense approach to fantasy economics and how it can work in your world.
A discussion on exactly what you need to do to make an economy work for your world. This is a step by step, “how-to” that will guide you right to the end result - a working economy that you can use in game, now. Not after weeks or months of work.
Charts detailing agriculture, ranching, textiles, salaries, and a price list containing over 500 items, including variations due to local trade.

I have no affiliation, just a fan.

I might add that you consider why can't the natives have rudimentary knowledge of metal working. Metal working was certainly practiced in central and south america. That doesn't mean introducing coinage necessarily, but it suddenly opens the way for other treasure options. Add in precious and semi-precious gem and carving and you've got all kinds of loot available.

 

[Umbran]

It sounds like you just want to throw out ant semblance of an economy rather than replace it with something pretending to be something a little different. You can look at how systems with a wealth type stat like d20 modern & fate handle it, but trying to port that sort of thing into 5e is a mess so goodluck

I don't know if it is all that hard. Start with "the PCs are always considered to have enough money for room, board, and basic upkeep".

Then, you only bother to track wealth in what we might call 100 GP (or 1000 GP, pick your poison) increments. We are only concerned with purchased of things over that value. Call those the new platinum pieces.

 

[Tonguez]

Why do the natives not have currency? Remember shiny bits of metal arent inherently different to shell beadwork, red feathers, cacao beans and finely woven mats, all of which have been used as means of exchange,

The other option is just changing what you call your currency from “coin” to something like “Influence” or “Favour”. If your PC gets an item he doesnt want then he has the option to ‘give‘ it as a gift to the local blacksmith Which earns him “Favour”. Later he calls in the Favour and the Blacksmiths sister provides the PC with some magic potions.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Why do the natives not have currency? Remember shiny bits of metal arent inherently different to shell beadwork, red feathers, cacao beans and finely woven mats, all of which have been used as means of exchange,

The other option is just changing what you call your currency from “coin” to something like “Influence” or “Favour”. If your PC gets an item he doesnt want then he has the option to ‘give‘ it as a gift to the local blacksmith Which earns him “Favour”. Later he calls in the Favour and the Blacksmiths sister provides the PC with some magic potions.

I question how a commoner knows to craft magic potions, but the simple fact is that by the time you have a structured society, you have currency.

 

[Umbran]

I question how a commoner knows to craft magic potions...

By the rules in Xanathar's, "To complete a magic item, a character also needs whatever tool proficiency is appropriate, as for crafting a nonmagical object, or proficiency in the Arcana skill."

Specifically, you don't need to be able to cast spells to craft items. Any "commoner" who has Arcana can do it, if they have the recipe.

 

[Lackofname]

1) Why are the PCs there?

They're part of the colony, on board specifically to be either the Away team (Hexcrawling Exploration and "troubleshoot problems away from home base") or the Home Team (run the colony/diplomatic nation building with the locals and defense). The focus depends on what the group would enjoy more.

I want to sort of run the game like PF's Kingmaker, but I've only read the first module (which is the exploration part) so I don't know how the resource acquisition/nation building is handled, but if the players aren't interested in that part then it doesn't really matter either way.

Why is the settlement there?

1. Be the first to plant the flag on the new continent.
2. Money. They want to gobble up as much resources as possible. Hurry, discover new things--spices? Coffee? DRUGS? Salt? GIMMIE.

2) What's the relationship with the local culture like?

The settlement backer's POV: Politely exploitative. The locals are useful, but once that's over, buy the land out from under them and shoo them off; the native races aren't close to human so intermarriage isn't possible, their numbers and tech level isn't enough of a severe threat (and they're not warlike), conversion isn't a concern, so just bide time.

If the PCs go the "Home Team" route, this will be pressure from the backers urging them to act this way, while the players (hopefully) won't agree. If they're on the Away team, it'll be going on in the background.

3) Where are they getting treasures?

A standard situation would be that the natives are the descendants of some previous higher culture that made all the treasures. Those treasures may well then mean something to the natives as part of their cultural or religious heritage.

Here's part of where things start hitting the skids.

Indeed there was a previous civilization that was more advanced. It was wiped out because of bad things they did, and containing the fallout required heavy magical lifting from both nature spirits and extra-planar assistance. This area of the continent (The starter zone, basically) was walled off from the interior, and the locals considered everything associated with the prior civilization to be incredibly taboo--to the point some conservative tribes think building with stone is courting disaster; everything else made of stone got smote so why risk it? To them the stuff in the ruins is probably cursed or will unleash hell, so those weird foreigners are welcoming destruction on their own heads.

2) PCs trade treasures with natives for wood/wool/grain.
3) PCs turn wood/wool/grain/cool local products with new settlement, which probably needs the supplies badly.

Here's another problem. I don't want to handle these parts at all. This is more like what I am thinking:

Away Team
"While searching this hex, you run into an encounter in a highly saline pool. Looks like this is a potential salt mine, that's really important."
Players: Cool, we'll let the colonists know.

Home Team
"So exploration turned up a spot that could be a salt mine. That's huge."
Players: Cool, let's get some people out there.
Month later: No one's heard from the salt mine in like two weeks.
Players: Aw geez, let's go see what's going on over there...

Also, the locals are probably going to be willing to work for favors - "You want healing potions? Sure, our healer's really good at making them! How about you go chase that otyugh out of our midden-trench outside the village, and we'll get you what you need..."

That's fine at first, but after a certain point, I am not really one for minor encounters like that. Usually I like bigger story things.

Edit: As I write this, the more I'm leaning away from the Home Team, simply because I think it would lead to a lot less action for PCs. I do enjoy the settlement advancement/diplomacy element, but the system isn't built for it and really I want to show off the setting, and that involves Going Forth and Overturning Rocks. Half the inspiration here is Indiana Jones and other Pulpy things, which doesn't have to worry about currency and the specifics; Indy finds the thing, he chases the thing, he hands the thing off mingling with the locals and eating monkey brains.

What @Jd Smith1 describes is more or less my ideal brand of magical item to the Magical Christmas Tree effect; each PC gets one item, it has multiple functions. But 1) I've never successfully done that before, 2) that takes away some of the incentive, the flair, the fun--once you have your own magical item, you don't need gold or to find any loot. When you don't need to find loot, finding a dingus of the thing isn't that important.

Thinking about it, perhaps it might be easier to do the ol' 1e "Treasure = XP".

I guess part of the problem is I don't know what players will like. I don't have a definitive group.