I am the opposite of Monte Haul - give me your advice inside please!

[roguerouge]

On heroes asking for money, from Angel, season one:

Doyle: “But you are right, and I do agree. Angel needs to start charging. He just hates bringing up the finances with the clients. He likes playing the hero, - walking off into the dark with his long coat flowing behind him in a mysterious and attractive way.”
Cordy: “Is this a private moment? Because I can leave you alone.”
Doyle: “No, no, I’m not saying *I’m* attracted. I’m just saying he’s projecting a certain kind of image and asking for money isn’t part of it. He’s sensitive about that.”

Later...

Angel: “I don’t think so. I’ve got a bad feeling that we need get involved now. (walks over to them and leans on the table) This shouldn’t be about money.”
Doyle: “It isn’t.”
Cordy: “Yeah, you should listen to.. (looks hard at Doyle) It isn’t?!”
Doyle: “No, it’s about doing what’s best for the people you’ve helped (Angel straightens up) People get attached to a mysterious savior, and can you blame them? But as long as you’re just a man who’s doing a job, and getting paid, they can feel like they’ve paid their debt to you and they can move on – independent like.”

 

[knasser]

Here:

Golem, Filthy Lucre; Filthy lucre golem: CR 6; Size L; HD 9d10; hp 75; Init -1; Spd 30 ft; AC 18, touch 8, FF 18; BAB +6/+1; Grapple +15; Atk: +10/+10 melee (2d8 + 4, slams); SA Berserk; SQ Construct traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to magic, low-light vision; AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3; Str 21, Dex 9, Con 0, Int 0, Wis 11, Cha 1.
Skills and Feats: Hide +3.
Special Abilities: Damage Reduction, Darkvision, Low-light Vision.

A filthy lucre golem is a construct designed to guard a wizard's treasure in a unique way - it IS the treasure. It has no possessions and no weapons. It IS possessions. The golem stands 8 feet tall and weighs almost 1000 pounds.

A filthy lucre golem golem cannot speak, although it continously makes the sound of clanking coins and other valuables. It walks in a graceful and determined way. It has no real intelligence, but is somehow magically intelligent enough to walk a set path, and to deviate from that path to avoid thieves. It also is capable of understanding if a party is powerful enough to have a reasonable chance of defeating it, in which case it will try to Hide, which it doesn't do particularly well, being composed of glittery bits.

Combat

Coin Blast (Ex): As a free action every 1d4+1 rounds, the Filthy Lucre Golem can unleash a blast of coins in a 20ft cone, doing 2d6 damage to all in the area of effect (Reflex DC 16 for half). Each time this is used it leaves 2d20 of each type of coin: copper, silver, gold, and platinum resting in the area struck. If a party is forced to flee combat with this creature, each character will find 1d6 random coins in their pockets, folds of clothing, hair, etc.

Immunity to Magic (Ex): A filthy lucre golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.
A magical attack that deals fire damage in excess of 10 points slows a filthy lucre golem (as the slow spell) for 2d6 rounds, with no saving throw.

Value: When destroyed, the golem collapses into its component treasure (minus any used in the Coin Blast or destroyed in battle). When defeated the filthy lucre golem yields 10,000 + (2d4*100) gp in random coins, gems, and jewelry. (this takes into account the blasts and damage)

Obviously you can boost the coinage, or stick a few items in there for safekeeping. If you do that, I would make it interesting by having those items be forced to save any time they hit the thing with some big (but probably ineffective) spell, or do more than 20 points of (past the reduction damage)..."Nice hit...25 points of damage, and you hear a shattering sound as liquid pours from its side, smelling of healing potion".

That. Is. Great!

The only thing missing is an attack that lets it regenerate hit points by stealing the PC's lucre. Just picture it wresting a bag of holding off them and pouring it into its mouth, growing and strengthening in size.

Nice one!

K.

 

[Dracorat]

summation: create a golem

I just attempted to roll up a 4E Treasure Golem, whatdya all think?


Hoard Golem
Level 6 Elite Soldier
Large Natural Animate (Construct) XP 500
Initiative +3; Senses Perception +9;
HP 156; Bloodied 78
AC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 13, Will 13
Immune: Disease, Poison, Sleep
Speed 6

Slam (standard; at-will)
+13 vs AC; 1d10 + 4 damage

Coin Spray (standard; at-will)
Close burst 2; +11 vs AC; 1d6 + 4 damage
The golem opens its gaping maw and spews golden coins at its foes. Any creature wearing clothing hit by this attack gain 1D8-1 golden coins every time they are affected. In addition, 2D6 coins are scattered about the room.

Fists of Treasure (standard; recharge 5,6)
Ranged 10; +13 vs AC; 3d8 + 4 damage
The golem holds both hands in front of him and releases them from his body. They fly to their target and clap together. After the attack, they reattach to the golem in the normal positions.

Death Burst (When reduced to 0 HP; )
Close burst 1; +11 vs AC; 3d6 + 4 damage
When the golem dies, it bursts in a spray of treasure. All in the area who are hit take damage and then are pushed to the nearest unaffected square. Terrain is difficult in the affected area until cleared.

Ponderous (A treasure golem cannot shift.)

Alignment: Unaligned Languages: -
Str 22 (+9) Dex 6 (+1) Wis 6 (+1)
Con 22 (+9) Int 6 (+1) Cha 6 (+1)

A Hoard Golem is usually created by a powerful wizard who has no regular use for worldly treasure, but wants to save some of it for a rainy day. Through arcane rituals, they turn a pile of treasure in to its own best defender - a golem comprised of the treasure itself. Such a golem is usually commanded to bar a room from entry by anyone not speaking a passphrase, attacking as they enter. In its restful state, a treasure golem appears to be a pile of treasure, rising in to the form of a golem two rounds after any who enter the room do not leave. Until it is defeated, a person cannot remove a portion of the pile by grabbing at it, attempting to do so will form the golem immediately. Being comprised of a pile of treasure, the facial features are lacking save two gems that must be duplicates of each other and form the eyes of the completed golem. Once the golem is triggered and animate, it remains for two hours as a golem before reverting back to a pile of treasure if the area is not violated with the presence of another creature.

 

[Dracorat]

Well I'm a tight fisted GM. Am running a 3.5 campaign in which the 14th level PCs mostly have +1 weapons, couple of +2 weapons and 1 really nice Black Dragon Slaying Long spear. They made the spear themselves. It cost nearly all of the gold reserves of 2 of the PCs and they already had most of the needed material items. Some of them have some nice armour (made from same Black Dragon) but half of them have really low AC, 18-21 range. And as for fancy-shmancy stuff: huh, please.

That's my credentials as a tight fisted GM. Just so as you know where I'm coming from.

Thing is, too many powerful items (like a lot of spells) make the PCS crazy-super-hero-powerful. And it sounds like you don't want that. So don't go there.

Yes, a low supply of magic items means certain critters become really difficult and tough for the group to take on head to head. Well, that's good. It might make them stop and think and use tactics or (god forbid) non-violent solutions. A couple of good items in the group is fine (use any one of the many excellent suggestions above as to how to deliver them to the PCs) and are all that much cooler for being rare.

If you run lots of published adventures then this can become a problem, as you'll need to do more work to make them playable for your PCs. But if you don't mind that or already run more of your own homebrew then this isn't a worry.

So, what I'm suggesting is: don't change. You're doing fine.

I did consider not changing, but the comments have begun about the treasure level and I have to agree with the comments. Besides, it was never really my intention to be this way, it more or less just happened, mostly because we hardly ever fight a treasure grubbing foe. Most have been undead or animals.

Treasure is one of the ways that my players can feel rewarded I think. I just don't want to go from where I've been to the other extreme either, nor do somethings that so much a "gimme" that my players feel like I'm going to just cater to them neither.

 

[hopeless]

Okay

Example: My party (who are having fun btw) has a total of about 600 gold and 2 +1 magic items.

And they're level 5.

I'd like to add more in before I run in to the "your players are struggling because their gear doesn't meet with designer expectations" without it seeming like a gimme, but I guess I have a hard time with adding random gear in things.

Here's where you could really help out.

Give me some really clever ways to hide stashes of coins and gear in dungeons, especially basements of abandoned houses, sewers and undead crypts. (Those are the most pervading of the areas I run the players through)

I was wondering pretty much the opposite, my view is that with all of the changes how to explain why all these items exist.
So far I'm using Eberron as an inspiration specifically that there are dragonshards such as bloodstones, siberys and khyber shards which can be used to enhance the items they do have so attaching a bloodstone to an item they do have to explain why their sword is now +1 and then later on explain why they've swapped their +1 armour for one with the delver ability without having too many magical items floating about since they've made rings pretty much Paragon level based and to explain why magical items aren't as important as they used to be, they're useful but not something the PC should be dependent upon take Conan for example where he starts out with barely any money, the clothes he's using and a weapon and even though the subsequent adventure should leave him very wealthy he's often left in pretty much the same state so if the players want to buy items or hunt down specific items that they want let them try and design the adventure around it otherwise gauge their reaction when you add another item to say the next encounter and if you really want to upgrade them to dmg scale then have them undertake a mission with the reward being magical items that would allow this perhaps even giving them an item each as an upfront payment for their services with the rest upon successful completion of their mission sort of thing, anyway back to the reading...

 

[Dausuul]

Give me some really clever ways to hide stashes of coins and gear in dungeons, especially basements of abandoned houses, sewers and undead crypts. (Those are the most pervading of the areas I run the players through)

Undead crypts are traditionally loaded with treasure, in the form of burial goods. Think Tutankhamen. Not so much with the coins, admittedly, but they can have all kinds of gold sculptures, statuary, and other goods that can be sold for a ton of loot; and for magical gear, whoever is buried is likely to be buried with his or her best weapons, armor, and so forth.

Sewers and basements, not so much, although intelligent monsters living in those places might amass small hoards. I'm thinking wererats.

 

[Dracorat]

Maybe elaborate crypts are loaded with treasure but we haven't gotten to any of those so far.

I do try to put some treasure in my mundane crypts too, but how much cash does the average person actually get buried with?

I guess that's part of my mental block. =/

 

[Dausuul]

Maybe elaborate crypts are loaded with treasure but we haven't gotten to any of those so far.

I do try to put some treasure in my mundane crypts too, but how much cash does the average person actually get buried with?

I guess that's part of my mental block. =/

In a medieval economy, I'd be inclined to say anybody rich enough to afford a crypt is rich enough to have some grave-goods. Regular folks get coffins, not crypts, or just tossed in a hole in the ground; you want their stuff, you have to dig 'em up.

Granted, Ptolus is not exactly a traditional medieval economy. Still, even today in the real world, how many people get buried in crypts? Grave-goods are out of fashion nowadays, but if they weren't, most people who got buried in crypts would be able to afford some nice stuff.

 

[pawsplay]

Why do you rob royal tombs?

Because that's where the money is.

 

[Dracorat]

Why do you rob royal tombs?

Because that's where the money is.

Yep, it's coming

And perhaps it's time for more trips back to the sewers. At least there are ratmen there.