Making a Formal Party Charter

[Shiroiken]

My current campaign is based around an "Adventurer's Guild" (or mercenary company, or whatever you want to call it), so there IS an official charter. It hasn't been written, just like 95% of the details of the guild, because I offered the players the option to have a say in everything. I've warned them that the guild leader has ideas, and given them examples of his bad ideas, if they don't want to bother

Anywho, I expect that a charter won't actually be written out, unless a player takes it upon themselves to dos, leaving it ambiguous as a plot device. I can use to it keep players from directly messing each other over (at least during adventures), and might find a way to force an adventure upon unsuspecting characters.

 

[Sloblock]

Like many others our party use the following

- 10% of all loot goes direct to the kitty
- Usually one of the Party act as the treasurer for the kitty
- rest is split between the party - including any NPCs
- Magical items are given to the most suitable character

 

[MechaPilot]

Have you guys ever used a formal party charter? I'm talking about the kind of in-game document that dictates how you portion out loot, handle resurrection funds, and deal with stealing-from-the-party-treasury types. Is it good policy to include one, or do you think it feels a bit too formal? Any thoughts on how to make a good one?

Comic for reference.

As a player, I've never sat down with the group and hammered out a document given in-game wording to be the party charter. What we usually did was come to a brief oral agreement that monetary treasure be divided into a number of shares equal to 1 + the number of members of the party. The extra share was general party funds for necessary expenses like bribes, group-authorized hirelings, and paying for restorative magical services (such as healing, restorations, and resurrections). Non-magical non-monetary treasure was either sold-off and divided as monetary treasure, or claimed by a PC in exchange for an appropriate amount of their monetary share. Magical treasure was given to party members according to who could use them. If a PC received a magic item that would replace an existing item (such as a fighter receiving a magic sword clearly superior to the magic sword she already owned) the old item would be treated as non-magical non-monetary treasure.

As a DM, I encourage party agreements. I don't expect a full-length contract; that feels like it would take too long and would be more tedious than enjoyable. However, a simple agreement about what to do with treasure is handy for discouraging intra-party arguments, and I do find that very valuable.

 

[Immortal Sun]

I'm compromised, usually in this approach I am usually basing the game off the party already working for a mercenary company which gives them a "standard" contract. The party can then make some adjustments to.

But no, one has never spontaneously arisen in a game I've played.

 

[Fauchard1520]

I don't think it's a good idea to try to make it a real document though - constructing functional legal documents needs a lot of background about the legal system (or general codes of honor) that isn't going to exist in detail for a typical campaign, and is a lot of boring work.

Oh I dunno. I've seen at least one group of world-builders do OK at it: https://www.wetanz.com/shop/prop-replicas/the-contract-of-bilbo-baggins

 

[smbakeresq]

It can only make your game better and form a closer knit group. RP is half the game

 

[jgsugden]

D&D is an RPG. A role playing game. Characters play a role in a story.

How many great stories have detailed discussions of contractual obligations?

Yeah - generally speaking, this is one of those things the PCs will have that the players will not. Get the rough ideas down, then treat any dispute over what the terms would be as a skill challenge.

 

[practicalm]

As a DM, adventuring parties in my world need to be connected to the power structure of the lands they are in.

Kingdoms or city states require groups of powerful adventurers (level 5+) to be chartered (with a written agreement) and are required to give aid or service to the nobility at guild rates.

It puts the adventurers into the political and social power structures in a way that creates obligations between the ruling class and the adventurers.

Players are allowed to divide the treasure as per the charter and some players choose to have their characters not sign the charter and are employees of the adventuring company.

 

[Mistwell]

I have not found that gold rush charter I mentioned, yet. But I did find Black Bart's pirate rules, which are similar:

Articles
(1. Pirate captain’s name)Captain Bartholomew Roberts
Drawn up by the (2. Pirate vessel’s name)Good Fortune crew as shipboard conduct
I. Every man has a vote in affairs of moment; has equal title to the fresh provisions, or strong liquors, at any time seized, and may use them at pleasure, unless a scarcity makes necessary, for the good of all, to vote a retrenchment.

II. Every man to be called fairly in turn, by list, on board of prizes because, they were on these occasions allowed a shift of clothes: but if they defrauded the company to the value of a dollar in plate, jewels, or money, marooning was their punishment. If the robbery was only betwixt one another, they contented themselves with slitting the ears and nose of him that was guilty, and set him on shore, not in an uninhabited place, but somewhere, where he was sure to encounter hardships.

III. No person to game at cards or dice for money.

IV. The lights and candles to be put out at eight o’clock at night: if any of the crew, after that hour still remained inclined for drinking, they were to do it on the open deck.

V. To keep their peace, pistols, and cutlass clean and fit for service.

VI. No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man were to be found seducing any of the latter sex, and carried her to sea, disguised, he was to suffer death.

VII. To desert their ship or quarters in battle, was punished with death or marooning.

VIII. No striking one another on board, but every man’s quarrels to be ended on shore, at sword and pistol.

IX. No man to talk of breaking up their way of living, till each had shared £1,000. If in order to this, any man should lose a limb, or become a cripple in their service, he was to have 800 dollars, out of the public stock, and for lesser hurts, proportionately.

X. The captain and quartermaster to receive two shares of prize: the master, boatswain, and gunner, one share and a half, and other officers one and a quarter.

XI. The musicians to have rest on the Sabbath Day, only by night, but the other six days and nights, not without special favour.

XII (3. Add optional article(s) here)