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<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 5655191" data-attributes="member: 40177"><p>Sorry, but you're missing my point.</p><p></p><p>We're not talking about items that are really there to have a "sell value". We're talking about items that are about more than just stuff you can do on your character sheet. Because, once you start down that path, it becomes a huge part of the game - and players don't really get all that interested anymore in "well, it adds a +5 to my attack rolls and I can shoot napalm out of my nose!".</p><p></p><p>Little items become BIG parts of the game, simply because they are divorced almost entirely from mechanical resolutions. In short, they are items that ground the players to the setting of the game, as opposed to the mechanics of the game. And in my experience, this is especially easy and useful to do in a post-apocalyptic setting, as it can remind players that the setting is, in fact, post-apocalyptic.</p><p></p><p>The PCs find a cell phone. It's basically useless, as it gets no signal, but when it's fully charged, they can play angry birds when they're bored. It also has a bunch of books downloaded on it, some music, a camera, etc. That item, to most players that aren't diehard combat enthusiasts, will wind up being more cherished than a dozen assault rifles or whatever. </p><p></p><p>And what do the players do when that cell phone starts ringing one day? And they pick up... and start talking to someone from 2011, trying to reach her daughter? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Small items are often much better pathways into adventure hooks than guns, armour, and explosives.</p><p></p><p>Finally, permanent items, in my opinion, are dangerous to give away in a post-apocalyptic setting, especially at low-levels, as it sets this precedent that your players are going to expect this escalation of rewards in a very D&Desque situation. Instead, for post-apoc to really feel apocalyptic, there should be a feel of depleting resources and survival - and that means counting ammunition, grenades, etc. Giving a player a grenade that does, for example, 10d10 MDC damage is great - because the players, no matter how Effed up their situation is, will ask themselves "is this time for the hellbore grenade?". which is a lot more fun than "Which magic weapon will I use THIS time?"</p><p></p><p>My two cents. Just realize, I've run a LOT of post-apoc games, it's my favourite genre, and I think giving players permanent high-quality loot as a reward in a side-quest is a bad way to start up this particular sort of campaign. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wik, post: 5655191, member: 40177"] Sorry, but you're missing my point. We're not talking about items that are really there to have a "sell value". We're talking about items that are about more than just stuff you can do on your character sheet. Because, once you start down that path, it becomes a huge part of the game - and players don't really get all that interested anymore in "well, it adds a +5 to my attack rolls and I can shoot napalm out of my nose!". Little items become BIG parts of the game, simply because they are divorced almost entirely from mechanical resolutions. In short, they are items that ground the players to the setting of the game, as opposed to the mechanics of the game. And in my experience, this is especially easy and useful to do in a post-apocalyptic setting, as it can remind players that the setting is, in fact, post-apocalyptic. The PCs find a cell phone. It's basically useless, as it gets no signal, but when it's fully charged, they can play angry birds when they're bored. It also has a bunch of books downloaded on it, some music, a camera, etc. That item, to most players that aren't diehard combat enthusiasts, will wind up being more cherished than a dozen assault rifles or whatever. And what do the players do when that cell phone starts ringing one day? And they pick up... and start talking to someone from 2011, trying to reach her daughter? :) Small items are often much better pathways into adventure hooks than guns, armour, and explosives. Finally, permanent items, in my opinion, are dangerous to give away in a post-apocalyptic setting, especially at low-levels, as it sets this precedent that your players are going to expect this escalation of rewards in a very D&Desque situation. Instead, for post-apoc to really feel apocalyptic, there should be a feel of depleting resources and survival - and that means counting ammunition, grenades, etc. Giving a player a grenade that does, for example, 10d10 MDC damage is great - because the players, no matter how Effed up their situation is, will ask themselves "is this time for the hellbore grenade?". which is a lot more fun than "Which magic weapon will I use THIS time?" My two cents. Just realize, I've run a LOT of post-apoc games, it's my favourite genre, and I think giving players permanent high-quality loot as a reward in a side-quest is a bad way to start up this particular sort of campaign. :) [/QUOTE]
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