Old School Flavor Doesn't Mean Lazy
- Thread starter talien
- Start date
Voadam said:
In the beginning of D&D it wasn't such a problem because the rules were specifically designed to deal with the level of treasure included in published adventures. The Helm of Brilliance you found in the chest might last a couple of game sessions, then you'd fall in a pit, fail your item saving throw and your nice, shiny magic helmet became a useless hunk of metal.
The problem is that people equate those types of treasure hauls with "old school" and put them into modules designed for rules systems that aren't equipped to deal with them and aren't built around the same assumptions.
Similar things happen with "old school" non-magical treasure amounts. Run a 3e group through an unaltered AD&D module (based on a system with training costs and item loss factored in) and you'll come out with a gp haul that will seriously imbalance your 3e game (but was perfectly fine for an AD&D game because the rules were built around PCs gaining and then spending large amounts of GP as they advanced in level).
SiderisAnon
First Post
You are most definitely not alone in these concerns. I tend to find reading a lot of modules, particularly those which claim to have an "old school" flavor, to be a combination of very humorous and very painful. While this certainly does not apply to all modules, I have seen a lot of ridiculous item placements in module. What always boggles my mind is when a module is otherwise very well written and creative, but then it seems that the Crazy Treasure Fairy came through and sprinkled random items through the area.talien said:
I was recently reading a module from a set I had purchased where there were in a house that was the main adventure area, there was some powerful magic item like a Helm of Telepathy or something equally silly in a closet and a set of magical thieves tools in the study or den. In another adventure, random farmer #6 had a 50 gp gem in his pocket while he was out in the field.
On the other hand, some modules find ways to put treasure in logically. I recently purchased "Castle Zadrian" from AEG. The treasures they placed there are generally possessions of the encounters in the area, or have a logical reason for being around. (I don't want to give details because it would be spoilers.)
Personally, I think the video game mentality is part of why some of these modules are written that way. Players get used to the idea that when you kill a monster, there is treasure in the room, even if it has nothing to do with the monster. Plus, anything that isn't nailed down belongs to the PCs. (I just recently had to break a new player of that mentality. The party had caught a grave robber and recovered some items that came from the graves. The PC started pocketing everything. I and the other players had to point out that the treasure was actually evidence. It took us a couple of encounters like this for the player to finally realize that the stuff that "drops" when a creature dies isn't always the reward -- in the above case it was the coin the local lord paid the party for recovering the items, plus reward money from one of the wealthy families whose crypts were robbed.)
Now, within video games, that's how I like it. When I play Neverwinter, that's how things work and it's probably how things should work. It just doesn't translate well into pen and paper gaming.
In all honesty, this is one of the biggest problems I have with most modules. I hate paying $10 or $15 for a night or maybe two of usefulness. Plus, since I tend to play with the same people over and over, once I've used a module, I'm unlikely to ever have a chance to use it again -- at least not for years to come. I'd rather put that money into ink for my printer for handouts I create or into buying miniatures I can use over and over.RFisher said:
I think the only paper module I've bought in the past five years is "The Transmuter's Last Touch" from Goodman Games, which is designed to get you to try their modules and is priced at only $2.00. (I found it to be a really amusing adventure, too.) It's also available for that price in PDF.
Where I have found value is in PDF modules. There are older modules that are either priced well below the original cover price or go on sale. I don't mind spending $4 for a module. I also buy collections. When you can get 10 modules for $20 or something similar, there's greater value.
I probably wouldn't ever buy modules except that I've been gaming with some of my friends for too many years and they find they can predict me. I buy a module, use the core of it for the adventure, and then wing the rest. (Though that's probably wandering off topic.)
VirgilCaine
First Post
talien said:
I have not examined the 3.5 DMG, but the 3.0 writeups are retarded in almost every area. Equipment is no surprise.
SiderisAnon said:
The value I find in modules is inspiration & stealing bits from here & there.
But that can make it hard to decide if the value I get is worth the cover price.
On the other hand, most of the modules I've bought are classics that I didn't pay cover price for. Ironic: The test of time & depreciation work together so you can get a lot of value for cents sometimes.
The bad part is that I sometimes forget this. I start thinking that I shoudn't buy any modules because I'll never run them.
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