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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hayek" data-source="post: 5413027" data-attributes="member: 53760">I don't mean to derail the post into the fine details of what does and does not consist of a simulationist vs. narrativist game...  My point was just that that distinction should really drive the answer to the OP's original question. I see the treasure question as just one of many things that will come up in a game that are all dealt with in a similar manner based on the DM's (or group's) feelings about simulation vs. narration. A simulationist wants to keep the world logic consistent, so a PC that somehow sneaks into the king's vault must be rewarded with hordes of treasure, even though it's inconsistent with what the story says the appropriate amount of treasure is. A narrativist will break the world logic to bend things in some way so that a PC does not receive a ludicrously overpowered reward, even though according to the rules of the world they should. Thus, the simulationist embraces the 'consequence' of the PC's action, while the narrativist removes the 'consequence'. Conversely, the party might choose to be noble and refuse the promised payment of 2,000gp from the village mayor for slaying the bandits. A simulationist will say, well, you've made your choice and there's no reason for gold to fall out of the sky for you, so you will be under-rewarded this level as a consequence of your actions. A narrativist will come up with some other way to get the party the appropriate loot, thus taking away the 'consequence' of the party's decision. Of course, most people are not 100% simulationist or narrativist, so I don't mean to suggest a ludicrous, absolute choice must be made. I'm just trying to highlight what I think the crucial underpinnings of this discussion are. A lot of posts have referenced what different people do in their campaign, I'm trying to get at why they've made those choices.</blockquote>

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