"Players" asking for in-game stuff

[werk]

I run a custom campaign, so it is really loose with regard to what the characters can do.

If approached, I would probably say:
-would your character know this? (often dumb as rocks fighters with smart players are asking for specific magical enhancements or equipment that their character should not know at all. Generally a dice roll will resolve this.)
-what do you think you could do to acquire this? (the players are in charge of their characters, if they want something that their character would reasonably want, let them endevour to get it in game.)

That being said, I have had players approach me because they felt that their character was getting an insufficient amount of treasure compared to other characters/classes. And I have responded to that plea.

If your primary weapon is a trident or a spiked chain...good luck finding something like that. "why do we just get 'regular' weapons as loot?"

 

[Voadam]

Items can be bought and created, so I am unlikely to place wish list items in a random hoard, although asking about items of renown would be fine. The campaign is about hunting down evil items right now so asking about good ones and doing investigation would be fine.

I have a PC who wants his paladin to eventually gain a dragon mount, so I'm trying to come up with a plot reason for him to get one in game (mechanically he'll get it from leadership at 18th level, 2 levels away) and I have some time to come up with something appropriate and cool.

 

[Grazzt]

Never had anyone outright ask for something.
They may mention that a particular item is cool and I might try to work one in if I can.
But I wouldn't just give it to them because they asked for it.

Same here.

If it ever did come up and the issue was pressed, I'd probably give them the item they requested, curse included.

 

[the Jester]

Well, the conversation would go something like this:

"I really want a ring of lots of cool stuff for my character."

"I don't blame you. I would too."

I've never had a cursed item dropped on me, and I don't think I'd like it if I did. Seems a bit low. Now, an item that comes with strings, or an item that's defective, OK. But most "cursed" items I've seen listed, such as some recent ones in Dragon, are just cold and cruel.

Dude, I've got a character who was under three curses at once for months.

I even wrote up a 3-level prestige class with him in mind- the Accursed.

 

[DragonLancer]

I asked the same question to my players fairly recently as I prepare for a new campaign in a few months, and the general reply was that they would rather treasures be random rather than specifically found or be given specific items/rewards.

 

[diaglo]

part of OD&D includes the PC questing for things.

so yes. i've had players ask for items. they ask an NPC. the NPC may tell them what he knows. and it goes from there.

or if they want to make it themselves. i work with them to hash out the materials needed. the cost of the materials, the skilled person to make it, etc...


and i have said on numerous occassions: "Does your PC know about these things?" "If not, then of course the answer is go find out."

no napalm for 1st lvl PCs... but higher lvl PCs with access to the right resources, the right amount of funds, the right protection, the right circumstances... well, lets talk.

 

[Oryan77]

I don't understand the adversarial attitude (DM vs. players) being expressed here. The goal of the game is to have fun, right? If it will enhance the players' fun to possess a certain magic item, I think the DM should allow that to happen (in some sort of reasonable fashion, obviously).

If the players never get what they want, they end up frustrated and they stop having fun.

You're forgetting that the DM is supposed to have fun also. In my case; If I gave players everything they ask for just so they'll "have fun", it'll feel like I'm playing a game where we're reading a walkthru online. It won't be a game where anything can happen, it will be a game where everything happens. The world wouldn't seem realistic if they got everything they wanted just because they thought about wanting it.

Besides, if you're players stop having fun because they aren't getting what they want, you're failing as a DM.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I'm always afraid to ask for anything (as a PC) b/c my DM is my husband and I don't want anyone to think that I'm getting something cool b/c I'm his wife.

However, our adventuring party has a large base of rebel wizards that can make pretty much anything we can afford. Needless to say, we've got AWESOME equipment.

 

[gizmo33]

If I gave players everything they ask for just so they'll "have fun", it'll feel like I'm playing a game where we're reading a walkthru online. It won't be a game where anything can happen, it will be a game where everything happens. The world wouldn't seem realistic if they got everything they wanted just because they thought about wanting it.

Besides, if you're players stop having fun because they aren't getting what they want, you're failing as a DM.

I agree - the goal of a game is to have fun, I suppose, but everyone can't always win at Monopoly - so I think the goal of DMing is to create a consistent fantasy world and judge it fairly. If PCs have a character concept that requires "getting stuff" (eg. I want to be like Atilla the Hun so how can I acquire a huge army), the DM could provide general guidelines that would be known to the character. Specific NPCs may also have advice ("go seek the clerics of the Knowledge God"). Beyond that IMC players don't actually ask for things, that's weird. PCs get stuff based on either effort or luck, IMO that's DnD.