Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dykstrav" data-source="post: 5074101" data-attributes="member: 40522">I'm gearing up to run a paragon-tier campaign that's been going on since 1st level, way back in June of 2008. I've got a problem that I haven't been able to resolve, despite frank discussions with my players and several different approaches that I've tried. Please give me insights as to your own thoughts and how you'd handle this situation.Basically, the entire time I've been playing 4E, I've only had two players submit magic item wish lists for their characters. My players just won't do it.When I ask players for their wish lists, they usually tell me that they don't care what they get and I should just pick stuff for them. Others tell me that placement of treasure is part of adventure design, and they don't want to do it--it's supposed to be the DM's job.After I explained that I want the players to give me wish lists, I got one wish list from one player. A new player who joined our group later gave me one. Otherwise, I just don't get them.At first, I tried guessing at what the characters would need, giving them only weapons, armor, implements, and defensive items (basically, things that increases defenses or attacks). The players kept what they liked, sold what they didn't, and bemoaned the fact that you only get 20% value from sold magic items. Later on, there were complaints that there wasn't enough treasure because they only kept about half of what they found and ditched the rest.We had a discussion about the issue, wherein I explained that I'm guessing about what items they want and I'd like a wish list. Some players told me that they'd work one up, others reacted with an, "Oh, I understand why our gear sucks now" reaction. I didn't get a single wish list.Next, I tried giving them straight-up cash equal to the value of magic items in their parcels rather than guessing. My rationale was that they'd feel flush with cash and use that money to craft whatever items they wanted. Raw cash gave them the option to get whatever magic items they want, I reasoned. A few sessions later, I got complaints about how the characters are not finding magic items.We had a discussion about the issue, wherein I explained why they were finding tons of raw cash instead of magic items. Some players told me that they'd work one up, others reacted with an, "Oh, crafting your own magic items is expensive" reaction. I didn't get a single wish list.It's really frustrating the hell out of me because the players understand when they're lagging behind. When they miss attack rolls or a monster hits them by a single point or two, they openly discuss how they wish they had better items. They want magic items for their characters, but they also want me to take shots in the dark as to what items to give them. Every time I hear such a discussion, it's really getting to boil my blood because it's been going on for over a year and a half now. There's no observable progress being made and I feel like people just aren't communicating with me or with each other.For this upcoming campaign, I've been considering a new approach. What I'm thinking is that I'm only going to give out very basic magic items: magic weapons, magic armor, and implements. No special abilities, just flat bonuses. I've asked for wish lists again and haven't gotten any. But I'm not going to spend an hour or so in my adventure design scouring 4E material for items to give to the characters--I feel that this is part of character design and that my time can be better spent elsewhere.Am I being reasonable? Are there other options?Thanks for your time and insights.</blockquote>

Verification