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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DaveW" data-source="post: 5370727" data-attributes="member: 94430">I'm sure someone has done this before, but I asked for feedback on the idea in another thread, and I got the internet equivalent of blank stares. The only reply I had was "Why would you want to do that?"Here was my idea. I started using loot tables to randomize the loot, and when I was doing it, I told the player who landed the final blow to roll for the loot. They seemed to really enjoy rolling for their own loot, so I thought; why not have a general loot table, and let them see it? So, I spent two weeks making various decks of cards, as follows. Bear in mind this is for a level one party.[sblock]<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">A deck of Healing Potions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">A deck of Regeneration Potions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Potion Deck) A deck containing 1 of every potion below level 10, including a healing potion and potion of regeneration.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Tier 1 Loot Deck) A deck containing art items and gems around the 100 GP mark.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Tier 2 Loot Deck) A deck containing art items and gems around the 250 GP mark.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Tier 3 Loot Deck) A deck containing art items and gems around the 500 GP mark, + a single card with an item worth ~1000 GP.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Tier 1 Wondrous Item Deck) Wondrous Items between levels 1-2, including statuettes, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Tier 2 Wondrous Item Deck) Wondrous Items between levels 3-4, including statuettes, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Tier 3 Wondrous Item Deck) Wondrous Items at lvl 5, including statuettes, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Level 1 Magical Items) Level 1 items as follows; 3 cards for each of the following slots; arm, hand, waist, head, feet, neck. No rings. Total of 18 magical items at level 1.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Level 2 Magical Items) Level 2 items as follows; 3 cards for each of  the following slots; arm, hand, waist, head, feet, neck. No rings. Total  of 18 magical items at level 2.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Level 3 Magical Items) Level 3 items as follows; 3 cards for each of  the following slots; arm, hand, waist, head, feet, neck. No rings. Total  of 18 magical items at level 3.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Level 4 Magical Items) Level 4 items as follows; 3 cards for each of  the following slots; arm, hand, waist, head, feet, neck. No rings. Total  of 18 magical items at level 4.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(Level 5 Magical Items) Level 5 items as follows; 3 cards for each of  the following slots; arm, hand, waist, head, feet, neck. No rings. Total  of 18 magical items at level 5.</li> </ol>[/sblock]During the game, I had two loot tables attached to the player side of the DM screen. One table was a magical item loot table, and the other one was a normal loot table. Money on the normal loot table is divisible by 5, as there are 5 party members.The normal loot table is as follows:[sblock] 1)  20 GP2)  40 GP3)  60 GP4)  80 GP5)  90 GP6)  10  GP + Tier 1 Loot Item7)  120 GP8)  20 GP + Tier 1 Loot Item9)  125 GP10) 40 GP + Tier 1 Loot Item11) Tier 2 Loot Item12) 200 GP13) 100 GP + 1 Potion of Healing14) 2 Potions of Healing15) 50 GP + Potion of Regeneration16) Random Potion17) Tier 3 Loot Item18) Roll for Magical Loot19) Roll for Magical Loot20) Roll for Magical Loot[/sblock]and the magical item loot table...[sblock] <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Re-roll on Normal Loot Table</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Random Potion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Wondrous Item Tier 1</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Wondrous Item Tier 2</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Wondrous Item Tier 3</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Magical Item Tier 1</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Magical Item Tier 2</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Magical Item Tier 3</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Magical Item Tier 4</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Magical Item Tier 5</li> </ol>[/sblock]If the players defeated normal foes, or opened a standard chest, I told them they were able to roll on the normal loot table (with a chance of getting a magical item). When the players defeated a boss type-character or opened a locked and trapped chest, I told them they could roll on the magical item loot table (with a re-roll on a 1).If they 'win' an item from one of the decks, I shuffled the deck and removed 3 cards, placing them face down in front of the player. The player selected one and the others are returned to the deck.One final note: I retained full control over magical armor and weapons. This allows me to control the character balance, although the players can still potentially win crazy items that shift the odds in their favor.So, how did this overcomplicated system work out in practice?I get great feedback from this particular group, and I usually know when something didn't work for them. Rolling for their own loot really seemed to appeal to them, and they appreciated that they had considerable control now over the sort of items they get (as opposed to whatever I decide to make available to them). I'm planning on using this system again with tweaks now that they are at level 2.Cons: It's a lot of work making the decks. Most of the stuff I made was taken from the Adventurer's Vault, so I can't just re-post it. If other people are open to the idea, I'd be happy to work on a collaborative effort to make full freely-available decks to save others from doing this work again. Apart from the time investment, another thing is making sure the loot tables are balanced. I think the tables in their current form a little unbalanced and could use a tweak. I'll update them anyway now that the players have leveled up.I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions for this, and if you want to collaborate on making some freely available card decks, then let me know.Thanks for reading everyone!-Dave</blockquote>

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