Honestly, the best solution is outside of the game. I would speak the players about lack of cooperation and the players' dynamic. There has to be some level of cooperation between the players when playing the game, and this extends to dividing treasure and distributing magic items.
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Role play problems
- Thread starter Amanchanamun
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Honestly, the best solution is outside of the game. I would speak the players about lack of cooperation and the players' dynamic. There has to be some level of cooperation between the players when playing the game, and this extends to dividing treasure and distributing magic items.
FrozenChrono
First Post
Here are three simple solutions
Give treasure to specific players: Freed prisoner thanks the party for getting him out of the dungeon and gives the half elf wizard who's been nice to him while escorting him out a magic pendent he found/saved.
Give them lots of gold: so they can just split it up evenly and buy items they want. It sounds like your players may argue even over this, in that case see options 1 and 3
Give them each an item they want all at once: An axe for the fighter, a dagger for the rogue, some plate for the paladin, cloth armor for the wizard, and a rod for the warlock. All in the same chest, or all on pedistals with their names on them. Whatever works.
To take this last one to the extream if you have two characters who use the same item type, give them the same item. A warlock and a wizard both use wands? Give them two identical wands.
Combining these three methods should get you by. If there are still problems or you don't like these methods, try talking to your characters about writing up a contract between them to split treasure evenly. It could be presented in game as something another more successful party has done.
Starbuck_II
Explorer
Intimidate or intimate?
One word means he wants to scare the other one to listen to him better (he'd be more likely to give him something in that case).
The other word means he wants to get Freaky with the other person. Um, yeah...
Bodhiwolff
First Post
Actually, what you're describing has very little to do with the game, or the game-mechanics, or roleplaying. It is simply a matter of team-management.
However, thankfully there is a nice, roleplaying-based solution for handling it.
Some game-worlds have areas or countries which require bands of armed adventurers to officially register, so that you don't effectively have little private hit-squads running around in the world causing havoc without any way to know who they are. In D&D, the Forgotten Realms talks about Adventuring Charters for your party. These provide a list of who is in the adventuring Company (character list), and the rules for staying in the company, the rules for dividing loot, the rules for conducting business, etc.
Real-world examples would be things like the Hudson's Bay Company - an adventuring/business company chartered to set up business opportunities in Canada and the New World, and whose charter became a sort of impromptu backdrop for its members' behaviour in their new foriegn home.
Have your players officially write up their charter. Come up with their rules. It is their company, so they should make up whatever rules they want. Do they want a democracy? Do they want something different? Rotating shifts as chairman? Make sure that they include rules for dealing with money, loot, found items, specific types of items, items which cannot be easily divided or sold, etc. Make sure that they include rules for how to dea with anybody who BREAKS the charter, including first offenses, etc. Make sure they get it all written down. All of it. Write it down. Then sign it.
It is fun! Believe me! Have them do it via e-mail, back and forth, arguing over the wording and quibbling over details.
Then, they sign it, and the game starts.
When the loot shows up, the rules are clear, and they know how to behave. If somebody breaks the rules, the Charter comes into play, and they all know it.
Suddenly your problems disappear, and loot is no longer an issue.
And more to the point, you've had a cool out-of-game roleplaying activity which has become a cool in-game team-bonding exercise.
And if you're lucky, your adventuring Company can make a real name for itself!
However, thankfully there is a nice, roleplaying-based solution for handling it.
Some game-worlds have areas or countries which require bands of armed adventurers to officially register, so that you don't effectively have little private hit-squads running around in the world causing havoc without any way to know who they are. In D&D, the Forgotten Realms talks about Adventuring Charters for your party. These provide a list of who is in the adventuring Company (character list), and the rules for staying in the company, the rules for dividing loot, the rules for conducting business, etc.
Real-world examples would be things like the Hudson's Bay Company - an adventuring/business company chartered to set up business opportunities in Canada and the New World, and whose charter became a sort of impromptu backdrop for its members' behaviour in their new foriegn home.
Have your players officially write up their charter. Come up with their rules. It is their company, so they should make up whatever rules they want. Do they want a democracy? Do they want something different? Rotating shifts as chairman? Make sure that they include rules for dealing with money, loot, found items, specific types of items, items which cannot be easily divided or sold, etc. Make sure that they include rules for how to dea with anybody who BREAKS the charter, including first offenses, etc. Make sure they get it all written down. All of it. Write it down. Then sign it.
It is fun! Believe me! Have them do it via e-mail, back and forth, arguing over the wording and quibbling over details.
Then, they sign it, and the game starts.
When the loot shows up, the rules are clear, and they know how to behave. If somebody breaks the rules, the Charter comes into play, and they all know it.
Suddenly your problems disappear, and loot is no longer an issue.
And more to the point, you've had a cool out-of-game roleplaying activity which has become a cool in-game team-bonding exercise.
And if you're lucky, your adventuring Company can make a real name for itself!
Amanchanamun
First Post
very nice idea...
contract between dm and players
contract between dm and players
Tenniel
First Post
Intimate in "doing the Freaky" context is an adjective (or more rarely a noun). Intimate as a verb means "to imply" or "to announce".
Rules don't explicitly cover fighting over treasure, because that isn't how the action is meant to play out. Maybe you can make skill challenges to fight over treasure. Then they can be diplomatic, intimidate, sneaky, physical aggressive (Str checks) and so-on. Then let them take turns at picking items using the number of successes as "initiative".
However, the best option is to sit down and talk to your players.
If I were the fighter, this would be slightly different.
I would respond with, "I'm on your team. You should give it to me so that I'll be better able to keep you alive."
If the rogue still didn't agree, I'd follow up with, "If you don't want to play on my team I will make sure I never mark any opponent that is adjacent to you. If you end up dying, maybe we'll be able to pick up a different party member who is a little more friendly to his allies. Plus I'll get to loot your corpse."
Chaotic Neutral doesn't have to mean chaotic stupid. It is stupid to be a jerk towards other people who are willing to fight and die with you. If they want to get the treasure all to themselves, tell them to leave the party during the night and go on solo adventures (where they can all die one at a time).
jbear
First Post
Chaotic neutral??? I thought that alignment had disappeared in 4e... I thought thier was: not aligned, good, lawful good, evil and chaotic evil... so if their causing troubles based on their alignment and your playing 4e then you're within your rights to rule they are at most, not aligned/neutral and their bad behavior is their own not their characters.
Oblige them to read some sections of the PHB about how to be a good player.
Discourage greed with XP penalties for causing unnecessary tension at the game table which offends the dice god (you). Encourage genorisity or sensible distribution of wealth with XP at the end of a game session... the dice god smiles on you... 100xp. The dice od is offended by your childish behaviour -200xp.
You are in charge of the game and if your players are being idiots and ruining the fun then let them know that you want them to stop it and they will be punished time in time again in as many different ways as ou see fit (at the game table of course) until they see the error of their ways. Reward change in attitude.
As a DM I always try and be as fair as possible. I expect the same behaviour from my players. If they wont listen then they are inviting the same kind of behaviour from their DM.
Oblige them to read some sections of the PHB about how to be a good player.
Discourage greed with XP penalties for causing unnecessary tension at the game table which offends the dice god (you). Encourage genorisity or sensible distribution of wealth with XP at the end of a game session... the dice god smiles on you... 100xp. The dice od is offended by your childish behaviour -200xp.
You are in charge of the game and if your players are being idiots and ruining the fun then let them know that you want them to stop it and they will be punished time in time again in as many different ways as ou see fit (at the game table of course) until they see the error of their ways. Reward change in attitude.
As a DM I always try and be as fair as possible. I expect the same behaviour from my players. If they wont listen then they are inviting the same kind of behaviour from their DM.
RainOfSteel
Explorer
In the middle of a fight? What?
Player: "I stop to loot this corpse."
GM: "The Orc behind you splits your spine in half. Gimme your character sheet.'"
You need to put more lethal traps on your treasure chests. They'll figure out what to do eventually, even if they have to create a few new characters.
What is going on with this party? Opening a chest in a table top RPG isn't like opening a chest in World of Warcraft. Parties divide up loot equally later on, at least if they want to say together.
If your players are conducting direct conflicts with each other, then you, as GM, need to lay down the rules. "This is how this will be resolved." Whether you do that in consultation with your players is up to you, but you need to have this decided in advance.
Frankly, any party acting like this would get killed when facing any sort of signficant extended challenge as far as I am concerned.
It almost sounds like they're the sort to cut of their own heads after acquiring the Head of Vecna.
"The killing shall continue until play improves."
Wepwawet
Explorer
Ooooooh! I like this one!
You can also rule that while mid-battle looting, the PC is prone, and attacks against him are auto-crits.
Well, to the OT, I agree with those who suggested to use their own greed against them, in-game. Either to convince them that what they do is stupid, or just to create more roleplaying oportunities and FUN
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