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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carpe DM" data-source="post: 1760624" data-attributes="member: 677">I've been thinking recently about world design in terms of scarcity.  This is one area that a GM influences greatly, but the rules have no particular take on.  Scarcity has, I think, an immense impact on characters.  Characters with access to customized equipment play a different game than those who have to make do with equipment they find or make.There are two approaches: enforced scarcity and natural scarcity.  My thesis is that because GMs do not use the tools of natural scarcity, they damage their campaign worlds and their games by using enforced scarcity.Enforced scarcity:  Artificially lowering treasure amounts; artificially restricting what magical items can be made with what feats.Natural scarcity:  1. enforcing (little used) gold-piece caps on communities; 2. using true random treasure generation (and not placing that +2 greatsword there just because you *know* the party would love to have it); 3. restricting NPC item generation (how many PCs do you know that sit around and manufacture magical items for sale to NPCs?);  4. (question here) -- 3.5 doesn't permit collaboration in item creation anymore, does it?  This would drastically reduce the number of items (and make some items impossible, I think).Thoughts?Carpe</blockquote>