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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nightcloak" data-source="post: 2163416" data-attributes="member: 23862">GM Notebook Essentials #6: Prices Lists (Part 2) - Food, Drinks, and Lodging!During the discussion on price lists, I mentioned that you should remove the price list for Food, Drinks, and Lodging and save it for later. Later is now. This little table is going to be a fun exercise in creative campaign development. Of course, you could just leave this list alone and move on. There is nothing wrong with that option.But trust me, you won’t regret taking it to the next level. I guarantee it.  First, paste the Food, Drinks, and Lodging table into a document. But more importantly, start adding extra rows immediately to each of the three parts. Your job is to add more to the list than the plain old beverages and sleeping accommodations listed. The idea is to add colorful and detailed items to the list for you players to use. Just as you wouldn’t develop a campaign with the only armor options being “poor”, “good”, and “excellent”, nor should you offer “good” wine or “excellent” sleeping accommodations. Part of a character feeling alive in the imaginations of everyone is the choice of weapons and armor. You have "Dashing rogues with rapiers versus thugs with clubs versus knights with massive two-handed swords versus barbarians with axes." That sounds interesting compared to: “Dashing rogues with good weapons versus thugs with poor weapons versus knights with good weapons versus barbarians with good weapons”. And of course, every player would only have a “good” weapon. Who in their right mind would pick a “poor” weapon unless the rules forced the issue? The same principle can apply to mundane services.Why am I spending all of this time for you to add some basic services to these mundane prices? Swords are great, but drinks? Well, I think this is a great way to enhance the flavor of the game. This is where you can add all kinds of new drinks and other services unique to your world. The best way to explain how much fun you can have with this is by an example. Lets assume an in-game moment: There is you (the DM), a player who has been playing in your game for a while, and a new player to your game:First Scenario: DM: “The waitress asks what you want to drink.”PC (long time player): “I’ll just take an ale.”PC (new to your game): “Yea. Me too.”Second Scenario:DM: “The waitress asks what you want to drink.”PC (long time player): “I’ll see if they have any Dwarven Hammer and Anvil.”PC (new to your game): “Hey! What’s that?”PC (long time player): “It’s a top dwarven dark stout ale. It gets its name from how you feel in the morning if you drink to much of it.”PC (new to your game): “How’s that.”PC (long time player): “You feel like there is a small army of dwarves in your room hammering your head like an anvil.”PC (new to your game): “Cool. I want one!”In the second example, the players are into your game and they are not even slicing anything open. For them, the game is unique and fun before they roll the dice. More importantly yet, they are into your game. They can’t go across the street or even to GenCon itself and have their characters order a “Dwarven Hammer and Anvil” or a “Blood Orc Brew”.So have fun and create some unique ale, wines, rums, meads, or any other drink you want. Racial drinks (Dark Elf Ale), regional drinks (Breeland Brew), and magical drinks (Sorcerers Stout) flesh out your game world wonderfully. New foods are great too and can add a lot of flavor. Unique lodging is harder but still good: “Hey, we just killed a dragon. I’m going to spoil myself and get the 'Kings Suite' in Capital City. In room bath, food service, pages to run errands, and free armor cleaning! It’s expensive, but I deserve it after that battle.” Maybe assassin vines in your world have seeds that make expensive but yummy nuts when dried (or berries that make an exotic wine!). Or dried basilisk meat makes a jerky that is far superior in taste to plain old rations. Who pays 50 gp for a bottle of apple juice? Probably your PCs when they learn that Woodshire Apple Juice made by the Halflings is so good and so full of nutrients that anyone who drinks a cup gets a +2 bonus to spot and listen checks for an hour.  Of course, all these unique items cost more in most cases. A nice way to: A) Unload extra gold from rich characters and B) Make the players feel good about their characters. A player may not spend his gold on things like an extra magic weapon “Just in case I need a cold iron weapon”, but most will offload their gold and brag how they could afford the Kings Suite for a month. If you play your cards right, certain items will develop a reputation (like the dwarven ale above). If your players associate Dark Elven Ale with shady taverns full of cutthroats (a hive of scum and villainy!) and Kobold Kettle with cheap dives, then your world is suddenly alive for you and the players. The price list of services is important to have. Placing it into your notebook will save you time and hassle. But open up that list to your world. Make it your own and bring your world alive. It will make that price list priceless.</blockquote>

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