The Treasure of Treasures - and the Richness thereof

[Jack7]

This is an idea, along with Monsters and Magic and Miracles that interests me greatly in fantasy games and in D&D.

How should treasure be handled in 5th Edition?

What should it consist of, what exactly is treasure, is it the same as money (sometimes, always), how should it be exchanged, should some treasure be entirely unique, should it be ubiquitous and part of the general economy or so valuable it lies outside the normal economy or forms a part of an entirely different economy?

Should magical or miraculous treasure be more important or valuable than other kinds of treasure, or does it just depend? What would you classify as treasure, and what as not?

How does one create treasure, assess it, employ or use it? Spend it, invest it, or increase it's value?

How would you handle treasure in 5th Edition?

What say you? Give your own opinions, though of course you're not limited to the questions I asked.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I want to see non random customized treasure, I want wish lists to still be suggested, and I want to see items more like 2e..

 

[ferratus]

Magic items have to go back to 2e, and obligations have to come back so PC's have something to spend money on (strongholds, upkeep, politics, etc).

I would have magic items be handed out at a rate of 1 per dungeon/level. I'm tired of PC's being bored by magic items because they get 3-4 per level. The more magic items you give PC's the less interested they are in each individual item.

I think I prefer to have a relatively realistic prices for goods and services. I would also probably reduce the amount of treasure given out, so that PC's generally only become wealthy around level 10 or so.

 

[Wormwood]

I want to see non random customized treasure, I want wish lists to still be suggested, and I want to see items more like 2e..

Even as a 4e fanboy, I admit to missing the 2e days when magic items were weird and (most importantly) not necessary to make the characters work.

That's not to say I want to see another multi-volume set of magic item books. Awesome as they were.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I want treasure to be in the hands of the DM's. Player wish lists are fine. I like to know what sorts of items my players want, but that doesn't mean that they will find those items, and nothing but those items in the next dungeon. Treasure shouldn't be a case of players crossing items off their shopping list.

I would also like to see a move away from characters needing a certain amount of wealth per level. It becomes yet another thing I need to keep track of as DM and it also means that the players are lit up like Christmas trees by the time they hit double figures in levels.

In my 3.5E Shackled City campaign that just finished the players ended up selling off a Holy Avenger without anyone ever using it! The party did not have a Cleric or a Paladin in the party, so the character classes the sword was designed for were not there, but still!

The party also had a whole heap of magical items that they sold off simply because they had filled all their items slots with better items and had no need for "lesser" items like Rings of Resistance +2.

Yes, I could have dropped the level of treasure back a few notches, but that would have meant that:

- the opposition would have been easier to defeat (due to lower attacks and defences with less magic).
- the players may have had difficulty taking on some of the more difficult encounters since the game design assumes the players will have a certain level of magical wealth.
- the players would have wondered why everyone they faced was suddenly struggling to rub 2 copper pieces together.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Oh, and I love the 3.5E Magic Item Compendium. It is one of my favourite 3.xE books. Don't get me wrong, I love magic items. I just want to see the number of items the PC's have dialed back a bit.

Olaf the Stout

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Let me expand on what I said.

I want wishlist not shoping lists, and not must haves.

I also think the common/uncommon/rare/artafact idea could work if put in from the begining.

COmmon items: implements that have encounter powers based on at wills and properties that augment said at will (ex wand of magic missle), basic weapons and armor. Scrolls, potions, alchomey, and one time use items.
these PCs can make, buy and sell...

then uncommon and rare based on old 2e items.


I also want DMG to have advice on customizing items for the PCs

 

[Tehnai]

I want gold to spend on wenching! Like the good old days!

11 years-old me, I still remember!

 

[Jack7]

I think I agree with all of you who are speaking of the rarity of magical items.

I didn't start this thread to speak about magical items per se, but I knew it would be addressed.

Personally I think I would substitute very unusual and valuable, but not necessarily magical in any way,"treasure" for numerous or ubiquitous magical items.

Magical items would of course, be a type of treasure, but it would be far from the only kind.

Money I would consider coinage or paper of whatever form it took for normal and everyday purposes of exchange.

Treasure to me would be rare or unique items, ancient coins (no longer in general use but very valuable), historically valuable artifacts, well crafted or precious artifacts, legacies, heirlooms, gemstones, well crafted jewelry, estates, titles, lands, keeps, inheritances, social or class standing, or just about anything else (aside just from money) that was rare, exquisitely crafted, or had some great value above and beyond it's mere monetary value. That is to say that Treasure would have a monetary value, but it would have value well in excess of money.

Weal though, and I'm adapting this term for this particular meaning (and one could use any term they desired) would be any item that was enchanted, or miraculous, magical, or of special purpose, such as; magical items, devices, or artefacts, or miraculous things, such as relics and powerful tokens.

Therefore to me there would be basically three types of treasure; Money, Treasure, and Weal. But none of these would have to be limited to my ideas.


I never played 2E. What were those magical items like to you guys? I did play AD&D. Were they like that, or were they improved or developed differently in some way?

 

[ferratus]

The Magic items in 2e are pretty much the same as 1e. A paragraph of text that tells you what the item does, usually with its own rule. A lot of items were unbalanced, some were useless, and some were just odd but it was never about boosting an ability you could already do in a level appropriate restraints.