MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
Thank you, lots of food for thought, but I'm not sure I think it is pointless.
That won't be an issue. This is not a typical 5e campaign. It is Rappan Athuk, there is tons of treasure. XP is awarded for gold taken out of the dungeon and treasure taken out of the dungeon and converted to gold. But why all the gold? Well, I want an old-school-inspired sub-game for downtime. I plan on using a mix of rivals, allies, strongholds, etc. Characters seek fortune and fame in the mega-dungeon and use it to fund their interests outside of it.
Magic items will be hard to come by in the campaign. The main source of magic will be the dungeon. I'll use magic buying and crafting rules for more common magic items, especially for consumables like healing potions. As the campaign proceeds, I'll revisit whether more rare magic items can be bought or made by the players.
Yes, having skill checks involved in leveling up means some characters will have to take more time and pay more to level up than others. This is something I'll need to run past the players. If they don't like it, I won't use it. But the system laid out in the EN5ider article I cited also has a "perk" and "mojo" mechanics. I like the idea of potential "perks" for doing well with training, it fits will with renown and the XGE rival mechanics for downtime.
Well, it isn't that I don't want to spend time on it. I want to have these downtime activities be part of the game and I would like time and cost for getting levels to be part of that. But I don't want it to be overly complicated. Increasing the cost doesn't make the system more complicated, but it provides an additional financial motivator and gives another thing to spend gold on.
As I've said the players have bought into the concept at the high level. Of course, before session zero even, I will discuss the particulars with the players. But this is a very different style of D&D play than I've seen recently in my area. This will NOT be a game for players who think that downtime activities are just boring bookkeeping or players who hate resource management. Encumbrance will be tracked for example. I'm even thinking of doing away with allowing the use of a focus rather than components. Yes, these are made optional because most players don't want to bother with it. But they are still in the rules because some players still enjoy this style of play.
Partly. But it is also largely to provide another drain on wealth. Another way to give gold mechanical weight.
For many players, this is the case. Who track encumberance any more? Who tracks components? Who builds strongholds? Well some of us want to. That's why there are still rules for it, why digital character sheets support it, and why Matt Coleville's Kickstarter was such a success.
I don't need a story hook. There is a big-ass dungeon. We are going start on the caravan to the village outside one of the known entrances to it and spending the next year exploring it for wealth and glory.
It is a tax. I know it sounds strange, but that is part of the fun. This will be a taxing campaign in more ways than one, including dealing with in-game tax collectors.
Because the cost and time for training will be combined with complications and perks, which will have tie-ins with villains and renown mechanics, I think it does give some flavor, immerses them more in the world, and give a reason for the gold. It greats a sub-system and a way to interact with and discuss the game between sessions. We meet once a month for 8 hours. Between those sessions, we can deal with the downtime activities. It makes downtime a kind of play-by-post sub-game.
That won't be an issue. This is not a typical 5e campaign. It is Rappan Athuk, there is tons of treasure. XP is awarded for gold taken out of the dungeon and treasure taken out of the dungeon and converted to gold. But why all the gold? Well, I want an old-school-inspired sub-game for downtime. I plan on using a mix of rivals, allies, strongholds, etc. Characters seek fortune and fame in the mega-dungeon and use it to fund their interests outside of it.
Magic items will be hard to come by in the campaign. The main source of magic will be the dungeon. I'll use magic buying and crafting rules for more common magic items, especially for consumables like healing potions. As the campaign proceeds, I'll revisit whether more rare magic items can be bought or made by the players.
Yes, having skill checks involved in leveling up means some characters will have to take more time and pay more to level up than others. This is something I'll need to run past the players. If they don't like it, I won't use it. But the system laid out in the EN5ider article I cited also has a "perk" and "mojo" mechanics. I like the idea of potential "perks" for doing well with training, it fits will with renown and the XGE rival mechanics for downtime.
Well, it isn't that I don't want to spend time on it. I want to have these downtime activities be part of the game and I would like time and cost for getting levels to be part of that. But I don't want it to be overly complicated. Increasing the cost doesn't make the system more complicated, but it provides an additional financial motivator and gives another thing to spend gold on.
As I've said the players have bought into the concept at the high level. Of course, before session zero even, I will discuss the particulars with the players. But this is a very different style of D&D play than I've seen recently in my area. This will NOT be a game for players who think that downtime activities are just boring bookkeeping or players who hate resource management. Encumbrance will be tracked for example. I'm even thinking of doing away with allowing the use of a focus rather than components. Yes, these are made optional because most players don't want to bother with it. But they are still in the rules because some players still enjoy this style of play.
Partly. But it is also largely to provide another drain on wealth. Another way to give gold mechanical weight.
But as you say, if you need to spend too much time at the table (but keep in mind also that some bookkeping requires time between sessions) then it becomes more annoying than fun. This happens to a lot of gaming groups when the DM thinks it's a good idea to keep more track of something... more realism should be more fun, right? Only, this can become as fun as paying your school tuition fees
For many players, this is the case. Who track encumberance any more? Who tracks components? Who builds strongholds? Well some of us want to. That's why there are still rules for it, why digital character sheets support it, and why Matt Coleville's Kickstarter was such a success.
I don't need a story hook. There is a big-ass dungeon. We are going start on the caravan to the village outside one of the known entrances to it and spending the next year exploring it for wealth and glory.
It is a tax. I know it sounds strange, but that is part of the fun. This will be a taxing campaign in more ways than one, including dealing with in-game tax collectors.
Because the cost and time for training will be combined with complications and perks, which will have tie-ins with villains and renown mechanics, I think it does give some flavor, immerses them more in the world, and give a reason for the gold. It greats a sub-system and a way to interact with and discuss the game between sessions. We meet once a month for 8 hours. Between those sessions, we can deal with the downtime activities. It makes downtime a kind of play-by-post sub-game.
