Treasure Distribution in Multi-Character Campaign

[eamon]

Parties with less treasure will be weaker than those with treasure. But you know... you can easily adapt the encounters to fit that.

As to inherent bonuses: well, it's nice the CB includes them, but I'm less than thrilled with the way they're implemented; they don't scale smoothly (at all) e.g. the attack/damage bonuses sometimes coincide with 1/2 level bonuses, resulting in a sudden jump in effectiveness, followed (inevitably) by several levels of stagnation; particularly in paragon where powers get retrained rather than added - so that some levels virtually nothing changes at all. They don't really "fix" masterwork armor either; which I'd have loved to see included as well, so they're really minimalistic, IMHO. It's a real anticlimax when someone levels and the only thing that changes is some minor HP boost; and without items, leveling is even more relevant.

Inherent bonuses (aside: they haven't been called that since 3e, have they? DMG2 calls em "alternative rewards") work and are very simple - but I think the normal treasure rules are still more fun.

 

[Obryn]

Inherent bonuses (aside: they haven't been called that since 3e, have they? DMG2 calls em "alternative rewards") work and are very simple - but I think the normal treasure rules are still more fun.

Yeah, they are called Inherent Bonuses, still, both in the rules and in the Character Builder.

The fun of treasure is really up to your game and its style... I wish there were a simple-to-bookkeep way to give players options spread over some levels, so that you could split out Attack/Damage, AC, and NAD, and pick what order you get them in.

About the biggest word of warning I can think of is this: If you're still going to be giving out magic weapons, armor, and implements, figure out for yourself how they interact. It seems simple - I mean, by stacking rules your highest enchantment operates. But in practice it gets a bit weird.

For example, an Avalanche Hammer... When you get to Level 7, what happens? Its main perk - an extra [W] on a charge - is potent, and doesn't change from Level 4 to Level 9. Does the player now have the equivalent of a +2 Avalanche Hammer for all purposes, or does he still have to use the Hammer's own +1 bonus when he wants to use its properties? Can he pick between a 1d10+prone crit, or does he have to use the new 2d6 crit?

There is no consensus among various rules forae, near as I can tell, and the most common advice I got was, "Well, don't give those out then." Anyway, just be aware of the potential confusion.

-O

 

[eamon]

The fun of treasure is really up to your game and its style... I wish there were a simple-to-bookkeep way to give players options spread over some levels, so that you could split out Attack/Damage, AC, and NAD, and pick what order you get them in.

That would be great - as would be any other houseruling support; the more the better.

 

[KanedaX321]

Thanks to everyone for the assist! The inherent bonuses idea was a great one. I only have access to what is written in DMG2, not Dark Sun, and in the end I think I'm going to go with an amalgamation of that and treasure parcels, handing out treasures as regularly in each level, but giving inherent abilities to everyone. That way, the parcels will be there as a "reward" for those who attend each session, and tailored towards them, while the inherent abilities are there to keep the others on track. I might add a few monetary parcels in there, as well, just to make sure the pot's thick enough for everyone.

If it overpowers everyone, which it might, I'll just boost the encounter levels. That may level everyone else up faster, but I'm fine with that so long as it keeps the story moving (and may especially get them into epic & paragon-level storylines sooner rather than later).