Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Runesong42" data-source="post: 2212912" data-attributes="member: 10578">One easy solution would be to stop giving gold and items as rewards. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  There are many other ways to reward PC's for quests: land, titles, feats, skills, fame, recognition, NPC information, NPC cohorts/followers... one of my characters was "rewarded" with a bride, another was rewarded with a teacher to teach him a "free" feat.I mean, there's nothing *wrong* with PC's only motivation being gold and items; many 'good' characters ply their teade for gold.  But what if the PC's run out of things to do?  If they keep turning down adventure after adventure for lack of obvious rewards, start playing up OTHER NPC parties who reap their own rewards.Example: The call is set out for people to help colonize and develop a small barony by clearing out a few kobold tribes.  The local lord commands the respect of all his followers and peoples, and many are willing to do it out of loyalty.  The PC's strut up and ask "what's in it for us?"  The captain of the guards sneers and tells them that a house will be provided for each of the families that helps out.  The PC's, not smelling gold, say 'forget it' and move on.  Later, the PC's hear about the new village through the local grapevine.  Turns out that one of the kobold tribes had a map to some sort of stash.  Some of the town guards followed the map and discovered a natural deposit of gems.  They brought the information back to the lord, who was so grateful, he let them keep 5000 gp worth of gems.  The warriors split the take between themselves, and are now called upon by the local lord on a regular basis as a "crack troop" of explorers.  Heck, maybe they even gain PC levels as a result.  Now the troop hunts monsters and treasure on a regular basis, AND earns a regular salary for doing so under the employ of the lord.Meanwhile, the PC's are kicking themselves for ignoring such an obvious adventure hook.All that aside, though, seems that there are very few deities that would simply bring someone back to life just for dying a hero's death.  If the dying hero wasn't a regular worshipper of said deity, the deity would be less than insipred to reurn him to life... unless... the deity had specific plans for said hero.  Depending on your game world, any deity that has Sacrifice in their dominion would work, as would Justice, or perhaps some other Warrior-God type.  In order for your PC's to self-sacrifice, they must be in a position of self-sacrifice... I would pick one of the players and pull him aside, inform him that there will be special rewards for being a hero... and then see if he bites.  Remember, you're asking your player to deliberately kill off their PC to make a point, so make the reward good. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />One great idea for fallen heroes can be taken from the old 1st ed. Oriental Adventures.  I forget exactly how it worked, but if your PC died and had a lot of honour points, the next character the player made would have bonuses to their stats and a better chance of starting with more wealth.  Sounds like this might very well be what you could start having your players aspire to.  Acquire "hero points" for good deeds/actions, and in the next life, their next PC gets all sorts of goodies.  Or, even have it affect them in their present PC life; people with high honour are more often approached by important NPCs for help and advice, others welcome them into inns and buy them drinks, and as they gain power and infuence, they start generating an income.Well, to sum up:- Rewards don't always have to be "here's the stuff you get for doing something".- If players won't fall for stories without cash or items as payment, make others do so.- Reward heroes for being heroic, in this life and the next.</blockquote>

Verification