D&D 5E What is a Social challenge, anyways?

[AbdulAlhazred]

It depends on what they can do with that money; save for 2e and 5e, you could turn money directly into power for characters!

You can't do a ton with it in 4e. I mean, yes, you can buy ritual components and enchant SOME items, but most of them are weak, and you can't make anything above your level, which is like 100% of the stuff you actually want. Still, it helps with rituals and consumables. Certainly won't even come close to really changing the balance of the game.

As for 2e, money is absolutely as useful there as it is in any other TSR D&D. You cannot buy magic items, but you couldn't do that in 1e either, and that never stopped anyone! 2e's item creation rules are much more open-ended than 1e's, so SOME GMs might bone you entirely on making stuff, but making items was not a really great option in either edition. Making potions and scrolls can be accomplished in either 1e or 2e however, and those are both decent options. Otherwise money is always power and buys you castles, armies, etc. I'd argue it is equally useful for 5e PCs, my Dwarf Wizard was constantly looking for cash to finance building his kingdom!

 

[James Gasik]

You can't do a ton with it in 4e. I mean, yes, you can buy ritual components and enchant SOME items, but most of them are weak, and you can't make anything above your level, which is like 100% of the stuff you actually want. Still, it helps with rituals and consumables. Certainly won't even come close to really changing the balance of the game.

As for 2e, money is absolutely as useful there as it is in any other TSR D&D. You cannot buy magic items, but you couldn't do that in 1e either, and that never stopped anyone! 2e's item creation rules are much more open-ended than 1e's, so SOME GMs might bone you entirely on making stuff, but making items was not a really great option in either edition. Making potions and scrolls can be accomplished in either 1e or 2e however, and those are both decent options. Otherwise money is always power and buys you castles, armies, etc. I'd argue it is equally useful for 5e PCs, my Dwarf Wizard was constantly looking for cash to finance building his kingdom!

Well in 1e, money = xp, which was something 2e got rid of. As for 4e, I have memories of buying magic items with money, like, I knew creating magic items was useless, but didn't all magic items have prices?

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Well in 1e, money = xp, which was something 2e got rid of. As for 4e, I have memories of buying magic items with money, like, I knew creating magic items was useless, but didn't all magic items have prices?

Meh, sort of. GMs give out XP for 'accomplishing things' basically, and 'getting treasure' is basically the main thing, so in practice its not really different. I mean, it is just a bit more flexible for the GM. You still WANT money. Items have a 'treasure value', you can sell them. 2e particularly pretty much says you can't buy them, normally. Its a bit more ambiguous in 1e.

 

[FrozenNorth]

Wow, every single person in Nairobi is doing it wrong, lol. Heck, every single person in the Middle East (sorry, I know, I'm not trying to stereotype people, just making a point) is doing it wrong! Get out more! Barter is exactly what you describe, you go to the vendor, you say "what? $1.00!!!!????" and the guy sizes you up, and if you are M'zungu in Nairobi he frowns and doesn't answer and you pay your $1.00, you rich dork. If you look like you might be from from Kibara, well go away you don't even have half a shilling. If you are maybe from the West Side, OK, 50 cents.

So you’re suggesting that if a PC goes up to a merchant, the merchant will not give him a discount for no reason, but will instead give him a discount based on what he perceives the PC is willing or able to pay?

Yes. That’s exactly the point.

Next, you’ll be telling me that generally speaking, merchants will only sell their wares at a profit, regardless of how high your Persuasion roll is, and that merchants are unlikely to give you a discount if no one else is able to supply the goods they are offering.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

So you’re suggesting that if a PC goes up to a merchant, the merchant will not give him a discount for no reason, but will instead give him a discount based on what he perceives the PC is willing or able to pay?

Yes. That’s exactly the point.

Next, you’ll be telling me that generally speaking, merchants will only sell their wares at a profit, regardless of how high your Persuasion roll is, and that merchants are unlikely to give you a discount if no one else is able to supply the goods they are offering.

I was reacting to the statement about haggling. Yes, merchants often (try to) charge what they perceive you will pay. They also need to make a profit, sure. Those things were not what I was reacting to.