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What *is* D&D? (mild movie spoilers)
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<blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 8981966" data-attributes="member: 18"><p>There was a lot more to buy and even save up for in pre-3E that wasn't magic items. You also had more overheads and they got actually engaged with more. Money could potentially have become meaningless by I never saw it actually happen in the decade I ran 2E.</p><p></p><p>As you say, 3E and 4E had economies based around magic items, though it's wild historical revisionism to suggest 3E tried to make Eberron the default setting. It didn't even come out until 2004 and no particular effort was made to drive people there. Further the brief that inspired it didn't actually require that, AFAIK - but Baker did an astonishing job of making a setting that fit 3E. The default setting, to the limited degree 3.XE had one, was, bizarrely, Greyhawk. Further if that was the intention one might have expected 4E to make Eberron the default, but it very much did not.</p><p></p><p>Re: "prefer" I'd say it's apples and oranges. Story based rewards are a separate thing. 5E has no real use for cash beyond level 1-3 or so is something unique to 5E because it's cut away everything previous editions used it for except spell components and even that's been reduced. That said introducing ways to blow cash is a common feature in 3PP products and individual DMs often do things like reintroduce purchasable magic items and so on.</p><p></p><p>Part of it is simply a change of what D&D is about. In early editions, getting rich and powerful was a major focus, in line with the aspirations (often not met) of Sword and Sorcery characters. Whereas today most parties are more straightforwardly heroic, sort of pretending to be acquisitive, but generally more focused on doing good. This is reflected in the recent movie. I don't think the current situation will be the final position of D&D, either.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ruin Explorer, post: 8981966, member: 18"] There was a lot more to buy and even save up for in pre-3E that wasn't magic items. You also had more overheads and they got actually engaged with more. Money could potentially have become meaningless by I never saw it actually happen in the decade I ran 2E. As you say, 3E and 4E had economies based around magic items, though it's wild historical revisionism to suggest 3E tried to make Eberron the default setting. It didn't even come out until 2004 and no particular effort was made to drive people there. Further the brief that inspired it didn't actually require that, AFAIK - but Baker did an astonishing job of making a setting that fit 3E. The default setting, to the limited degree 3.XE had one, was, bizarrely, Greyhawk. Further if that was the intention one might have expected 4E to make Eberron the default, but it very much did not. Re: "prefer" I'd say it's apples and oranges. Story based rewards are a separate thing. 5E has no real use for cash beyond level 1-3 or so is something unique to 5E because it's cut away everything previous editions used it for except spell components and even that's been reduced. That said introducing ways to blow cash is a common feature in 3PP products and individual DMs often do things like reintroduce purchasable magic items and so on. Part of it is simply a change of what D&D is about. In early editions, getting rich and powerful was a major focus, in line with the aspirations (often not met) of Sword and Sorcery characters. Whereas today most parties are more straightforwardly heroic, sort of pretending to be acquisitive, but generally more focused on doing good. This is reflected in the recent movie. I don't think the current situation will be the final position of D&D, either. [/QUOTE]
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