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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 5505290" data-attributes="member: 3424">As long as the anticipation is there, does it matter what is the source?This is a fair point, but there is still one problem with reward by challenge: the implausibility of attaching material rewards to all challenges. One of the implied assumptions of the game was that encounters with certain types of creatures, such as animals, should not be as rewarding as encounters with others, such as dragons. This philosophy led to the various treasure types in the earlier editions of the game, and the notation of which creatures had more or less than standard treasure in 3e. In a more sandbox game, choosing to fight encounters that are potentially more rewarding was part of the challenge of the game. In a more scripted game, the DM needs to ensure that he has one or two encounters with no treasure for every one with double or triple standard treasure in his adventure, or otherwise work around it by (for example) having patrons who offer the PCs rewards for killing creatures that have no treasure. And frankly, in a roundabout way, this is starting to look like wealth by level again: by the time the PCs reach level X, the reward by challenge guidelines will ensure (assuming standard rates of equipment loss and consumption) that they have accumulated Y gp worth of equipment.The 4E treasure parcel system is yet another incarnation of the wealth by level guideline. However, instead of focusing on the end result, it focuses on the &quot;income&quot; that a PC is supposed to &quot;earn&quot; while moving from one level to the next. You can even consider it a composite form of reward by challenge: whenever the PCs complete the composite &quot;challenge&quot; of gaining a level, they get the &quot;reward&quot; of the standard treasure parcels.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 5505290, member: 3424"] As long as the anticipation is there, does it matter what is the source? This is a fair point, but there is still one problem with reward by challenge: the implausibility of attaching material rewards to all challenges. One of the implied assumptions of the game was that encounters with certain types of creatures, such as animals, should not be as rewarding as encounters with others, such as dragons. This philosophy led to the various treasure types in the earlier editions of the game, and the notation of which creatures had more or less than standard treasure in 3e. In a more sandbox game, choosing to fight encounters that are potentially more rewarding was part of the challenge of the game. In a more scripted game, the DM needs to ensure that he has one or two encounters with no treasure for every one with double or triple standard treasure in his adventure, or otherwise work around it by (for example) having patrons who offer the PCs rewards for killing creatures that have no treasure. And frankly, in a roundabout way, this is starting to look like wealth by level again: by the time the PCs reach level X, the reward by challenge guidelines will ensure (assuming standard rates of equipment loss and consumption) that they have accumulated Y gp worth of equipment. The 4E treasure parcel system is yet another incarnation of the wealth by level guideline. However, instead of focusing on the end result, it focuses on the "income" that a PC is supposed to "earn" while moving from one level to the next. You can even consider it a composite form of reward by challenge: whenever the PCs complete the composite "challenge" of gaining a level, they get the "reward" of the standard treasure parcels. [/QUOTE]

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