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Post by insightfulhedgehog on Mar 23, 2015 14:11:58 GMT
I have always felt that ine of the hardest things for a DM about a dungeon crawl is coming up with loot that is not overpowered but still helpful to the players. This problem isn't really a huge one because I've always managed to come up with something but I figured that I'm unlikely the only one who has this so I figured I'd see how other people went about it and so forth. I'm especially interested in low level loot thoughts. Also, what are thoughts on straight gold vs. gems ect. That can be sold for gold but have little other use?
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Post by friartook on Mar 23, 2015 14:52:32 GMT
I'm a minimalist when it comes to loot. I keep my PC's really poor until high levels. I feel it gives motivation for adventure and tension in populated areas.
I also try to keep things realistic and contextual to the campaign setting. If there's a chest at the end of a dungeon I'll ask myself: What would be in such a chest? Who built this dungeon? Who has inhabited it since? How old is it? Has it remained undiscovered for centuries, or is it a known and explored complex where the chest may have been looted in the past? This is where the answer to the gold vs. gems debate would happen. If the PCs are raiding a bandit hideout, the loot would likely be jewelry and gold looted from rich folks, or perhaps valuable consumer goods such as rare woods or antiques/artwork. If the dungeon is an abandoned mine, perhaps they would find a chest full of raw uncut gemstones or precious ores.
I like to distribute loot as cool items, relics found or gifted to the PCs. Perhaps they have to fight an enemy that is in possession of a powerful magic sword. If they defeat the enemy, they can grab the sword, but first they have to face the sword's power. That sort of thing. I really like to give out cool magic items that either level up in power with their user, are interesting but not very powerful, or create a big challenge to gain a magic item.
Another option is to use the random loot tables in the DMG (assuming D&D 5e here). There are tables in there for determining random loot by dungeon level or encounter difficulty.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2015 18:54:44 GMT
Thinking back on the games I've run, most of the cash loot at early levels has been acquired by service work. The party is getting paid to do something, or receives a reward for good deeds done. Any cash acquired in pursuit of these objectives is incidental, and rarely exceeds the quest reward. A boss type enemy might carry a utility magic item, or the quest giver might include one as part of their reward, but weapons and armor don't usually appear til later.
I don't like to plan ahead too far, in terms of rewards. I think it's important to consider the PCs' performance and needs in the previous session(s) before deciding they get a boost in the next. Still, I anticipate each character in my 5e campaign will acquire either an enchanted weapon or suit of armor between level 4 and 6, and a second by level 10.
Also, mundane armor is one of the most expensive pieces of gear at low levels. I think it's a good guideline to provide the means to acquire the next suit of armor (chain->split, scale->breast plate) within the first two or three sessions, either by looting it off a defeated enemy, or doling out enough cash to purchase it. In my campaign, we only have one heavy armor user, wearing chainmail. If the players pool their resources, they could conceivably buy him a set of plate armor at the end of the next adventure. If not, he'll still be able to buy splint armor on his own.
If you're running 5e, you can also use the Starting Equipment table in the DMG p.38 as a rough guideline to predict what characters 'ought to acquire' at milestones in their adventuring career. The table is meant for starting a character at a higher level, not for what he could discover if he's been actively played from level 1 to level X. FWIW, I think the suggestions there are rather stingy.
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Post by insightfulhedgehog on Mar 23, 2015 19:42:43 GMT
Thanks, I was just curious how other people approched it. It seems like approching it logically is the best way to go but since you mentioned it I might try a sample roll of the random tables and see if I like doing it that way or not.
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Post by insightfulhedgehog on Mar 23, 2015 19:45:34 GMT
Just saw the second reply. I really like the armor advice and the scaling of magic items by levels. Definitely going to look at implementing something similar in my current campaign. Thanks.
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 23, 2015 20:08:01 GMT
The Critical Hit podcast does the level up of items as you level up really well. One character was teeming with magic and would essentially create magic items to get rid of the pent of magic he had inside himself. Another was that the armor of a character was given to him by a tech based group, and it would level up with him through some training montages. The other method was to have notable NPCs give them items in a compelling way.
I also really enjoy utilizing the random loot tables. I often use them to help set up premade treasures, and adjust the treasure if it's too much, or too little, or just doesn't make sense. There are times though I have had the players roll during the session and I check the tables to see what they get. I would definitely lean towards less magic than more, or really just keeping a tight reign on the amount of magic that the players have. The more they have the more they can do which can have a few adverse effects: the turns could take much longer as a player sifts through their bag each round to find the magic item that would work best, and the other is the arms race that occurs between each side of the screen.
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Post by insightfulhedgehog on Mar 23, 2015 20:55:32 GMT
Yes I have been a player in an arms race situation which has always made me cautious about giving players magic. I used to have them occasionally find a chest at the end of a dungeon with some magic item suited for each player. However, recently I have begun having them find them one at a time instead of all at once. They at first get annoyed though when they are not the one to get one but it seems to be a better system overall.
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