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Post by paulhodgson777 on Jun 30, 2016 15:05:27 GMT
Hi all,
So, I'm running a game where Tiamat wasn't defeated at the end of the HotDQ/RoT campaign. Instead of dying in the fight against Tiamat, the party chose to jump through the portal she was coming through.
They are now in a sort of "hell", a world where Tiamat has taken complete control. The land is a destroyed version of the Sword Coast and dragons, half-dragons and dragonborn are the supreme leaders.
This world is a splinter realm, a moment frozen in time where Tiamat has won. I'm planning for them to encounter Tiamat again, and hopefully defeat her this time. The tough choice I'm still trying to work out is when they defeat Tiamat they need to decide which world they will stay in. Hopefully they will have built some relationships and loyalty to these people, or will they want to return home?
Anyways, to the point. There is no currency, as in the events of Rise of Tiamat campaign much of the wealth of the Sword Coast was sacrificed to bring Tiamat into the mortal realm. So it is a barter society, I've tried to highlight it by having children playing in the streets with rubies and gold coins, etc.
I had a wandering historian trying to get the party to investigate what killed his guards. And halfway through the encounter I suddenly realised he had nothing to offer the party as a reward. I had to offer some vague promise of his influence in the capital city.
SO, in a society where the traditional reward of treasure isn't available, what can you offer heroes as rewards?
I've used a bit of the usual stuff like accommodation at the local inn and food for a few days. They are level 13 now so they are quite capable.
Any other interesting ideas you can think of?
Thanks!
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Post by lasersniper on Jun 30, 2016 22:03:36 GMT
Favors of course are a must but obvious. What you could do, if you want to keep the influence in the capital bit, is use a currency that is based around influence. Lets call them Will Waivers. People of power and position give personalized waivers as payment, and in turn the waivers can be turned in to the person labeled on the waiver for a favor, or traded for goods to other people who want the favor.
Of course the system is nebulous and nonbinding beyond the reputation and word of the person giving them out, thus Will Waivers from less reputable people, or random joes off the street, are not worth anything. Markings on the waiver could also indicate why the waiver was given, and how much good will or how big a favor is warranted to be given.
Some people might not even use them for favors, rather turn them in to the writer of the waiver as an offering or a sign of good will. Essentially saying, you remember that task you had done for one of these? Well here I am telling you you basically got that done for free and you don't have to worry about this being out there anymore.
Of course people can refuse the favors asked, but unless the things asked are stupid, like end your own life or give me everything you have, then their reputation, power, and authority would drop. As well as the value of all future & past waivers.
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Post by DM Stretch on Jul 1, 2016 2:36:15 GMT
Land and titles could be a compelling motivator. They could also be given followers such as their own private knighthood! Nothing says "I'm important" like an entourage!
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Post by joatmoniac on Jul 3, 2016 7:11:27 GMT
Replacing currency is no small task. For the barter system you could to knowledge being power. If they help the local nobleman with a task maybe that nobleman in turn will divulge secrets about the going ons of other nobles, in turn giving the PC's a bonus to Knowledge (Nobility) moving forward. In some ways that example works better than gold once gold becomes meaningless at higher levels. High end mundane items is another way to go, helping potions, alchemist fire, etc. The favor idea could work well unless you have the types of players that never use inspiration as they are always waiting for the best moment to do so. Awesome plot btw, and hope they can kick Tiamat to the curb in round 2!
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Post by Lexurium on Jul 11, 2016 10:35:34 GMT
I agree with DM Stretch and joatmoniac. Mainly its a concern with the barter-system.
Look at it this way. Everyone has something to offer in a barter-based society. Instead of gold and gems that previously held a value of their own, now the historian pays with services. For example, the historian possess lore and knowledge of the new realm, and doing favors for the historian will not only gain the party his good will and a new friend, but also easy access to information. Even if the historian himself does not know the answer to a question the party has, he surely has a friend who does. In a society that barters, owing somebody a favor is rather massive.
For a more mundane answer, trade-goods is always a good option. A mercantile society requires gold or currency to function, a barter society does not. Instead of giving the players a 100 gold, or whatever, to clear the goblins from the nearby caves, have the village offer the party the magical bow they have possessed for several generations. Or offer to house and feed them as a matter of payment.
As DM Stretch magnificently pointed out, land and titles are an excellent motivator and also serves to tie your PCs to the world. Got a keep? Well you need to feed your guards somehow. Time to rescue that village and may them pay you with wheat. For more detail it could be good to take a look at how medieval Europe handled things, you know, that entire food-for-protection-thing and the usage of serfs.
I personally don't like the use of Will Waivers as that is more or less a straight up replacement of money, especially paper money. If you think about it there is no difference between a Will Waiver and a 20$-bill. Someone promises that the waiver is worth something, and that promise is what holds value. The credibility of the promise giver is what gives one bill more worth than another bill. But now we're getting into international economics and this seems besides the point.
Anyway, to conclude:
To effectively barter, make sure items themselves still have value and remove the concept of shops from the world. They now serve little to no purpose. And don't underplay the importance of land and interpersonal connections to NPCs.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 17:28:15 GMT
Remember that some forms of wealth have uses beyond their monetary value. Gems are often used as spell material components; silver can be used for weapons to overcome some damage resistance. In fact, players will probably be more willing to burn wealth for such purposes since they've got nothing to spend it on.
A bag of diamonds might not be worth a hill of beans to a commoner, but it could be a hundred applications of stone skin or a dozen raise deads in the hands of a spell caster.
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Post by swordnut on Jul 22, 2016 10:50:01 GMT
What does money get you? Insert those things instead of currency. "Power" is a bit too nebulous
Stuff and things
Sex
Followers/retainers
Favors/services
Political Influence
Social Influence
Land/Property
Exemption from laws/justice
Access to resources/knowledge/intel
Personal leverage over friends/family
Goodwill
Fame
Direct Authority over groups or activities
Official government posts
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Post by Ulf_Beorstruk on Sept 25, 2016 5:49:32 GMT
Status symbols. Even if they come with no mechanical benefit, my players will always go crazy over status symbols.
A sword with a damascused blade and inlaid rubies, identical in function to a plain sword but special to them.
A beautifully carved cloak pin.
The biggest hat.
Etc
Most players want their characters to feel unique and special, and you can use props to help that along. Also, you can occasionally throw them a bone when an NPC is particularly impressed by one of these status symbols and give them advantage on a roll. Not all the time, its not magic, but just once in a while to remind them that you remember they've got something special, and the world around them recognizes it as such.
This is made especially easy if they have an established base of operations. Furniture, decorations, props galore.
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