Adventuring Party

Next game, I'm interested in all of us creating at least one character for a themed adventuring party. For example maybe we are all a single race, or all of us arcane magic users. My favorite would be if we all worship the same deity.

Henchmen

Can we create another henchman deck within certain perameters? Will there be zero-level folks who are always getting off the boat on the island we can call on? Will there be NPC specialists that actually operate in town that we can hire? Or will we actually take the time to make a few 1st-3rd level NPCs that we can bring aboard to help our merry band of rat catchers? Let's discuss!

EXPERIENCE LEVELS AND ADVANCEMENT

EXPERIENCE AND ADVANCEMENT:

 

After our discussion the other night, I came up with this proposal.

 

From levels 2-6, it requires 5 Grampius points to advance a level.  To reach levels 7 and above, it should take 10 Grampius points per level.

 

• You get 1 Grampius point if you participate (and survive) the session.

• You get 1 Grampius point if your character gets 500gp in found treasure or more back to your HQ.   This does not include the value of any magic items or useful tools/weapons/armor.
   
• You get 1 Grampius point if your team has undertaken a mission for a patron and have successfully completed that mission.   Rewards paid by the patron do not count toward the found treasure total.
   

It should be possible, but rare, to get 3 Grampius points.   Most sessions should involve EITHER going on a self-motivated treasure hunt, OR going on a patron mission. 

 

The scheme requires that 1000gp per player maximum in placed treasure be in effect, and that the DM hides and/or traps a significant portion of treasures in Tomb-Raiding scenarios.  

 

It also assumes that most monsters don’t carry a lot of treasure with them outside their lairs.

Campagin Economy: some first ideas

I'm putting together some ideas about how the game economy might work.  The first two work together on the same scale.

1--FLAT TREASURE IDEA:   I think that to create a workable economy, it might be a good idea to do away with the scaling treasure hoard with level process.    A lot of money at first level should be a lot of money at high level.   Perhaps work on the idea that the maximum treasure allowed to be given out in one session is about 1000gp per PC.  Much of the time, it might be far, far less. What higher level monsters will have in their treasure hoards will be supercool magic items, rather than bigger piles of coin. 

            This makes some common big expenses:   Healing Potions 50gp,  Identify Magic Item (at least) 100gp,  Raise Dead (at least) 500gp, Suit of Plate Armor: 1500gp,  all significant expenses, and requires balancing of spending and savings with living expenses (see below).

           We should make it very difficult to sell magic items for cash (beyond a few hundred coins).   Maybe, arrange a swap for land or ships or other high value objects, but let's just imagine that there just aren't 10's of thousands of coins lying around anywhere.

           A Flat Treasure System would mean we could make a deck of treasure at first level, and then just add coin and jewelry items to it on a fixed schedule, and then better magic item cards to it as levels progress, rather than re-configuring everything fixed to level.

 

2--LIVING EXPENSES:  The living expenses in the PHB are as follows:

 

Level                                                   Price per DAY

Wretched                                            ----

Squalid                                                1 sp

Poor                                                    2sp

Modest                                                1gp

Comfortable                                        2gp

Wealthy                                               4gp

Aristocratic                                          10gp

 

But, there’s no game effect attached to these expenses at all, other than people liking or shunning you.   If we wanted to use our old Hit Point to living expenses tie in, it might look something like this:

 

 

Level                  Price per MONTH                Hit Die Roll

Wretched            access to trash                     worst of 3 rolls                       

Squalid                     3gp                                  worse of 2 rolls

Poor                         6gp                                  1 roll                                                  

Modest                     30gp                                take average

Comfortable              60gp                               Better of 1 roll or average

Wealthy                   120gp                              Better of 2 rolls, or average

Aristocratic               300gp                             Best of 3 rolls, or average

 

Aristocratic or Wealthy: may add specific residency requirements (must live in the main town, or own a country house/castle with farmlands and tenants).

 

This list should also be the general guide for paying underlings.    Laborers and the like would get a “poor” level, Guards and craftsmen a “modest” level.  

D&D Camp

Do I see a young Dave Nelson in these pictures? https://2warpstoneptune.com/2013/06/18/dungeons-dragons-camp-1981-1985/