MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND
by Art Dutra
| Polyhedron | - | 1st Ed. AD&D | - | Polyhedron #18 |
"Do we see any treasure?" is often the
first question any seasoned party of
adventurers ask after battle. Treasure is
that pinnacle of power everyone strives
for in real and fantasy worlds. Those who
have it crave more, while those who don't
have money fight for it.
In fantasy games, gold is normally
expected as reward for some daring deed,
and be it monster slaying or grave robbing,
the reward is usually there (or close
by). As the party advances in experience,
it will usually seek more daring adventures,
take greater risks, and expect more
money. Parties begin to complain and lose
interest if not enough treasure is available.
The same is true if too much wealth
is given out. Even when wealth is handed
out moderately by DMs, the quantity will
always increase as the level of play
advances.
Beyond this, however, is the often overlooked
DM potential for taking part of the
spoils. Many DMs ignore, or just plain
don't realize, that it costs money to be
trained, to exchange currency, and to live
in general. Smart players save every
copper piece, and before long the unsuspecting
DM has a "superman" menacing
his campaign. The characters have
acquired so much wealth that few things
are outside their reach. This is very
often where "player character demigods"
begin. Characters have acquired so much
money that they can buy a powerful
army, a castle the size of New York, or
some ultra-powerful magic item or relic.
DMs, like bankers, must make sure
that money is flowing in as well as out.
The more generous a DM becomes handing
out treasure, the more expensive the
players' overhead should become. The
DM should not make his characters paupers,
but there is no good reason for a
5th-level fighter to have 250,000 gp.
Frank Mentzer and E. Gary Gygax
have both stated countless times that it
takes 5+ years to reach 20th level. Two
major factors which would affect the rate
of character advancement are undeserved
experience points and money. The DMG
also states that it costs 1,500
gp per level <correct this>
per week to be trained for
the next level of
experience. This means
that a 1st level
magic-user, whose training will take two
weeks, need 3,000 gp to be trained. Generally,
most characters never have enough
money to be trained immediately. They
must adventure further to gain enough
money for training with no additional
experience gained.
A simple rule to follow when distributing
wealth in a campaign is that a character
should rarely possess more money
than experience points. If a character
does have more money, it should'nt last
for long. It should be spent on something
like the cost of training or building a
modest stronghold. DMs who have been
playing with a group for a long time
would have trouble reducing the amount
of treasure normally given out. The players
would notice the drop in treasure
quickly and probably complain. Instead,
the DM must devise more ways of making
players give up money.
A common means is taxation. During
medieval times, it was not uncommon for
kingdoms to tax everyone within their
borders (including foreigners) to pay off
the cost of a war or perhaps a ruler's
exuberant lifestyle. If the DM is determined
to get money out of the characters,
the tax collector should be just as determined.
Make sure that the collector isn't
deceived by the party and that he has
enough power to back up his "pay or be
jailed" terms. If a DM expects the party
to protest loudly, or to be ready to fight
the tax collector, he should outnumber the
party heavily with a group of royal guards.
If the party still tries to fight its
way out, pound it into the ground! Don't
kill the players, but do enough damage to
insure payment, thus teaching them not
to stand up to impossible situations. If the
party does attack the tax collector and his
guards, make sure to take out extra in
"fines." If the party was extremely difficult,
tax and fine the characters, then
throw them in jail for awhile. The should
cure the party overconfidence.
One of the most commonly forgotten
rules is that, when changing money, the
money changer gets 3% of the total, a
relatively small fee which shouldn't
bother the party. If the party refuses
to pay, don't exchange the money. Let the
characters walk around with those
10,000 cp.
Another neglected rule is that merchants
will only pay characters about
80% of face value when buying gems and
jewelry from characters. Obviously, the
merchant has to make a profit when he
resells the item. DMs should also remember
that merchants will almost never
accept foreign currency as
payment. If the party has foreign currency,
it should exchange it with a money
changer. The party will always get less
than it exchanges. The exchange rate
should be set by the DM and could range
anywhere from 8 for 10 to 2 to 5.
Politics play a key role in the exchange
rate. Kingdoms hostile to one another will
give each others' currency bad exchange
rates, and vice versa. Don't forget the
money changer gets 3% for exchanging
foreign currency, too.
The prices listed in the Player's Handbook
are standard for equipment and are
open to change. Supply and demand
should be taken into account when adjusting
prices. If a product is in demand, the
price will usually go up. Likewise, if the
product is difficult to come by, the price
will go up. A fighter looking for armor in
a region poor in metals will pay a very
high price. In a campaign, upkeep and
maintenance come into play. How long
can a character go crawling around in a
slimy dungeon with the same clothes on?
Not very long if he expects to get into any
decent taverns.
Along with clothing, other expendable
items must be replaced often, like oils,
arrows, rope, and torches. Food is the
biggest expendable item there is. If a
party has been traveling for two weeks,
make sure two weeks' worth of rations
were bought and consumed. Don't forget
food for the war dogs and horses, too.
After all, they can't live off the land
forever (especially in deserts etc.) and
remain loyal and in top health.
One of the best ways to take money
from characters who have too much is
through direct contact with NPCs. How
do characters learn of adventures anyway?
Many times they learn of "haunted
castles and strange happenings" through
rumors. One must remember that most
information is not free. It may cost the
party as little as an ale, or as much as
1,000 gp. To keep the party paying for
information, remember that the more that
is paid out, the more information that will
be gained and the more reliable it will be.
Gold has the unique ability to loosen
tongues and cure amnesia.
Other ways of taking money from characters
by using NPCs are through ransom,
bribery, and blackmail. A group of
1st-3rd level characters is slowly riding
down a deserted road. Suddenly, a large,
ancient dragon swoops in on the party.
They try to outrun the dragon but to no
avail. The dragon cuts them off and bellows,
"Stop! I wish to bargain for your
lives!" At this point any 1st-3rd level
characters with the common sense to stay
alive are going to stop and at least listen
to what the beast has to say. "I merely
wish to consume your mounts for lunch,"
hisses the vile creature, "nothing more."
Common sense and the will to live should
tell the characters to dismount, take their
equipment, and run for their lives.
A situation like the one above could
make an excellent scenario for the characters
to avenge the deaths of their prized
mounts (once they've gained more experience,
of course). When a DM relies on
bribery, blackmail, etc., to lighten the
party's overflowing money pouches, it
should be done in a unique way. Players
tend to lose much of their hostility
towards a DM when they are having fun.
If the party still seems a little cash
heavy, there's always a more direct
method. Robbery works extremel well
on thieves, since they're generally the
least paranoid about personal theft. Ever
see the expression on a player's face when
his thief character is robbed blind?
If the party is always light on funds,
any amount of treasure is a welcome
sight. The previous guidelines should help
DMs run a far more enjoyable campaign.
These rules will also help characters
advance upwards smoothly, without letting
things get out of hand. But, above all
else, remember not to go too hard on the
players. Role-playing games are for fun.