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10 months ago ::
Aug 05, 2012 - 6:46PM
#1
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I've noticed that the guidelines for putting together loot parcels within the original 4E DMG and Essentials are entirely different. The original guidelines provide a specific number of magical items of a particular level with a specific amount of gold, whereas Essentials has a more traditional randomized method with loot tables. As I've never DMed previous editions, I only have experience with the original 4E loot guidelines. However, I'm considering switching to the Essentials method the next time the party levels.
Is there any outstanding consensus as to which method is better? Are both methods even still official, or are the Essentials loot tables meant as errata to overhaul the previous system?
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10 months ago ::
Aug 05, 2012 - 7:08PM
#2
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I personally prefer the original 4e system, as I think random treasure tables are pretty useless. It's not treasure if you can't use it, and there's no fun in finding, say, a magic longbow if nobody in the party uses one.
Another day, another three or four entries to my Ignore List.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 05, 2012 - 7:19PM
#3
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Date Joined:
May 14, 2010
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Just as you wouldn't mix essentials characters with 4e characters. If you are playing a 4e game, stick to non-essentials. You know, like an industrial strength hair dryer kept in a giant luggage box that you can't live without. Especially when in a desert.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 05, 2012 - 7:52PM
#4
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Just as you wouldn't mix essentials characters with 4e characters. If you are playing a 4e game, stick to non-essentials.
... what?
Essentials is part of 4e. The character builds combine just fine with '4e classic'. What the hell are you talking about?
Another day, another three or four entries to my Ignore List.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 05, 2012 - 8:15PM
#5
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I personally prefer the original 4e system, as I think random treasure tables are pretty useless. It's not treasure if you can't use it, and there's no fun in finding, say, a magic longbow if nobody in the party uses one.
From what I've gathered, I think the Essentials method still lets you choose which magic items to give, it just adds some randomness into how many items and how much gold.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 05, 2012 - 10:44PM
#6
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Date Joined:
Apr 29, 2006
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From a purely functional standpoint, I don't see any advantage to using the essentials random loot guidelines over the default guidelines. Both should, on average, award nearly the same amount of loot (barring a string of good or bad rolls, of course). So use whichever one you like. The essentials variant is mainly for groups that prefer the "old school feel" of leaving player rewards up to the fickle dice of fate, with the old school crowd being one of essentials' major target audiences. Though personally, I'm not a big fan of random loot - even the essentials "random loot budget" variant. I'd rather have solid framework to start with and allow plot and circumstance direct varience. But that's a matter of preference. Just as you wouldn't mix essentials characters with 4e characters. If you are playing a 4e game, stick to non-essentials. You know, like an industrial strength hair dryer kept in a giant luggage box that you can't live without. Especially when in a desert.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 6:39AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Feb 20, 2011
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Personally, I've thrown out treasure guidlines and use inherent bonuses. I then focus on making treasure interesting rather than game balancing.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 9:34AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2006
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Essentials characters generally work okay with non-Essentials characters. (That is, excepting the Essentials characters that don't work at all.)
The conflicting loot system is due to the developers' attempt to force old-E approaches back into 4E. (Old-E used random loot, therefore 4E should be made more like it!) That aspect of Essentials - which includes item rarity - is best ignored.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 11:33AM
#9
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Date Joined:
Jul 21, 2004
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Personally, I've thrown out treasure guidlines and use inherent bonuses. I then focus on making treasure interesting rather than game balancing.
Baseline 4e treasure already does that. You can have the expected bonuses you need and the interesting powers you want.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 11:54AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2006
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"Remove the highest level and lowest level item parcel and choose interesting stuff for the item parcels that remain," is basically what it boils down to when using inherent bonuses with the original treasure rules.
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