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9 months ago ::
Sep 16, 2012 - 2:53PM
#31
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Date Joined:
Jun 25, 2009
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I wouldn't do cursed things, or trapped things though. Thats just punishing the players for being interested in the world, which is something most DMs have a hard time getting.
+1. If you're going to put cursed items in your game, fashion it such that the PCs need the cursed item for some greater purpose and dealing with having it on their person is part of the cost of fulfilling that great purpose. Otherwise, you're just asking for them to be paranoid about everything going forward. That's no way to play IMO.
Disagree.
Disagree. (double negatives make a positive right?)
Only in math.
There's nothing wrong with using cursed items. Creative players can find uses for them. And being a little paranoid is healthy for a party.
My username should actually read: Lunar Savage (damn you WotC!)
*Tips top hat, adjusts monocle, and walks away with cane* and yes, that IS Mr. Peanut laying unconscious on the curb.
http://asylumjournals.tumblr.com/
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9 months ago ::
Sep 16, 2012 - 5:06PM
#32
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Date Joined:
Jun 12, 2009
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It's healthy? Last time I checked, D&D was about having fun, not being afraid to pick up a piece of copper becuase it might be cursed.
We summoned a devil once. All we used was the D&D books, too. It was pretty kwazy.
God of Arrested Development and Intelligence 
Resident Left Hand of Stalin and Banana Stand Grandstander
Pie-Cooling-On-A-Windowsill of the House of Trolls
In the morning HK'll be sober but you'll still be a meatbag.
I know I misspell "Danke" in my posts. It's an inside joke.
"Ten cents gets you nuts." -George Michael
Spoiler:
Show
''Being president is like running a cemetery: you've got a lot of people under you and nobody's listening.''
—Bill Clinton
You are not a moral man. There are not enough middle fingers in the world for you.
Why do I get a silly PG-13 man giggle going everytime I see Fist Of The Forest ?
I heard samsung is making shoes that are making you run faster too.
Liar. Hipsters don't run. It's too mainstream.
Actually, Santa just didn't like you. However, you weren't on the Naughty List, so he had to give you something "better" than coal.
I'd take coal. Heating your house is expesive, and engery cost arn't going down.
Mabey if i beat enough homeless people, i won't have to be cold this year. 
"Heroes"...I wish I had those. I remember in my first-ever campaign one PC went around shootin all the unconscious baddies in the head to gain Dark Side Points...
Whaaaaaat?!??
Wow...way to waste perfectly good potential slaves.
Er...no wait I mean..uh...something not evil!
(Quotes screwed up on the next one, won't give the poster's name. It's in the Best Lines thread on the D&D forum)
First, an experience from a game I played in a few years back. Our DM didn't like 3.5 as a whole but liked parts of it. So he hands us a big ass rules packet for his modified FR campaign, complete with quotes from important NPC's on the front. I can't remember most of the HRs, just that some how gods like Cyric and Bhaal existed at the same time, despite the obvious problems there. In the end the game became a problem more because of the railroading than the HRs, but it ended with this classic line, after our ranger tried to disarm the strange woman following us WITH HIS BOW: DM: You just killed (insert random noble sounding name here) JP: Was she important? Jack: Dude, she's quoted on the front of the rules packet!
"Why in the wide,wide, world of all things irrational would I help you?
-Daniel Jackson
"Fun will now commence."
-Seven of Nine
"Excellent."
-Mr. Burns.
Whey is a crotch.
Cut the last encounter on your way out after dealing with the Darth. He's the BBEG. Treat him as such. Play up that Darth Revan is THAT much of a badarse. When the shuttle landed, I had no less than 13 JEDI MASTERS step off the shuttle. The PCs were slack-jawed. After the meetup with Bastila (as she's carrying Revan's body), only TWO jedi masters remained with her. Let me tell you, the player whining about not getting to fight Revan himself shut up pretty quickly when he saw that. 
There's so much you can do with insanity, especially when it has alot of resources.
1. Cleric cast protection from fire on Tank.
2. Tank goes in and get surrounded by enemies.
3. Wizard cast fireball and blows them up.
4. ???
5. Profit
I go by the saying," If it ain't friendly fire then it's not working."
And the greatest post moderation of all time...
I gave that (Content Removed) a to-scale Lego replica. (Content Removed) love to-scale Lego replicas.
(ORC_Cerberus: Edited - Vulgarity is against the Code of Conduct)
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9 months ago ::
Sep 16, 2012 - 8:05PM
#33
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Date Joined:
Jun 25, 2009
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It's healthy? Last time I checked, D&D was about having fun, not being afraid to pick up a piece of copper becuase it might be cursed.
Some people find that fun, believe it or not. :P
My username should actually read: Lunar Savage (damn you WotC!)
*Tips top hat, adjusts monocle, and walks away with cane* and yes, that IS Mr. Peanut laying unconscious on the curb.
http://asylumjournals.tumblr.com/
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9 months ago ::
Sep 16, 2012 - 8:05PM
#34
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Date Joined:
Apr 24, 2011
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What would be wrong with giving them what adventurers want?
I think the issue is "What adventuers want" versus "What players want". I assume that all other things remaining equal, fantasy world adventurers want to be rich, famous and armed to the teeth. If this is all that the players want then they should play a game where the PCs are gun-toting venture capitalists, not D&D. The trouble is the difference between what I say I want and what I actually want. When I say "I want a powerful magic sword", what I probably really mean is "I want my character to feel competent and menacing in combat". Maybe the kleptomaniac party really wants a huge dungeon delve for some great lost treasure. At the end of the day what they really want is to participate in exciting adventures, and apparently they think stripping a place clean is great fun.
I strongly agree with this here. If they are having fun cleaning house, let them clean house. Instead of trying to get them to stop make it more interesting and fascinating. Take them into that dungeon delve and create some items that seem like pieces to some kind of puzzle or mystery to solve. As far as magic items go, give them great big bags of holding and sell them homes to furnish with their aquired goods.
This really isn't a problem, the problem is that as a DM you have to realize that its not about you telling a scripted story or having some encounter quota. If all the players are taking part in this behavior, then the only person who perceives the game to have been slowed down is you-and on that note, whats the rush? Let them have their fun.
If your players enjoy no challenge, then it's certainly a decent idea.
If your players enjoy challenge, letting them have everything is a horrible god awful method of DMing. It leads to two problems very quickly. Boredom and the very rapid rise in combat stats/challenges that the DM must throw at the players. The DM soon finds theirself using stronger enemies, better combat tactics, and dice fudging on a consistent level to make it seem like the players are being challenged.
What? How did you draw that conclusion? In what universe does being materialistic equate to non-challenging? I don't even see how these two are related.
I think its perfectly conceivable to create a challenging, interesting, and enjoyable game while simultaneously allowing your klepto players to steal to their hearts delight. I've run campaigns based on conducting hiests for that express purpose. Noone said he had to give out more treasure than the PC's should have at that level. Hell if they are stealing furniture they are going to take a long time to derive any real value from it.
The next part isn't really aimed at you...but the larger population on here.
Lastly, if they are having fun, they are probably being challenged. I think thats something people should focus on a lot less around here. Just have fun with the group, if they are all having fun don't worry about whether you are challenging them enough or not -because you are-. To illustrate my point I would elude to video games, a lot of my friends (myself included) played a good deal of Skryim when it came out, and despite having full access to a myriad of cheat codes I never used them for more than an hour on one character I created just to screw around with. Why? because god mode gets boring real fast, its not challenging or interesting. Things that are not challenging, are not interesting. So, if you're players are having fun and interested in the game-they are being challenged so stop fretting over it.
...and in the ancient voice of a million squirrels the begotten chittered "You have set upon yourselves a great and noble task, dare you step further, what say you! What say you!"
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9 months ago ::
Sep 16, 2012 - 8:42PM
#35
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Date Joined:
Jun 25, 2009
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What would be wrong with giving them what adventurers want?
I think the issue is "What adventuers want" versus "What players want". I assume that all other things remaining equal, fantasy world adventurers want to be rich, famous and armed to the teeth. If this is all that the players want then they should play a game where the PCs are gun-toting venture capitalists, not D&D. The trouble is the difference between what I say I want and what I actually want. When I say "I want a powerful magic sword", what I probably really mean is "I want my character to feel competent and menacing in combat". Maybe the kleptomaniac party really wants a huge dungeon delve for some great lost treasure. At the end of the day what they really want is to participate in exciting adventures, and apparently they think stripping a place clean is great fun.
I strongly agree with this here. If they are having fun cleaning house, let them clean house. Instead of trying to get them to stop make it more interesting and fascinating. Take them into that dungeon delve and create some items that seem like pieces to some kind of puzzle or mystery to solve. As far as magic items go, give them great big bags of holding and sell them homes to furnish with their aquired goods.
This really isn't a problem, the problem is that as a DM you have to realize that its not about you telling a scripted story or having some encounter quota. If all the players are taking part in this behavior, then the only person who perceives the game to have been slowed down is you-and on that note, whats the rush? Let them have their fun.
If your players enjoy no challenge, then it's certainly a decent idea.
If your players enjoy challenge, letting them have everything is a horrible god awful method of DMing. It leads to two problems very quickly. Boredom and the very rapid rise in combat stats/challenges that the DM must throw at the players. The DM soon finds theirself using stronger enemies, better combat tactics, and dice fudging on a consistent level to make it seem like the players are being challenged.
What? How did you draw that conclusion? In what universe does being materialistic equate to non-challenging? I don't even see how these two are related.
I think its perfectly conceivable to create a challenging, interesting, and enjoyable game while simultaneously allowing your klepto players to steal to their hearts delight. I've run campaigns based on conducting hiests for that express purpose. Noone said he had to give out more treasure than the PC's should have at that level. Hell if they are stealing furniture they are going to take a long time to derive any real value from it.
I drew that conclusion because the OP said if he asked them what they wanted, they'd go for god mode (or very powerful items which would essentially put them there). And then iserith said "give it to them if that's what they want". Unfortunately, I don't believe iserith has ever met players that never ever tire of a god mode. I have met players however that would never tire of it. They love the power and could use and abuse it for eternity. Which will likely equal boredom for the DM at least.
I never said don't let them steal everything. Let them steal anything they want. But the OP is looking to slow them down. And cursing their items, adding weight values and carrying capacities, and making it so there's nothing worth stealing are all fair game methods to do this.
My username should actually read: Lunar Savage (damn you WotC!)
*Tips top hat, adjusts monocle, and walks away with cane* and yes, that IS Mr. Peanut laying unconscious on the curb.
http://asylumjournals.tumblr.com/
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9 months ago ::
Sep 16, 2012 - 9:09PM
#36
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Date Joined:
Mar 22, 2011
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Just because the players say what they want is unlimited power and an endless supply of free loot, doesn't mean they would really be happy in a game that consisted of nothing but mountains of treasure, guarded by monsters they can kill in their sleep.
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9 months ago ::
Sep 17, 2012 - 2:13AM
#37
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- Biohazard Barbie, on sale now!
Date Joined:
Sep 15, 2005
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Is this a bad thing? Like they'll loot a mutant dog's corpse and try to turn it's paws into gloves, and they'll roll perception in an empty field and then pick the flowers. I have a rogue that takes every turn to try to steal somthing from somebody, i've started making up random crap for him to get. I had a guy who cut off a Goblin's hands to use for a later. They also love making perception checks at the strangest time, and they expect a simple perception check to reveal all the secrets of a room, though I feel as if that's something I can fix some how. Any thoughts? My main concern is the Players looting everything, it slows things down and they leave ever single room empty. (Plus they do werid things like take the head of a Goblin and gutting it, then making the Halfling wear it to try and fool the goblin guards.)
Its not uncommon - Adventureres in one of my campaigns would skin a dead dragon and take its hide because they wanted Dragon Hide Armor - so I was at the time (this is a very long time ago) forced to describe the use of various Dragon hides and the advantage they gave:
Red Dragon Hide: +5 AC bonus / +1 save vs Red Dragon Breath
The Citadel Megadungeon: http://yellowdingosappendix.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/the-citadel-mega-dungeon-now-with-room.html
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9 months ago ::
Sep 17, 2012 - 6:11AM
#38
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And then iserith said "give it to them if that's what they want". Unfortunately, I don't believe iserith has ever met players that never ever tire of a god mode. I have met players however that would never tire of it. They love the power and could use and abuse it for eternity. Which will likely equal boredom for the DM at least.
"God mode" just means more narrative control. I've already given them that. They can have all the wealth and magic in the campaign world for all I care. They still have the same narrative control as if they were naked and powerless in the deep desert. Which is to say, a lot, right out the gate.
Plus what sort of "power" would they be "abusing" exactly? Made-up fictional power in an imaginary universe? As long as the story I'm watching unfold is interesting, abuse away.
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9 months ago ::
Sep 17, 2012 - 7:58AM
#39
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Date Joined:
Jun 14, 2009
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There isn't a right or wrong answer here. Some groups like the vague sense of paranoia of cursed items, some groups want to mutilate every goblin to see if he has some gems in his innards, and some groups just want to hear "okay, you're back to town. You earned level-appropriate gold, call it 6,250 gp each and a 14th level uncommon magic item of your choice."
Talk to your players and find out what their expectations are for treasure, and make sure they understand that while gold and powerful items are fun, they have balance-repercussions, and too much or too little can make the game no fun. Try and find a comprimise everyone will enjoy.
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9 months ago ::
Sep 17, 2012 - 8:12AM
#40
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Date Joined:
Jun 25, 2009
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And then iserith said "give it to them if that's what they want". Unfortunately, I don't believe iserith has ever met players that never ever tire of a god mode. I have met players however that would never tire of it. They love the power and could use and abuse it for eternity. Which will likely equal boredom for the DM at least.
"God mode" just means more narrative control. I've already given them that. They can have all the wealth and magic in the campaign world for all I care. They still have the same narrative control as if they were naked and powerless in the deep desert. Which is to say, a lot, right out the gate.
Plus what sort of "power" would they be "abusing" exactly? Made-up fictional power in an imaginary universe? As long as the story I'm watching unfold is interesting, abuse away.
We're playing a game that develops a story. Not straight out telling a story. At least, at my table anyway. And at my table, I prefer the game not be broken and the challenge disappear by giving the players exactly what they want when they want it. Feel free to do what you want at yours.
My username should actually read: Lunar Savage (damn you WotC!)
*Tips top hat, adjusts monocle, and walks away with cane* and yes, that IS Mr. Peanut laying unconscious on the curb.
http://asylumjournals.tumblr.com/
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