EileenProphetofIstus's page

The amount of compensation, whether it be gold, magic, or other rewards is in my opinion, subject to the type of campaign you run. Some DMs really are generous and offer a lot, others are stingy and the PCs barely hold their own. Other things to consider is the rate of advancement for your campaign as well as if you have the PCs pay to advance a level (training). It also depends upon how many PCs you have in the group.

In my campaign, I advance the PCs very slowly, far slower than in the Players Handbook, so in the long run they probably have more money than the average campaign. I also use a lot of 1st edition modules and try and not change the treasure to much as well. This inflates the wealth of the campaign. Of coarse I find other ways of balancing things out.

Now in regards to what the lord, mayor, or whoever offers the PCs gold for returning a magic item from a dungeon, say at 1st level, in a campaign using the advancement given in the Players Handbook (unmodified), I'd say 500 gold each would be appropriate, plus they get to keep say 50% of the take from the dungeon as well, with the exception of whatever it is they are retrieving.

If they ask why they don't get everything in the dungeon, the lord would point out taxation, rights to the land, etc. if he's outfitting the PCs with equipment that they can keep, that would have to be paid for as well so that could account for some of the money. It is difficult to justify not giving the PCs the entire dungeon take however so this isn't for everyone.

If you know that the dungeon is going to provide them with a lot of wealth you may want to consider having the lord simply offer them the job without pay and give them everything in the dungeon save what they went to retrieve. The contents of the dungeon is their pay. Without the lord telling them where the dungeon is, they don't make any money, so in that sense, yes they are paid.

The DMG (page 135) provides level by wealth if you want to try and use those figures. If your characters advance a level every 1-3 games, I'd maybe offer each PC half of the amount shown on the chart.

Just some ideas...

No sorry the card True Ressurection card doesn't come with an "!" on it. If your really nice though it will come with a courtsey and a key my private chamber.

I wrote of 4th edition because I spent a considerable amount on 3.5 already and it only makes sense to make use of the material. In today's age it won't be aby trouble finding replacement books when I finally wear them out. Not that I wanted to see 3.5 come to an end, but in a way it is nice because I have a large collection and don't feel like there is more to come.

With all of the changes they have made to the fluff it solidified my decision as well. I don't need to see the finished copy of the game to make an informed decision. For me it isn't about whether the game is better or worse than 3.5, there's a lot of things about 3.5 I don't like. Regretfully, many of these things, such as feats (to many) prestige classes (don't even like the idea of them), and the rapid level increase (hate it) are all being carried over to 4th edition anyway.

I'm sure 4th edition will have it's moments where it is an improvement, but like any game, it will have just as many weaknesses. Nothing here justifies starting over after spending a lot on 3.5.

So I'll stick with 3.5 when I do play D&D. Chances are I'll be playing something else entirely. For me, D&D comes and goes.

Xaaon of Xen'Drik

Please forgive my lack of internet literacy skills, not only did I miss that but I didn't know what it meant either. I guess is it my bad. How about I give you a free True Ressurecton card for you to use whenever it comes in handy. My apologies.

Xaaon of Xen'Drik

Of coarse the numbers I wrote were made up, strictly opinion on my part. The poster asked the forum community what they thought the split would be and so I asnwered them. Nothing more, nothing less. It wouldn't be possible to know for certain what the numbers are until everyone who has switched does. The post wanted speculation and that is what I did. It's ok if you agree or don't agree with those numbers. I was just answering the thread. My Bad?

Stebehil, Yep, you understood exactly what I meant.

What information I want to see in the core three books are the monsters, classes, races, planes, rules, etc. that I have associated with D&D for the last 28 years. I realize that some things will change, but there is a point in which I am no longer comfortable with removing/changing certain aspects of the game. I know that many of these things will end up being published in another book down the road but that is something I don't agree with as well. Certain things (at least for me) need to be in the core three books in order to receive my support. WOTC felt these things were not popular enough, important enough, won't be missed, needed to make room for new things, whatever their reasons were, either way it's not for me. I'll miss the barbarian, druid, bard, and half orc, as well should they not make the first books.

If I hadn't purchased as much 3.5 material I would be grumbling but may have chosen to accept some of these temporary omissions. I have a lot of books, paid for all of them, they need use. I see no reason to change editions for me.

Eric wanted specifics of why I won't go 4th edition, so I game him some. What is on my list may differ from someone elses. If Joe the fighter feels that he won't buy 4th edition because they made changes to the fighter class, that's ok. Joe's not wrong, he chose not to buy it because it no longer works for him and it isn't something he is willing to work with in order to make it the way he wants.

When making a list of why you will or won't accept 4th edition, no one is wrong. You select the standards it must meet for yourself. If it meets them great, if it exceeds them, even better. If it falls short, time to rethink things. If it falls off the cliff in your opinon, that's ok, it is no longer a purchase consideration for that individual.

WOTC is changing to many things, it doesn't work for Eileen any more. Fortunetly, I have a big supply of 3.5 books, I also have other games I enjoy.

Eric:

I've been playing almost all of my D&D years in Greyhawk because I like it. I recognize that it is very unlikely that WOTC will do anything with the setting nor allow others the right. I went from 1st edition to skipping 2nd edition, to 3rd edition (3.5) and spent a large sum of money for a library of books. You asked what bothers us about 4th edition well here it is...

1. It makes no sense what-so-ever to start a collection of books all over, thereby minimizing the amount of use I will get out of the ones I have acquired.

2. Investing in 4th edition seems foolish because WOTC is likely to create 5th edition in another 6-8 years (my guess) anyway. Again, why spend the money when I already have given it to them.

3. Over the years I have learned the D&D cosmology, all the ins and outs of the game in regards to planes, races, rules, world buliding, etc. I have no interest in relearning these things. I'm not about to start remailiarizing myself with new terms, rules, etc. Why should I?

4. I don't like the way WOTC treats their customers or markets their products. I feel they are creating a new game and slapping the D&D logo on to it in order to sell more books.

5. I think they are taking the game into computer/superhero mode, a trait which I don't find the least bit appealing for D&D. I like superhero games, but D&D isn't one of them. In my book, D&D is a pen and paper game not a quasi computer oriented game. Yes I know I don't need DI to play. But will I need it with 5th edition in a few years? uite possibly. I don't like this trend so why should I support it.

6. I am a Greyhawk fan. Other than giving you the opportunity to write the Expedition book and put some Greyhawk stuff in Dungeon and Dragon, they have done nothing for the world. Why should I support them when they don't support my game world.

7. They are taking the game in a different direction in regards of a family wholesome concept I think it should be. The art, the language, not for me. These are reflections of the company ane the type of folks who run it. Again not for me.

8. They killed dungeon and dragon. Their electronic versions are jokes. I have collected every issue from #74 on up, most of which was a subscription. I have countless older issues I picked up elsewhere so my entire collection starts in the 30's and goes to the end, with scattered issues going back to the single digits. Again, why should I support them?

9. They are printing the core books and intentionally leaving out classic things such as gnomes, frost giants, and so on in order to sell more books later on. No. Unacceptable business practice!

10. Their prices are too high.

Essentially, as a company they are not supporting my gaming needs so I no longer support them as a company. Bottom line. This post is meant as an answer to your question. I am trying to get past the WOTC slamming thing so hopefully your readers don't interpret things I say to harshly.

I think what one will find is that the demographics will vary from one web site to another and be influenced by various factors.

At Pazio and Canonfire, I think people are more likely to stay with 3.5 then switch over as compared to the WOTC site. With Paizo, I'd say a 70/30 split favoring 4th edition within the first year. After that it will increase each year until its maxed out at about 85/15. Now if Paizo decides to stay with 3.5 this number will change drastically, reducing it down to a 50/50 ratio, perhaps even favor 3.5 by a very small margin.

At Canonfire I think less will switch over, maybe a 60/40 ratio, again favoring 4th edition. This will slowly increase as well to a maximum of 80/20. If someone were to pick up Greyhawk material (steadly) it would change things 100%. If it is WOTC begins producing Greyhawk, the ratio would jump up to about 95/5 in favor of 4th edition. If someone like Paizo picked up Greyhawk and stayed with 3.5, then we see about a 98/2 favor for 3.5 edition.

At WOTC we'll see the greatest number of edition changes, somewhere in the area of 90/10 within the first year, possibly higher. After that, it will go as high as 97/3.

Just my thoughts.