Raven-nevermore's page

A useful tool for shop inventory can be found via Wanderer’s Guide App using the GM Tools section. In there, you choose the level of the shop as well as any price increase or decrease (done by percentage) and it will randomly stock a store for you.

Seems handy indeed, thanks :)

Have you considered using the automatic bonus progression? I've found I care a lot less about counting the coppers I give players with it. I don't need to worry about them being behind the math curve if I am stingy, or getting too far ahead of it if I'm overly generous.

I will be sure to take a look at it, thanks ;)

Raven-nevermore wrote:

Allright I have a couple of questions about some things I seem to struggle with.

1) First is the treasure per encounter table in the gmg, let’s take level 1 as a example.
A moderate encounter should give players 18gp, let’s say there are 12 of those in a level (this brings us to 960xp so close enough).
So 18 gp x 12 = 216 gp, then it says to add another 35gp if you build a entire level like this, that’s 251gp.
Now we are supposed to deduct the items from that so let’s say at level 1 ( 2x2nd, 2x 1st level permanent, 2x2nd and 3x1st level consumables) that’s going to be 135Gp.
So 251 - 135 =116 gp on top of the treasure.
If you look at treasure by level, the “ leftover” should be about 40gp, not 116, That to me is a huge discrepancy (almost 300%), even if we drop the 35 they tell us to putt extra on top we are still left with 81gp (200%) that’s a little better but still considering 1 moderate encounter is 18gp that about 4 encounters worth of extra money.
Granted I could throw in some extra xp for accomplishments etc to get a bit closer, but I wanted to use treasure per encounter because I thought it was gonna be less bookkeeping for me.
So how do you solve this?.

Interesting, you're correct that the math (with what little explanation there is there) doesn't add up.

The "total" left column is the same as the table in the CRB, but if you divide that proportional to each encounter's XP contribution in the level, you'd get a lot lower numbers than in the GMG table.

I'm willing to believe that the "total" left column is correct, it looks plausible compared to the items in CRB table 10-9.

Now, one possible explanation for this is that if you split treasure across encounters like this, you get fewer "core" items that players want, like +1 striking weapons. They'll end up selling more items for 50% instead of keeping them for essentially full value; therefore more total worth is needed. Because the game is quite uphill if you can't get those core items....

You are absolutely right about the shops, And doing it like that would speed up the process quite nicely, thank you for the input.

About the treasure problem, I went back and read trough all the rules thoroughly and saw I overlooked something.
Per game session you are supposed to give out probably 1 to 2 moderate accomplishment awards (30xp) a couple of minor (10xp) and maybe 1 major (80xp) if called for.
So averaging it out at let’s say 60 xp per session and let’s say each session would see them get 200 Xp the math would be , 180gp over a level, so that’s a hell of allot closer, I can live with a 5 gp difference.

As for buying mounts, a horse (lvl 1 animal) costs 8gp, a warhorse (lvl 2 animal) costs 30gp.
So I took a look at permanent magic item prices in the GMG, and level 1 is 10-20gp, lvl 2 25-30 gp.
Sooooo I figured to use that, and just pick the low end unless it’s a more rare animal.
So using that logic let’s say someone wants to buy a dire wolf (lvl 3 common animal) that would be 45gp which seems reasonable to me and adds a system for buying all different kinds of mounts without complicating it with extra rules ;)

Most new GMs use pre-made Adventure Paths, where everything is already balanced (to an extent). This gets you more used to running a world.

Animal companions should be free. Uncommon or Rare ones should have some sort of cost, not necessarily of monetary value. For example, maybe they meet a strange creature on a quest to exterminate a monster, and instead of slaying it they befriend it through weeks of interactions.

There's no reason to have every single item allocated to a specific shop. Absalom is MASSIVE, if the players want something they can get it. Just say it takes them a day to shop for what they need. As for level requirements, you can easily do away with them, or you can make an in world explanation for why the item the want isn't available. Absalom being the center of the world would likely have items up to level 20 available at all times, but beyond the cost issues shopkeeps might not sell them to greenhorns to keep them from hurting themselves.

Being a GM is all about telling a story. You don't want to be constantly pausing to look up rules. If you think it's cool then let the players do it.

Also speaking of Adventure Paths, the Humble Bundle Strength of Thousands package is still available here.

I understand that playing a adventure path would be allot easier, but my players wanted a sandbox game so that’s what I am trying to provide them with.

I know animal animal companions should be free but then why have a shop (in grand bazaar book)that sells them?, giving things away for free seems like bad business practice to me.
Plus I can figure out how to calculate the monetary value of different mounts.

I want all items of different levels to just be available, and I think normally this wouldn’t be a issue but if I use the treasure by encounter table the players get allot of extra gold.
Let’s say as a example (and I will leave items out of since I would deduct them from the total) a first level small dungeon with 2 moderate and 1 severe encounter that would total to 280xp .
If I would follow the treasure per level logic that would amount to 49 gp.
If I follow the treasure per encounter logic that would be 58 gp.
That’s a 9 gp difference over these 3 encounters, so by the end of a level you would earn 59 gp more, And I dont have to tell you that 59gp for a first level party is allot of money to be throwing around and would tip the scales fast.
So my only option will be doing the math myself which is very cumbersome

Allright I have a couple of questions about some things I seem to struggle with.

1) First is the treasure per encounter table in the gmg, let’s take level 1 as a example.
A moderate encounter should give players 18gp, let’s say there are 12 of those in a level (this brings us to 960xp so close enough).
So 18 gp x 12 = 216 gp, then it says to add another 35gp if you build a entire level like this, that’s 251gp.
Now we are supposed to deduct the items from that so let’s say at level 1 ( 2x2nd, 2x 1st level permanent, 2x2nd and 3x1st level consumables) that’s going to be 135Gp.
So 251 - 135 =116 gp on top of the treasure.
If you look at treasure by level, the “ leftover” should be about 40gp, not 116, That to me is a huge discrepancy (almost 300%), even if we drop the 35 they tell us to putt extra on top we are still left with 81gp (200%) that’s a little better but still considering 1 moderate encounter is 18gp that about 4 encounters worth of extra money.
Granted I could throw in some extra xp for accomplishments etc to get a bit closer, but I wanted to use treasure per encounter because I thought it was gonna be less bookkeeping for me.
So how do you solve this?.

2) The campaign we started is a sandbox adventure starting in absalom, but I ran into a problem with the managerie ( Grand bazaar book)
They sell animal companions, but nowhere can I seem to find a price listing for these, and also you can only have 1 companion so do you have swap out your old one? Or does it just not come along if you go somewhere?.
Also I presume they sell mounts (animal not companion) but I can only find listings for horses , dogs etc.
What if my players want to ride a gecko or drake how would I go about putting a price on that ( seems to me a drake would be allot more expensive than a horse).

3) and as my last question, how do you guys go about filling the inventory of shops?, it seems very tedious to have to write down a exhaustive list.
And I also wonder about item levels, is my party makes more money because of the 1st issue I mentioned ( treasure per encounter) what’s keeping them from buying a item way above there level and breaking the game?.
To me it just seems wrong to have the shopkeepers only sell items from their level or lower, and was hoping that because of the money restrictions that would be a non issue but I doubt it.

Allright I have a couple of questions about some things I seem to struggle with.

1) First is the treasure per encounter table in the gmg, let’s take level 1 as a example.
A moderate encounter should give players 18gp, let’s say there are 12 of those in a level (this brings us to 960xp so close enough).
So 18 gp x 12 = 216 gp, then it says to add another 35gp if you build a entire level like this, that’s 251gp.
Now we are supposed to deduct the items from that so let’s say at level 1 ( 2x2nd, 2x 1st level permanent, 2x2nd and 3x1st level consumables) that’s going to be 135Gp.
So 251 - 135 =116 gp on top of the treasure.
If you look at treasure by level, the “ leftover” should be about 40gp, not 116, That to me is a huge discrepancy (almost 300%), even if we drop the 35 they tell us to putt extra on top we are still left with 81gp (200%) that’s a little better but still considering 1 moderate encounter is 18gp that about 4 encounters worth of extra money.
Granted I could throw in some extra xp for accomplishments etc to get a bit closer, but I wanted to use treasure per encounter because I thought it was gonna be less bookkeeping for me.
So how do you solve this?.

2) The campaign we started is a sandbox adventure starting in absalom, but I ran into a problem with the managerie ( Grand bazaar book)
They sell animal companions, but nowhere can I seem to find a price listing for these, and also you can only have 1 companion so do you have swap out your old one? Or does it just not come along if you go somewhere?.
Also I presume they sell mounts (animal not companion) but I can only find listings for horses , dogs etc.
What if my players want to ride a gecko or drake how would I go about putting a price on that ( seems to me a drake would be allot more expensive than a horse).

3) and as my last question, how do you guys go about filling the inventory of shops?, it seems very tedious to have to write down a exhaustive list.
And I also wonder about item levels, is my party makes more money because of the 1st issue I mentioned ( treasure per encounter) what’s keeping them from buying a item way above there level and breaking the game?.
To me it just seems wrong to have the shopkeepers only sell items from their level or lower, and was hoping that because of the money restrictions that would be a non issue but I doubt it.

Raven-nevermore wrote:

Hey everyone.

l am new here to the forum, and i had a couple of questions regarding running a bootcamp style session.
Yesterday me and my group came together for the first time, and things didn’t go exactly according to plan ( it was total chaos ).
At first I was a little disheartened but I quickly came to the realisation that one of the main problems we face was that most players where unfamiliar with the rules, and this ground the story to a halt because everyone was asking questions in the middle of,dialogue and by constantly being interrupted And so I lost track and things started to unravel.
So after thinking about it a bit, I realised that my players where on there way to the grand lodge in absalom and saw this as the perfect opportunity to give them a bootcamp session where the rules are explained in game, and afterwards they are send on a small mission where most of what they learned will be put to the test.

My main question is, how best to structure this without overloading the players with information?.
My idea was to split things up in a couple of main “groups”, mainly basic actions& combat, skill actions, Magic and status effects and tags.
I haven’t figured out how to do this without going to big tough since so many rules interact with one another.
I also wanted to ask if anyone can point me towards a good player aid, I just want my players to have a good time without them feeling like they have to study for a exam ;)

I was thinking about creating an introductory adventure for his exact purpose. I use Roll20 and like to write down some options for my players when they have a challenge in front of them, but make it clear that they can and should use creative solutions outside the ones I give them.

The scenario that I had in mind was that there were "help wanted" flyers around town that the PCs answer. When they arrive at the location indicated on the flyer, they find dozens of other applicants. The person who is doing the hiring asks for some...

You have some clever ideas in this one, might use a couple of them ;) .

Hey everyone.
l am new here to the forum, and i had a couple of questions regarding running a bootcamp style session.
Yesterday me and my group came together for the first time, and things didn’t go exactly according to plan ( it was total chaos ).
At first I was a little disheartened but I quickly came to the realisation that one of the main problems we face was that most players where unfamiliar with the rules, and this ground the story to a halt because everyone was asking questions in the middle of,dialogue and by constantly being interrupted And so I lost track and things started to unravel.
So after thinking about it a bit, I realised that my players where on there way to the grand lodge in absalom and saw this as the perfect opportunity to give them a bootcamp session where the rules are explained in game, and afterwards they are send on a small mission where most of what they learned will be put to the test.

My main question is, how best to structure this without overloading the players with information?.
My idea was to split things up in a couple of main “groups”, mainly basic actions& combat, skill actions, Magic and status effects and tags.
I haven’t figured out how to do this without going to big tough since so many rules interact with one another.
I also wanted to ask if anyone can point me towards a good player aid, I just want my players to have a good time without them feeling like they have to study for a exam ;)