|
We started 'The Whispering Cairn' a couple of months ago (we only play twice a month), and the 8 PCs in the campaign are just now getting to the point of actually starting to acquire swag.
My question for the faithful is this: What sort of adjustment to the treasure haul, if any, should I, as the DM, make for this twice-the-normal-size party?
I have twice the normal complement of each of the four basic classes. Should I just double the treasure (with some monor variation in magic items)?
I remember a thread from a few months ago that debated whether there was enough swag in general, and enough arcanist swag in particular. Is this where I address that point?
Adjusting the encounter level due to the extra players hasn't been a problem; an extra wolf here, an extra mad slasher there.
However, I don't want to starve the players of their just rewards, nor do I want to drown them in stuff and unbalance the campaign.
I was wondering what you all think about this little dilemma I find myself in?
So far the treasure seems reasonably adequate for a party of four (as of HOHR). You could probably do a rough calculation by adding up treasure and magic item values and comparing it to wealth per level guidelines in DMG. I'd count magic items at 75% of face value, since chances are about half get used by the party and half get cashed in. Maybe you'd want to add in one good item for each party member every 4-6 levels, or have Manzorian/Tenser give some extra nice items in return for the fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts in SOLS. (For some examples, see my archived thread entitled "Manzorian's Gifts").
I will probably run into this same thing, I run AOW for an 8 pc party on a play by post site. So I am interested to see what other people have done for those larger then norm parties.
My group has 7 PCs.
I keep a close eye on how much the PCs each have vs. the Wealth By Level guidelines, and I do add in extra treasure. I also increase the number of foes they face in many encounters, so this often provides my justification for adding extra treasure to those specific encounters. As I get further into the adventure path, I've also had to increase the CR of many of the main bad guys, so sometimes I'll also give them a few extra magic items to play with.
I've also added a few specific new encounters here and there, and this is probably the easiest way to throw a chunk of treasure in when I realize I've let the PCs fall a bit behind. For example, I added a group of Red Caps (MM3? with stuff they'd taken from adventurers slain in the past) to EaBK, and a Void-Mind Umber Hulk (template from MM3? with Bracers of Mighty Fists and a couple of other magic jewelry items) to HoHR.
|
|
My 8 PCs (now at 2nd level) are at the farmstead, and are considering trying to find a buyer for the owlbear chick.
(BTW: given Diamond Lake's GP value limit, how much could they expect to make on this sale?)
So pursuant to Peruhain's advice, I have worked through the stuff handed to my PCs thus far, and with an eye to the Wealth By Level Table 5-1, pg 135 of the DMG it looks like this:
Taking into account that I ran the "Mining Office" alternative beginning--putting into the PC's hands its pile of stuff, and that I gave one of my PCs a 'Weapon of Legacy' (currently a +1 longbow), the party's wealth/level is currently at approximately 860 gp.
This would put them somewhat below the percribed 900 gp they should be at, but all in all things are not so bad at the moment.
However, since these numbers are inflated due to the mining office treasure and the weapon of legacy, I would suppose that I will have to beef things up in the latter stages of the game. Perhaps a few other items should be salted into the true tomb or Filge's laboratory.
What do you think?
I am running this with 6 players. I have not added any treasure at all, leaving the party a little poor. When I asked the party about this they actually told me they were enjoying the current level of treaure and items as it made them come up with more inventive ways to deal with problems and encounters. They are also happier when they do find treasure.
For the owlbear, the party was not all that interested in it, but the party druid traded the cub for an amulet of natural armor +1 from the bronzewood lodge. Also when the party went to the alchemist to find a means of getting around the brown mold, he offered to give the party a few free alchemical items for a sample of the brown mold.
Stan
Yes the dratted owl bear. I have a barbarian who's all about handle animal in our party and I was really afraid that he was going to try to domesticate the pesky thing. While others have been much more flexible in their approach to the owl bear, I played the hard line right out of the book: "no domestication!" I think that Diamond Lake as a whole can't really afford to pay very much for the owl bear (900 gp limit? the number escapes me at the moment). However, I really wanted to put some cash in the party's hands so I hinted that there might be a buyer out there for them. Eventually they tracked down Fester Trollomp who got really excited and paid them full price.
Others (including Eric Mona's playtest game) have used the owl bear as a good lead in to encounters with Smenk. Smenk finds the thing to be a useful hostage if/when he starts getting interested in applying a strongarm to the party. This can lead in to all sorts of adventures with Smenk, who just might be in possession of a fair number of magical trinkets and jewels to get your party back on track with treasure...