So I've thumbed through a few of the free modules, and a few books in my local gaming store, and it seems like newer adventures offered by Paizo for PFRPG include descriptions for what type of loot a given encounter entails.
I purchased the PDF of PF #1 - RotRL, which turned out to actually be for 3.5e (I've already posted about that, no worries there). This adventure doesn't seem to have any loot details or descriptions in the book. I have two questions about this:
1) I am a new GM and was hoping this adventure might assist with loot distribution and magic item rewards in order to make my job a little easier. If I follow the standard loot tables in CRB and GMG, will my party be right on track?
2) I plan on buying the anniversary edition of RotRL because I don't want to have to convert everything over from 3.5e going forward (I've already done the homework for PF #1 - RotRL). Does the anniversary edition have loot descriptions like the other more recent Paizo adventures and modules do, or would I still be mostly left to my own devices in that regard?
By loot, do you mean descriptions of unique magic items (such as Sihedron medallions and the like), or do you mean the treasure acquired by the PCs?
I do know that early "loot" is somewhat skimpy. Instead, if the players are smart and search a lot, they will leave the first chapter of the AP with about what's normal for their level and for the Fast Track advancement scheme... but that treasure is found either in found loot (and let me tell you, it's entirely possible for the players to end the first AP without finding either cache of treasure) or in the sale of one specific magic item that's worth something like 8K gold (I don't recall if that was the sale price, or the total value).
This pattern will repeat itself. Often the players will have to rely on what treasure they had (and could end up missing out on potential loot sources) until they take out various big bads.
Just treasure in general acquired by the PCs. I know there are a few treasure caches, but beyond that there doesn't seem to be much description of what the PCs might find? Maybe I haven't read through PF#1 thoroughly enough. Like I said, still a new GM trying to find my feet. I'm mostly prepared for this weekend but there are still a few areas I'm struggling with - awarding treasure being one of them.
El cuervo, I may have not understood your problem exactly ,but..if that helps: there is treasure written in areas of the AP which you should award, or give your PCs a chance to find it and there is "treasure" written as gear and combat gear in the stat blocks. This is all you should normally award and no more. Later on the AP, if you realise that they have missed lots of it, then you could change things and place more treasure yourself. Furthermore, all descriptions of items and their properties can be found in the Core Rulebook. There are some "special" items found in each campaign and whenever that's the case explanations and desciptions can be found in the AP. You may need to change some properties if you are running the original version instead of the anniversary edition.
Thanks for the input. I think you did understand my question and I think the problem lies in the fact that I have not fully read through PF #1, and I simply have not gotten to any points with substantial treasure yet, as I just got to the Glassworks in the reading.
I do have a separate, unrelated question about that particular encounter: is Tsuto meant to be in the room with the eight goblins? There's a stat block for Tsuto on the same page as the eight goblin encounter but saw nothing in the encounter description explaining his part or what he's doing there. It also mentions Ameiko but references a few D# rooms -- the Glassworks rooms are A#... is this a discrepancy in the 3.5e version of the AP? Thinking I should buy the AE sooner rather than later at this point.
No, or at least not in the Anniversary edition where he was asleep downstairs in a room having gotten drunk after his sister turned him down for burning the town.
During the fight with the goblins in the glassworks after a few of then die I think one is supposed to run downstairs to warn the boss. At least that is what happened in my game.
Assuming they can. My players (which included a barbarian who could run faster than the gobbos) wiped them out (even with the extra goblins I tossed in - I started everyone at 2nd level and beefed up encounters to compensate as I didn't want someone dying in the first fight) and chased down the ones who were trying to flee.
Then they promptly thought Tsuto was a worker who was sleeping on the job and got lucky by not getting killed. ^^;;
lol, yeah, cause the half-elf in the silk shirt, with manicured nails, is obviously a glassworker... ;P
I had him dressed in rougher clothing as he was traveling in the wilderness with goblins and didn't want to get his finery damaged. It makes sense.
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And don't be afraid to give your PCs alternate rewards if they're being good guys. For example, Tsuto's got bags of gold and silver dust on him that he stole from the reagent chest. Rather than steal this, my party decided they'd return it to Ameiko, the rightful owner. Instead of being down GP for doing the right thing, I had Ameiko write them a line of credit in gratitude of saving her life for the amount they would have gained by being dishonest.
Also, those evilly-aligned items your party might pick up along the way? Let them make a Knowledge (religion) DC 10 check to "remember" that goodly-aligned churches usually offer a bounty for evil items in order to either destroy them or redeem them.
And don't be afraid to give your PCs alternate rewards if they're being good guys. For example, Tsuto's got bags of gold and silver dust on him that he stole from the reagent chest. Rather than steal this, my party decided they'd return it to Ameiko, the rightful owner. Instead of being down GP for doing the right thing, I had Ameiko write them a line of credit in gratitude of saving her life for the amount they would have gained by being dishonest.
Also, those evilly-aligned items your party might pick up along the way? Let them make a Knowledge (religion) DC 10 check to "remember" that goodly-aligned churches usually offer a bounty for evil items in order to either destroy them or redeem them.
Good pointers. If my party were... better... this might actually work well for me. Everything I give them is treasure/loot and "NPC's don't have souls," so my players couldn't care less. I'm thinking about dropping them and starting over with a new group, because the mechanical efficiency with which they "play" the game reeeeaaaalllly irks me. Roll-play vs. role-play and all that. The other day, one of my PCs, a local hero, tried to intimidate the jeweller into a higher buying price on a bag of precious stones. Ugh.
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Haggling with the jeweler is one thing, especially if the PCs is playing a greedy character. But intimidating the town jeweler's a great way to get tongues wagging about your character if you don't mind bad press.
Which leads me to another suggestion - give the party more money for the gems and art objects that they sell. The people of Sandpoint are positively inclined towards the party (provided they're not jerks, like el cuervo's group), so why wouldn't the jeweler give them an extra 5% or so? He can afford it.
Well, the idea of gems and art objects is you're supposed to be able to sell them at full price (provided you appraise them correctly or take them to an honest merchant) so the jeweler paying them 5% more would actually mean he's losing money. (No, I don't understand how jewelers actually stay in business if gems are considered same as cash, but that's the way the rules read.)
Funny you mention that -- I had actually been giving them the price for treasures like that until the most recent session, when I finally started to use the appraise rules (I have a new-to-PF group, so I've been introducing systems over time). The bag of precious stones mentioned contains, according to the AP, 40 stones valued at 10gp each. The party appraised them at 8gp each, meaning they thought they were only worth 320gp total (out of possible 400gp).
They walked into the jeweler's shop and asked for 1000gp. Of course, when they didn't get that was when the barbarian tried to intimidate, at which point I had the jeweler point out the 6 armed guards/thugs standing around his shop.
That, and I chant the MST3K Mantra often. :-)
Something one or two of my players could stand to learn!
The value of the gems is how much they can be sold for. If you try to repurchase them, I just have them increase by 100%.
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My group decided to tie up a goblin, place him in a wheelbarrow, and roll him down the stairs....essentially making such a ruckus to awaken Tsuto. Of course, Tsuto promptly woke up and investigated. <evil grin>
Also, the party sorcerer decided to steal a 360gp glass dragon from the gift shop (promptly earning himself...and the party Cleric that saw him do it....a greed point). Not sure how to handle this type of behavior. The Cleric said it was OK because it was for the benefit of the "party". /shrug
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I'd say that the sorcerer starts getting cold receptions from Sandpoint's townsfolk, due to his theft of another citizen's property. The rest of the party gets a bit of a downgrade as well, as their silence is tacit approval of larceny, most of all the cleric, who was in a position to stop it.
Out of curiosity, who does the cleric worship?