So I have been a fan of ABP since it came out, but haven't gotten to really run with it since then. My favorite part of it being 1, I know my players will be powered correctly and not under powered due to myself giving less than optimal rewards, or the players foolishly buying +3 weapons instead of boosting saves or AC ect., and 2, The amount of gold adventuring brings in is ludicrous! Even cutting it in half is an insane sum, but still grounded in "reality" a bit more.
So I have done a TON of number crunching, and have decided on a few set standards I would like to follow for my party of 4 level 2 characters that just leveled, and have received 0 treasure;
1: They will experience 12 encounters between levels
2: For this level, each encounter will grant them 375 exp each
3: Each encounter will reward them with ~83.33g each
4: Each encounter is not created equally, but each will be worth 1/2-4 encounters of exp
5: these numbers are rough guidelines, not set values
6: My games are hard and levels are slow, so treasure MUST excite my players
So I owe my players around 500g/e ATM. They have 1 major fight worth 4 encounters before the end of the book, and should receive all of their treasure then. Including the boss fight, this should equal ~833.32g/each.
I want this treasure to be more exciting than gems and art, especially since raw gold wont go very far in the town poor shops. Magical boosts to stats are basically out due to the low values, and the ABP stats.
The party is:
Fire Keneticist
Oread Druid (Shape shift grapple build)
Musket master (guns everywhere)
Hobgoblin Hunter (NPC fill in)
I'm looking for cool ideas for treasure for ABP players receiving ~833.32g and are level 2.
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What I've been doing lately is going through all the magic item slots and picking up neat items I'd otherwise ignore because I need the big six.
For instance, instead of a Cloak of Resistance, you might pick up a Cloak of the Hedge Mage. Instead of a Amulet of Natural Armor you can now pick up an Aegis of Recovery(I personally love these).
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Agreed, and don't forget potions! One of my favorite treasures because they are one shot wonders that don't permanently increase the party over all power level.
Also have you considered custom items / weapons / etc? Such as a magic item that adds a bonus to specific skills, especially if used by a member of a specific race or class? "Girdle of Dwarven Lords" that boosts a dwarfs racial abilities was another good one my players had fun with.
In short, think outside the box. The Christmas tree was fixed, now it is time to get back to being creative!
I couldn't agree more on potions. Those poor magic items are so rarely made by the party I used the 3rd party Artisan class on an NPC just to make them semi-viable.
For other weird one-shot items, make up effects with Words of Power. I did that in Rise of the Runelords and, because my group had never used the system themselves, had no clue what I was really doing when I handed out "Double Cure Vials"(Lock Ward/Cure on a Cure Potion so, when you opened the potion to drink it you healed). Called it 'family magic' when they bought some and asked how it was made.
Thanks for the input guys, I'm definitely inspired. I Think I'm going to boost their wealth gain by roughly 25%, then use a division system, giving the players only 10% standard wealth in gold, 50% consumables, and 40% custom made items. This should allow the players to sell the custom items to make up the loss in $ if they want something specific, and give them a good number of consumable junk to play with.
I also love the idea of words of power items, and will probably build a lot of their treasure using that system.
just as a reminder to my sleepy brain, buying a +1 enchant costs 2k, buying a +2 enchant costs 8k, but upgrading a +1 weapon with a +1 enchant would cost 6k right?
just as a reminder to my sleepy brain, buying a +1 enchant costs 2k, buying a +2 enchant costs 8k, but upgrading a +1 weapon with a +1 enchant would cost 6k right?
Yup!
just as a reminder to my sleepy brain, buying a +1 enchant costs 2k, buying a +2 enchant costs 8k, but upgrading a +1 weapon with a +1 enchant would cost 6k right?
But doesn't using ABP get rid of those kind of bonuses for weapons, armor, shields, etc?
just as a reminder to my sleepy brain, buying a +1 enchant costs 2k, buying a +2 enchant costs 8k, but upgrading a +1 weapon with a +1 enchant would cost 6k right?But doesn't using ABP get rid of those kind of bonuses for weapons, armor, shields, etc?
It only gets rid of the enhancement bonus to AC for armor / attack+damage for weapons and I believe Sindenky is asking about the enhancement price equivalents. A flaming longsword is priced as a +1 weapon. A flaming burst longsword is priced as a +2 weapon with +6,000 gp price increase.
Another fan of ABP. The only downside might be if you have a full caster who doesn't care about weapons. You'll end up with a +5 weapon you never use.
Still, it's simple and allows for more interesting choices for the big six.