Okay, I wrote a
couple of articles on 5E Economics, and I thought I should take a stab at the
DCC default campaign and what happens when adventurers roll into town with a
chest of ill gotten loot.
It really doesn’t
matter.
Why’s that? Well, we’re talking about pulp fantasy – in
the Lankhmar series, one chapter Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are living in an
elaborate loft with silks and tapestries and ornate furniture, and a couple
pages later, they are paupers, hung over, and with the thieves’ guild after them. Elric went from being an Emperor and owning his
own personal Island, wizard’s tower, and several pet dragons to being on equal
economic footing with the beggars of Nadoskor.
Corwin was a Prince in Amber, but also on the run with only the clothes
on his back. You see money isn’t a big
part of story telling here.
But that being said, while
a tribute to Appendix N, odds are your plucky band of DCC RPG heroes are in
some part murder-hobos on the search for treasure and fame, but mostly
treasure.
So, let’s remember when
you start out, you get 5d12 cp for each 0-level character, a tool, some sort of
goods related to your background, and an additional random item of variable
value. You should have heard the howls
of my players the first adventure when they realized that the cheesemaker had
thrown a vial of holy water worth 25 gp!
Money is scarce, so you scrounge for every little thing, a rusty spear,
a bloody set of leather armor from a downed bandit, whatever you can get your
hands on.
The last thing you
want to do is ruin the ambiance of this by rewarding them with a chest of 2,000
gp at 1st level.
Fellow judges, be
stingy – money and treasure don’t matter in a DCC game, magic items are likely
not for sale down in the marketplace, magic is unreliable, and it’s all about
the hero. This isn’t 3rd
edition Dungeons and Dragons, a 5th level character has no inherent
right to 15,000 gp worth of equipment and money … and they don’t need it
either.
It’s A Living ...
DCC is pulpy and
rules light, you don’t need a fancy economic system or spelled out skill list
of what you can earn based on a DC check.
Keep it simple. A 0-level
character who is a skilled journeyman means can earn 1 cp per day or 1d4 cp per
week (after incidental expenses), like it says in the core book for a simple
retainer’s wages on page 310. Rifle his
pockets for loose change, and he’ll have 5d12 cp and one item of note.
Let’s take an
educated guess that an unskilled worker or someone trying to make a living at
something he’s not good at, or an apprentice who hasn’t learned his trade
completely would earn half of a skilled journeyman, so netting 1d2 cp per week, after
paying for their meagre lodgings (and 2d12 cp in his pocket).
Going the other way,
maybe a master of their craft, a tavern owner, a smith with his own shop with a
forge and anvil, the captain of the guard, a first mate on a ship, or someone
who has lucked into working for a local noble might earn 1 sp per day or net 1d4
sp per week, have 5d12 sp in his pocket and maybe 1-3 items of note. An item of note might be a set of minor
armor, a weapon, or something appropriate off the equipment list.
Someone who’s a
levelled character, a mighty 1st level hedge wizard selling
poultices, or a 1st level lieutenant of the thieves’ guild, a
merchant trader who owns his own caravan might earn 1 gp per day or net 1d4 gp
per week, have 5d12 gp in his pocket and 2d4 items of note. An item of note might be a nice weapon or modest
set of armor, a potion, or something the players would dearly like to purloin.
If
one of my players decide they want to make something themselves, it seems the baseline
is providing half the cost of buying something in materials (or a skill roll to
go harvest some like finding the right kind of tree to cut down, or such), and then
I’d have them make a skill or ability check to determine their progress – if they
roll DC 10+ they can create something equal to their roll in cp per day, DC 15+
equal to half their roll in sp per day, DC 20+ equal to a quarter their roll in
gp per day. Remember unskilled folks use
a d10 not a d20. And also remember, this
isn’t Shopkeepers & Shelves, it’s Dungeon Crawl Classics – don’t make this
a big part of your game.
That’s my
economy. Nice and simple. That merchant trader has a disposable income
of about 150 gp per year, and he’s 1 in 1000 people. So if that’s the economy, where do players
fit in?
Loot! Piles of Loot!
Not so fast … this
isn’t a Monty Haul game. Rescue a damsel
in distress at 1st level?
Here’s a lovely purse with 20 gp in it.
Save the local baron from rampaging ghouls at 5th level? Here’s a well made coffer with 100 gp in it,
and a favour from the baron’s head priest.
Stop the kingdom from being overrun by barbarians at 10th
level? Have some fancy titles, an award
ceremony where even the wookie gets a medal, and a small chest with various
coins worth a total of 500 gp in it.
That’s the scale I work with in my game.
Some folks have wired
into their brain that recovered equipment can be sold for half value – that’s a
3rd edition conceit, who says that’s the DCC way? How about selling it at 1/10th
value? After all that scale mail is
bloody, has a gaping hole in the chest, and smells like bugbear. Goblin shortswords of poor quality, no one
wants those! That’s an awfully nice
longsword, and I’ll give you two baskets of apples and a sack of sugar for
it. That onyx cabochon is worth … well,
how about I give you free food and lodging and stabling for your horse for a
month? Get players to appreciate what
they can get, and don’t let them feel entitled to a flat rate for treasure.
If a group gets too
wealthy, it’s time to part them from their money – one of the Best of Dragon
magazines way back had an awesome article about parting players from their
lucre, and it should inspire you to do your own thing. You can get them to spend it, have it spent
out from under them, or have someone take it away. The best solution is have them spend it
themselves, so they have no one to blame (they’ll still blame you, the Judge,
but this gives you cover).
Lastly remember that
treasure shouldn’t always be coins, or just handwaved to turn into coins. Make them carry a treasure list of garnets,
silver rings, rare currency that is rumored to be cursed, promissory notes, gold idols of Bobugbubilz, and what not, and encourage
them to barter with these things.
Fancy Things To
Buy
So, what can a player
spend their ill-gotten gains on? Lots!
At early levels, the
first things players will strive for is a longbow for 40 gp, a suit of
chainmail for 150 gp, vials of holy water for 25 gp each, maybe even a warhorse
for 200 gp. That should keep them busy
for 1st-2nd level, just getting their baseline trappings
they need to call themselves adventurers.
You can reward them with their opponents having these items, or give
them enough treasure to buy it themselves.
At mid-levels, DCC
like many other games runs out of defined things for players to spend their
money on in the mid-game. I created a
couple things I can share with you as examples.
|
Weapon |
Damage |
Range |
Cost |
|
Adamantine
battleaxe *** |
1d10 |
-- |
28
gp |
|
Mithral dagger ** |
1d4 |
10/20/30 |
6 gp |
|
Nightbow Ω |
1d10 |
80/160/240 |
200
gp |
** Mithral
weapons have double cost, usable by elves and never rust.
***
Adamantine weapons have x4 cost, Fort save DC 15 to avoid damage or sundering
(use wielder’s save modifier if held)
Ω
Nightbow is an elven weapon crafted from Nighttree wood, and requires a 14 Str
to use.
|
AC |
Check |
Speed |
Fumble |
Cost |
|
|
Helm* |
+0 |
-1 |
-- |
D6 |
10 gp |
|
Great Helm
** |
+0 |
-2 |
-- |
D10 |
50
gp |
|
Well-Crafted Leather *** |
+2 |
-- |
-- |
D6 |
60 gp |
|
Greentower
Robes X |
+1 |
-- |
-- |
D4 |
100
gp |
|
Mithral
Chainmail **** |
+5 |
-4 |
-- |
D10 |
300
gp |
|
Adamantine Full Plate X |
+9 |
-8 |
-10’ |
D16 |
4,800 gp |
**
Great helms eliminate two dice of damage from critical hits to the head and prevent
critical hit effects with a DC 15 Fort save.
***
Well-crafted armor has triple cost, -1 to check penalty, -1d fumble die, and
negates -5’ of movement penalty.
*** Mithral armor
has double cost, -1 to check penalty, -1d fumble die, and negates -10’ of
movement penalty
X Adamantine armor has x4 cost, +1 AC
X Greentower robes are made of a
specially treated cloth, and are remarkably resistant. However, pilgrim-adepts of Greentower take a
very dim view to outsiders wearing
garments of their Order.
Also give the players
opportunities to buy things that have small mechanical effects … a weirwood
lute that grants +1 to perform checks, a troll styptic that heals an extra 1hp
per day when applied to wounds, a well crafted set of half-plate with a lower
armor check penalty, papers of safe passage, well made thieves tools that grant
+1d on pick lock checks, whatever you can imagine – and charge them for
it. 50 gp, 200 gp, 500 gp … whatever the
market will bear, which in this case, is whatever your players feel like
parting with.
Magic and Gewgaws
So a character wants
to buy a healing potion? Don’t fall into
the 3rd edition trap! If you
look at the Make Potion spell, it will cost a Wizard 225 gp in materials plus a
special ingredient plus a week of his time plus the small chance he melts his
face off. That potion will not be 50 gp
at the market stall, I can assure you! A healing potion should be prized and
cherished.
Now, looking to
cleric spells, Blessing is a weird one for making magic items.
So, holy water sells for 25 gp per vial, but needs the Blessing spell
with a casting result of 24+. There are
similar things in the spell description like holy amulets that grant bonuses to
saving throws or holy weapons that add bonuses to hit and damage against unholy
creatures, but to be permanent the cleric needs to achieve a 32+ result and
lose their spellcasting abilities for 1d4 months …. That’s a lot of
trouble. Not for sale ... but maybe gifted to someone who does a mighty deed for the high level cleric NPC.
If magic might be for
sale, make it the most minor of magics.
A mummified finger that grants you +1 to saving throws against a
wizard’s spells, but only if you state three truths about them first. An oil that you rub on your sword that makes
it unnaturally sharp … +1 hp damage, for a day.
And feel free to put in side effects, unreliable enchantments, or extra,
unwanted attention. And charge what the market will bear.
A Fool And His
Money …
Best thing I ever did was
take the carousing tables and adapt them to my game – my players get all excited
when they have money to blow on carousing.
Not only does it suck up their spare gold, it opens up adventuring
opportunities, backstories, and NPC grudges.
The link to my tables is here.
Make sure that if PCs
start parading around in shining plate armor and scarlet cloaks, wiley innkeepers
start upping their prices. Make sure
moneylenders will purchase gems and exchange coins, for a nominal fee. Feel free to have the local baron’s men drop
in to assess a tax on the adventurers, or have the local church beg them for
support in these difficult times. And if
you have to, sic the local thieves’ guild on them for a midnight burglary or a passing
by pick-pocket. If the locals know the
PCs are rich, they will be envious and do things to garner a few extra coins.
That being said, don’t
be an utter jerk … give your players at least 4-5 positive experiences for every
1 negative experience, so they don’t become paranoid hermits eating grubs in
the woods, and disengage from your campaign.
And if something bad happens, let them go kick down the front door of
the thieves’ guild and take their loot back … but not without some cuts and close
calls.
Give Them
Something To Strive For
Aside from grifting a
few coins off the PCs, give them huge things to dream of … their own manor house,
the fastest destrider in the kingdom, a fabled tome of astrological secrets, noble
titles, membership in a guild, patronage from the archmage Therophus the
Immutable … those things don’t come cheap.
Let PCs save up for them, and let them achieve their dreams.
It doesn’t have to be
a lot … one of my players had their PC, a mighty 1st level Cleric by
the name of Scrumpy Jack, head back to their sad little starting village of
Uxcrump with almost 50 gp, buy a cottage (the local mayor of the village asked for 10 gp), and then decide to fix up the town. They went down to the Groaning Well Inn, with
it’s leaky roof, and watered down ale, and became a patron to the innkeeper and
paid him to fix up the inn (he volunteered to donate 20 gp). Now, it’s
the Golden Jack Inn, and everyone in the village loves him … the player group
was so chuffed to have changed the world for the better. Let them enjoy making the world theirs.
So, How Does This Work In My DCC Game?
Are your players’ PCs
short on funds for everything they could want, motivated for adventure, and
loved or hated by NPCs in your campaign?
Congratulations, you are doing the right stuff.
Questions, ideas for
loot and treasure, or other ideas on how you handle this stuff in your game? Drop me a line at archadethered@gmail.com
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