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DCC Economics & Treasure

 


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.

I
t really doesn’t matter.

W
hy’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.

B
ut 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.

S
o, 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.

Fe
llow 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. 

L
et’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).

G
oing 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.

S
omeone 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.

I
f 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.

S
ome 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.

I
f 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).

L
astly 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!

A
t 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.

A
t 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.

 

Armor

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

* Helms eliminate one die of damage from critical hits to the head and prevent critical hit effects with a DC 20 Fort save.

** 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.

 
Now, the list above?  Not something I would just hand to my players in a handout – let them discover it, like we did in 1977 when we heard of fabled elven chain.  Make it a promised reward for helping a fisherman that they bestow upon you a set of Greentower Robes that used to belong to their uncle who passed away a few years ago.  Or make something up, like a vicious dagger that does 1d5 damage instead, that doesn’t have a fixed value but might be treasured by the players – in fact, I have a halfling in our game with a 1d5 damage dagger that he still uses at 3rd level.

A
lso 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.

N
ow, 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 m
agic 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.

M
ake 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.

T
hat 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.

I
t 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.

Q
uestions, 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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