Sophistemon
2010-12-12, 04:31 AM
Warriors and Warlocks is a supplementary book for the Mutants and Masterminds roleplaying game that was written to accommodate those players that wanted to use the mutable system to play games in a sword and sorcery fantasy setting. I've been reading through the book again in preparation of putting together a game that I've been thinking about, but I'm having trouble figuring out how wealth should be handled in this sort of setting.
The book itself suggests either of the following (pages 29-30):
The first is to distinguish between mundane equipment and important or special equipment. Rope, clothing, rations, and the like are all covered by the rubric “mundane equipment.” Unless the lack of having said materials is important to the story, simply assume that characters come equipped with whatever they reasonably need at the Gamemaster’s discretion. Ignore equipment point costs for these items. Weapons and armor may or may not qualify as important equipment depending on the types of stories the GM wants, but exotic or specially designed equipment (such as gear that departs from the standard build of such items) should always cost equipment points. For example, in a dark-medieval milieu, Balasarus the Bold should pay equipment points for his primitive leather-winged glider as it is obviously not normal equipment for his environs (and is likely to have story significance for him personally, especially if his reputation is as “The Flying Warrior”). Similarly, a time-tossed soldier from the 20th century transported to a vaguely Norse-inspired setting should pay points for his fabled thunder wand “SmitundVesson” as his pistol—standard equipment for his place of origin—is very special indeed when surrounded by opponents with nothing more advanced than bows and arrows.
Or:
A second option is to simply compare the characters’ individual wealth ratings with the expected cost of whatever equipment they need. So long as they can afford what they need, actual equipment point cost is ignored. Special or exotic items, such as the previously mentioned glider or pistol, are priceless. If no reasonable cost can be applied to an item, it will always need to be acquired through the expenditure of points in the character build. This is perhaps the easier of the two options as it removes some of the onus from the Gamemaster in choosing what is and isn’t “mundane equipment.” If an item isn’t unique or special in some way, it simply gets a price comparison and character creation or outfitting moves quickly on.
Which of these would you suggest that I employ, and why? Or, if you have a better suggestion than is provided above, would you mind listing it and explaining its merits? It may be the late hour (so late it's very early), but I can't seem to get my mind around this right now well enough to make a decision and I could really use a helping hand.
The book itself suggests either of the following (pages 29-30):
The first is to distinguish between mundane equipment and important or special equipment. Rope, clothing, rations, and the like are all covered by the rubric “mundane equipment.” Unless the lack of having said materials is important to the story, simply assume that characters come equipped with whatever they reasonably need at the Gamemaster’s discretion. Ignore equipment point costs for these items. Weapons and armor may or may not qualify as important equipment depending on the types of stories the GM wants, but exotic or specially designed equipment (such as gear that departs from the standard build of such items) should always cost equipment points. For example, in a dark-medieval milieu, Balasarus the Bold should pay equipment points for his primitive leather-winged glider as it is obviously not normal equipment for his environs (and is likely to have story significance for him personally, especially if his reputation is as “The Flying Warrior”). Similarly, a time-tossed soldier from the 20th century transported to a vaguely Norse-inspired setting should pay points for his fabled thunder wand “SmitundVesson” as his pistol—standard equipment for his place of origin—is very special indeed when surrounded by opponents with nothing more advanced than bows and arrows.
Or:
A second option is to simply compare the characters’ individual wealth ratings with the expected cost of whatever equipment they need. So long as they can afford what they need, actual equipment point cost is ignored. Special or exotic items, such as the previously mentioned glider or pistol, are priceless. If no reasonable cost can be applied to an item, it will always need to be acquired through the expenditure of points in the character build. This is perhaps the easier of the two options as it removes some of the onus from the Gamemaster in choosing what is and isn’t “mundane equipment.” If an item isn’t unique or special in some way, it simply gets a price comparison and character creation or outfitting moves quickly on.
Which of these would you suggest that I employ, and why? Or, if you have a better suggestion than is provided above, would you mind listing it and explaining its merits? It may be the late hour (so late it's very early), but I can't seem to get my mind around this right now well enough to make a decision and I could really use a helping hand.