Please Help!!!!^^

[gamma4one]

Hi,
I´m the new DM in my group but I´ve just a few experiences.

So, at one of my first adventures one of them told me that my loot was to high.

I agreed and reduced it.

Now I want to make a whole campain and at the end the others have to kill a dragon (juveline or young adult) and I´m not sure what I´m suposed to give them!

I allready got some ideas from the DM-guide and draconomicon but I´m still not sure.

Please help!!!!!!!:frown:

[Gorfang113]

If you have Dragonomicon then in the back you can find example dragon treasure hoards. I would suggest trying to make whatever treasures you give them be similar in total value to that.

[gamma4one]

I did this allready but I´m not sure if this is enough.

You see, I was going to give them nothing until they complete the Quest.

[Kol Korran]

i think you can do this in two ways:
- ask one of the players (or use your notes) to sum up how much they have. then plan the treasure accordingly so in a level or two the party will be by the Wealth by level guide mentioned in the DMG (can't remember where). then just proceed by that table, and to the dragon use the draconmicon idea

- you can decide to give them nothing till they slay the dragon. i HIGHLY recommend against it, for two reasons- first, players without treasure get grumpy and angry, and can leave groups. secondly, the game RELIES on the PCs having the treasure in over to overcome obstacles, especially one such as a dragon!

if you do choose this path, add the treasures from all the levels up to the dragon, and add it to it's hoard.

that's my opinion anyway

[LansXero]

Or you could build a list of items suited for a range of characters (or if you know what the party will be, to them) that adds up to 4x WBL of the level when they will kill the dragon, then sprinkle it all throughout the adventure (making sure you dont do stuff like putting only one weapon but 9 different types of armor close to each other); that way they will be aprox. there by the time they confront the dragon. If the campaign ends there, then it doesnt really matter what they get from killing it, does it? It will just add to the coolness of the epilogue.

[0nimaru]

Your situation is a bit vague to me, how I read it, but this is an idea you could try.

I tend to seed my campaigns with a fairly large amount of goods, usually far more than the WBL. I go through the MiC and choose about half/half items I know they'll want, and items that are.. weird, but useful. I do reduced sell prices to shops, so if they find good uses for items like Bags of Tricks or Immobile Rods (useful, but not keyed to their character) they are ahead of the game. The other option is they can sell the things and buy from the shop, but they'll be slightly under WBL if they do this for everything.

[Urpriest]

The simplest thing to do with a new DM is to stick with the treasure guidelines in the DMG. You should have the players get on average one level-appropriate treasure per encounter. A Dragon's horde is ~3 level appropriate treasures, so you balance it out by having two fights involve monsters that don't typically have treasure, or traps or roleplay or the like.

[Fouredged Sword]

For example, The black dragon the party is set to slay keeps zombie lizardfolk in the pond that leads to his layer. They attack the party in mass as they enter the underwater cave, forcing them to fight underwater and in the dark. The foes aren't that hard, but the envorment is worth +2 or 3 CR. These creatures drop no treasure.

The party then surfaces into an air filled cave. Little do they know that in the cave there are a series of traps and a few Kobold servents to the dragon. If they atempt to procede slowly the kobolds have lookouts to fire crossbow bolts down the tunnel to try to get them to charge through the traps. The party faces another chalenge that the creatures aren't that dangerous in of themselves, but the added traps that they must navagate up the chalenge considerable. The kobolds drop basic gear not worth a whole lot of gold.

Then they face the dragon. They face it in the hord and the battle is chalenging. There are no traps or minions here, just a large dangerous monster who tries to kill them. This monster once killed sits atop a pile of loot that contains treasure rolled on the CR level treasure loot tables three times and added together.

This is balanced becuse the party has fought three encounters of roughly that CR, but only one droped treasure.

[CTrees]

Yesterday I participated in a new GM's first session, wherein, through theivery, vandalism, and callous murder cunning heroics, we managed to end up with two enchanted swords. GM figures +3 Greatswords - +3 isn't that much, right?

We're level one characters, and all three players that were there are very experienced players.

We calmly explained that we'd be using the swords for their gold value, and then kitting ourselves out ridiculously. Then we suggested that perhaps a pair of +3 weapons was a little much. We worked it out as +1, still rather a lot, but somewhat fitting for what we were able to loot why we razed an entire town with fire what we were able to rescue from the inexplicable inferno that sadly claimed an entire town of commoners, in spite of our best efforts to evacuate the populace that stole the loot from the NPC killed in the opening scene.

-------------------

Just interesting timing, as I've *just* dealt with this scenario. Basically, I'd go with the guidelines in the DMG, and liberally sprinkle treasure throughout. Try not to save it all for the end, though you can stick the *bulk* of the treasure after the boss fight. For instance, in your dragon's den, let them find a guarded room full of potions, scrolls, and other breakables, which wouldn't be appropriate for the dragon's love of sleeping on its treasure, before the actual fight. Keeps 'em happy.

[Fouredged Sword]

Standard enchantments are way overpriced anyway. I would much rather have thier value in useful scrolls and wands.

[gamma4one]

Ok.

I think I´ve a plan now.

Thaks to erveryone!!!:smallbiggrin:

(I´ll let this Thread open for discussing other problems):smallwink:

[NOhara24]

My DM in particular does everything by the book in our campaign, except loot. He has entirely thrown WBL out the window, and the amount of money our characters come upon is GREATLY varied, but at level 7 I can safely say we are FAR behind the WBL curve.

But because of this, it's very hard to get magical items, namely because of their cost. To try and fix it, I've had my character start hoarding whatever weapons/armor our enemies are wearing. (If any...rarely do we face anything humanoid.) But because of that I'm wondering what's the best magical item to get for the money? My character is largely a tank, so anything that would add AC/Attack bonus would be nice.

[Fouredged Sword]

If you are money starved go for multiple stacking bonuses. Read the item creation guidelines to see what the cost of a +1 enhancement +1 moral +1 insperation +1 natural armor +1 vile +1 sacred bonus bracers of armor would be.

Talk to your DM and throw this idea and tell him to scale it back as much as he wants and then price it.