PC Reward Ideas

[pbdr]

So, my players have been coming together fairly well over the last few sessions, they've had some tough encounters, but have dome through. They also are starting to gel as role-players a bit more (they are all fairly new to D&D and RPG's in general).

The are about to "meet" a BBEG that has been trying to capture them the entire campaign. It's not supposed to be the "final showdown" against this guy, but more of a teaser. He has setup an ambush, that is going to be difficult, but my plan is to have the BBEG flee at some point (I have a contingency plan in case the PCs are unlucky that should work without seeming too put on).

Anyhoo, I'd like to give the PCs a reward after this and I'd like to get ideas on what would be appropriate. Something permanent and not a magic item.

They PCs are 10th lvl Genasi (slightly altered one of each element, it plays into the story line). Air = ranger/archer; Earth = Barbarian/fighter; Water = Cleric (healer); Fire = Warlock/beguiler/Eldritch Theurge. They setting is a bit lower magic than usual, but they do have some good stuff, maybe about 80% standard wealth by level.

My initial thoughts are to give them a choice between one or two things. One option is a +1 or +2 bump to one stat (whichever seems appropriate); another might be a spell added for the casters; another might be a based on their "element"...

Just looking for some level appropriate ideas here.

[evisiron]

A minion!

If the BBEG had the likes of a slave, prisoner or Psuedodragon or other small but handy creature caged up, the party could have the person/critter help them out while they have a score to settle.

There is also some RP potential that you just don't get with mechanical benefits.

[yougi]

I'm from the school of thought that believes you should give abilities, rather than +'s, especially as a reward for doing something awesome. By giving them an ability, everytime they'll use them, they'll remember that awesome combat they pulled through. If you just give a +1, odds are they'll forget. With some particular +'s, they might even think it's a math error on their part, and eventually erase and "correct" it.

Of course, you could fluff them as you want, and they should be linked to the character's personality or flavor, but here are a few ideas, just based of their respective element:

Water Cleric could get the ability to turn liquid at will. Base the ability of gaseous form, but instead of gas, it's liquid. Maybe while in this form, he could have a special drowning attack, like water elemental of yesteryear.

Air Archer could get the ability to fly, in a somehow limited way probably, maybe requiring him to use a move action every round to sustain the effect.

Earth Barb could get Earth glide, as an Earth Elemental. Or stone shape, or other similar abilities. Maybe some of the Stonelord's powers (CW).

Fire Lock could gain the ability to turn to fire, human-torch style? Or maybe his EB s better against monsters who are vulnerable to fire?

[Slipperychicken]

Stat bumps can be accomplished through Tomes.

Pathfinder has Page(s) of Spell Knowledge, which grants a spontaneous caster who possesses it the ability to cast the spell written it as though it was a spell known. That should give you a guideline on how much extra spells are worth in terms of WBL.

[Feilith]

I'm from the school of thought that believes you should give abilities, rather than +'s, especially as a reward for doing something awesome. By giving them an ability, everytime they'll use them, they'll remember that awesome combat they pulled through. If you just give a +1, odds are they'll forget. With some particular +'s, they might even think it's a math error on their part, and eventually erase and "correct" it.

Of course, you could fluff them as you want, and they should be linked to the character's personality or flavor, but here are a few ideas, just based of their respective element:

Water Cleric could get the ability to turn liquid at will. Base the ability of gaseous form, but instead of gas, it's liquid. Maybe while in this form, he could have a special drowning attack, like water elemental of yesteryear.

Air Archer could get the ability to fly, in a somehow limited way probably, maybe requiring him to use a move action every round to sustain the effect.

Earth Barb could get Earth glide, as an Earth Elemental. Or stone shape, or other similar abilities. Maybe some of the Stonelord's powers (CW).

Fire Lock could gain the ability to turn to fire, human-torch style? Or maybe his EB s better against monsters who are vulnerable to fire?

I like the idea and the thought, but Earth glide is sort of super powerful, maybe make them able to summon a lesser elemental of their associated type that they can control like an druid animal companion, each with its own special ability.
Water: mass Vigor
Earth: Roots all enemies within 30 ft of caster
Air: Party windwalk
Fire: Wall of Fire

[hydraa]

You could give them all a bonus feat (Dodge, Toughness, one of the +2/+2 skill feats, a luck feat) that would give them something that might be marginally useful but may be requirement for something else (prestige class). Of course you can tailor this to the actions that the party takes to defeat this encounter to reflect the knowledge and experience they gained

[ArcturusV]

I'm tempted to say something less mechanical and more roleplay oriented. You mentioned they are new, and learning the ropes, and really getting into it. Giving them some SLA or power is simple and obvious. But having a reward which pushes their ability to roleplay and think outside of the direct, obvious rules will help evolve their skills as players a bit more.

That's the benefit to having a Minion as evisiron pointed out. Yes, your minion might be some level 2 ranger who can shoot a bow at targets and piss them off for extra harassment, or some low level Shugenja who can help heal wounds as part of battlefield triage. Clear, mechanical advantage.

But it's the non-mechanical advantages, or at least the less clear ones, that become important as well. Having someone who can back up your bluffs and claims of heroism, another set of hands and eyes in a plan, a set of knowledge, skills, and connections that your character wouldn't otherwise have "Oh we're in the town of Karsin, don't you have family here Minion X? They might help us out on our quest to gain access to the Library of DOOM."

Level 10 is about the point where, in situations like this, if I haven't already started doing it I give out Connections, Allies, Contacts, and Favors as rewards. They don't impact WBL, reward RPing, and are often more memorable than a +2 Str or a Slightly More Magical Longsword. Let them feel epic as their defeat of the BBEG (Or temporary set back) draws attention to them. Local big shots want to get to know them. People want to do them favors and curry their loyalty.

[Fosco the Swift]

I'm with Arcturus on this one, allies are easily more useful than most other reward that can be gained, and are expecially good at making the game flavorful. But combining the minion and ally ideas and you get an Intelligent Item! The nice things about Intelligent Items is the freedom you have with them, and they're like an NPC ally if the item likes you. Plus the freedom with stat creation allows you to keep it from being overpowered, but still powerful. As an example, you could have a Intelligent Amulet that is revered by the Church of Pelor. While the amulet itself doesn't have to be powerful magic-wise, having it can boost your standing and create friends in the Church. If you are able to create a really nice personality for the item, there is SO much that can be done R-Playing wise in the game.

[pbdr]

Thanks for the ideas, In my opinion allies aren't really a "reward" in the same vein I'm thinking of. An ally, or such, is more of an in game thing. You gain allies, contacts, etc. in the course of the campaign through direct role playing. The same thing, to a lesser extent, for a minion. In terms of a reward, I'm thinking something more concrete, a direct character improvement/boost.

[Fosco the Swift]

Alright, here's a few options then, but its hard to come up with an interesting idea with these restrictions.
-Magic items are simple, common but effective way to boost your PC's. A interesting but overlooked choice is a Staff for a spellcaster. While staffs are usually overlooked do to the price, they usually are always used if they are gained as a reward. The staffs in the book are less fun because they are so general, try building your own to suit the NPC that had the staff. If you want, I could try to build one if you gave me some general guidelines to work with.
-PC's always like special, flavorful boosts that suit their character, expecially if its supernatural in nature (it doesn't have to be a SU though). For example, 1/day let the Barbarian or Fighter use "Enlarge Person" on himself for # of rounds equal to his level. Something simple like that, but gives more options and possibilities to your group.
-Similar to above, special effects to certain class features or spells can be really interesting to a PC. These include effects that are not in the "#/day" catagory, its just a special trait that the character brings to his build. A very simple, low powered example: every time the spellcaster casts a spell with the Fire descripter, he/she can cast "Light" or "Flare" as a free action without AoO.
Just some ideas

[Souhiro]

What about A TITLE?

Not a nobily title, but a nickname, something that the folk murmur, and they can hear the commoners murmur legends about them.

In my game, the Druid used the cantrip "Create Water" in a desert setting. Since water is more valuable than blood in the desert, and it flowed from his hands, they called him "The Hand of Life". After healing a lot of soldiers during a battle -and leaving without givin his name- the cleric was called "The shadow who rebuked death", and the Fighter, who drove away some local crime lords, was called "The MAN".

Also, the team killed a -juvenile- dragon, so a NPC annoited their armors with the blood of the dragon and said "From this day, I will call you the DragonSlayers"

And I can assure you: the PCs are happier with those nicknames and titles than if I gave them a +5 sword!

[Red Fel]

What about A TITLE?

Not a nobily title, but a nickname, something that the folk murmur, and they can hear the commoners murmur legends about them.

In my game, the Druid used the cantrip "Create Water" in a desert setting. Since water is more valuable than blood in the desert, and it flowed from his hands, they called him "The Hand of Life". After healing a lot of soldiers during a battle -and leaving without givin his name- the cleric was called "The shadow who rebuked death", and the Fighter, who drove away some local crime lords, was called "The MAN".

Also, the team killed a -juvenile- dragon, so a NPC annoited their armors with the blood of the dragon and said "From this day, I will call you the DragonSlayers"

And I can assure you: the PCs are happier with those nicknames and titles than if I gave them a +5 sword!

Or maybe an actual title. You know, a little taste of minor nobility.

Say that part of the BBEG encounter involves a rescue. And say that the rescued person is (or is related to) a person of influence. Depending on how the scene plays out between the PCs and rescue-ee, some or all of the PCs may be granted a certain level of deference by the rescue-ee's people. Say a +2 to Diplomacy checks with good-aligned Fey, or a special residence within the walls of the Keep, granted by the local lord. Nothing as substantial as having proper noble title, with land and tithes and such, but a little something to hang one's hat on, something that a creative player could barter into much more, but something that doesn't break the game.

For instance, I remember a campaign where several of our players were given a task by a noble. Before we left, we were also given a test of our virtue - just an illusion to see how we would act. Those who passed were given a small pin which had a minor protective spell on it, and informed that they had been inducted into a special society, with the pin identifying them as members. The pin was less valuable than the membership, as the society had members all over the place, who could provide information, discounted goods, or other resources if properly motivated.

And somehow they let my borderline CE-guy in. I never figured that out.