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From: krs@amdahl.UUCP (Kris Stephens)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: How do YOU fleece PCs?
Message-ID: <1391@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Apr-85 14:45:38 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.1391
Posted: Thu Apr 11 14:45:38 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Apr-85 03:21:36 EST
References: <2441@drutx.UUCP>
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 58

> There has been some discussion of ways to keep magic users from
> obtaining mass quantities of magic objects.  This is along the
> same line.
> 
> When do you know that PCs have too many goodies? What is your 
> favorite way of separating PCs from their funds
(...)
> 
>                                      Sue Brezden

As a player (I've DMed exactly once), I always want this done within
the context of a consistent  world and not arbitrarily.  I've played
in magically sparse worlds  and Monty Hall worlds,  and tend to have
more fun in the latter.  Rationale:  In magically sparse worlds, one
tends to spend more time battling  Orcs and 1st-3rd Fighters than in
magically affluent worlds.  I think it's  more fun for the DM,  too,
to play almost the entire realm of monsters and dieties.  One way to
deal with  "too many  magic items"  is to  beef up the  opponents by
level and class.  Make sure the party  comes across times  when it's
better to negotiate  or split than fight.  Be prepare,  though,  for
very creative uses  of spells and items  (that's what  we're playing
for, isn't it?).

I agree that as long as the party is having HP problems and breaking
out into cold sweats,  there's not too much magic.  If your party is
walking through your best, it's time to weaken it.

Every  time a  party is hit  by a fireball, roll saves  for scrolls,
staves,  and any other  perishable items.  Do this CONSISTENTLY.  Do
the same for all  environmental attacks.  A low level character with
an outrageous magic item  should draw baddies  like a magnet to take
it away from him.  If he can defend it, he can keep it.

Worse comes  to worse,  and if the play  is impossible  due to magic
item wealth,  gate the party to  another plane for  an adventure and
have the gate-fee be  the destruction of each  character's strongest
magic item.  Throw them into a  dungeon  where items  get teleported
from them by some baddie or other whenever they stop for rest. What-
ever you do, do it consistently over the years.

Oh, standard player's philosophy  should be that scrolls and potions
are expendable (harking back to my environmental comment),  and will
be after you've torched the entire supply on 'em two or three times.
The best way to remove magic items is to have them used up!

>                                      
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>                     Honk if you love Shiva!
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nupe: If you were honkin' for Freya, I'd get out my tuba!

Melchior, Bard

a.k.a.
-- 
Kris Stephens     (408-746-6047)                 {whatever}!amdahl!krs
     [The opinions expressed above are mine, solely, and do not    ]
     [necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Amdahl Corp. ]