Let’s Talk About Treasure Types (A)

 This is a new series (possibly?) that I am giving a go. We'll see if we get all the way through the list!

In a game like BX, treasure is a key component. Not only as a means for player characters to gain levels (XP for gold), but as a major factor in power scaling. A fighter getting a +1 sword is almost like gaining multiple levels in combat efficacy. A scroll could double a magic user’s spell capacity in a pinch, and so forth. Therefore, balancing the reward vs the risk is an important consideration.

D&D’s designers used the interesting approach of Treasure Types, listed by letter. Chances are if you read this infrequent blog, you already know what these are, but just in case: Each letter type has different odds that different categories of treasure (gold, silver, gems, magic, etc.) are present, and in varying quantities.

What’s fascinating is to look at the logic behind which monsters get which treasure (if any!). I’m sure most of these observations have been made before, but this is just a little walk-through of my own journey down this rabbit hole. So we’ll start at the beginning: Treasure Type A.

Type A loot is listed with an average value of 18K gp. That’s a pretty massive haul. Mind you, these treasure types are listed for lairs, meaning you’ll likely need to deal with larger numbers of the monster to get to it, but if you can pull it off, there’s a tidy profit!

So who gets this kind of treasure? Mostly humans, actually. Some examples are Brigands, Nomads, Dervishes, and Pirates. There are a few non human monsters with this treasure type. Namely, Centaurs, Merman, and Troglodytes. These are also intelligent races that live in groups, so the logic there seems pretty straightforward.

Each of these monsters may have a dozen or more of them in their lair, making a straight up fight likely to be challenging. It’s also worth noting that TT:A gives a decent chance for multiple magic items, as well as a large cache of gems & jewelry. This makes sense, as most of these groups are wandering/transient types that would value portable wealth over piles of heavy coins. These could theoretically be worth over 100K on their own! Though I personally question the die rolls that resulted in a number like that!

Other than the fact that pirates can have a lot of treasure (I already knew that!), what does all this tell me? Well, for one thing, it’s a “civilized” treasure. The “monsters” that have this type would likely value it as money, not just shinies.

Despite that, it’s a treasure type for people that are not entirely civilized. These are travelers, criminals, nomads, or inhumans that still have a culture where things like money could matter. A great deal of the value is highly portable as well. The magic items are likely used by the leader(s), not sitting in a vault or piled somewhere.

Why does this matter? Well, it doesn’t really. Not mechanically. But what it does do for me is help inform the setting. If I know these things about why this particular monster possesses this kind of treasure, it can springboard into ideas that could make the loot more interesting. I could seed plot hooks into what they find. Maybe some of those jewels were taken by the bandits from a powerful noble? Or maybe after defeating the pirates, the only thing the PCs find is one item: a scroll. It is, of course, a Treasure Map to where the rest of the loot is hidden. Where would troglodytes even find 8000 gold coins? Perhaps they slaughtered some dwarves and their clan might pay handsomely to recover the loot and have their kin avenged.

Treasure is such a big part of gameplay in BX-style rulesets that it seems worth taking a moment to think a bit about exactly why that monster has this particular set of potential loot. This can make finding treasure mean so much more to the players than just numbers on their character sheets.

Endgame, part 4: Thieves in the Night

"Behind every great fortune there is a crime."

I saved thieves for last among the "Core Four" human classes, since he's a bit unusual. For one thing, he reaches name level sooner than any other class (160,000 xp). For another, he doesn't build a stronghold, tower, or castle. He usually sets up shop in an established area. Lastly, exactly how his endgame plays out can vary a lot more than most other classes, depending upon the DM and how the player wants to handle things.

A ninth level thief is not actually all that powerful a PC. With an average of only 18 hit points, limited armor options, and no spells he is not making anyone quake in their boots.Of course he has probably picked up some magic items along the way and made enough money that he owns quality gear, but he still isn't all that intimidating on his own. A name level thief's strengths lie in his ability to operate "off radar." The underground world of crime and corruption is bread and drink to the higher level thief. Dark alleys and shadowy corners are fine for a low level cutpurse or thug, but master thieves need to think bigger.

I've always thought Charisma should have been a prime requisite for thieves. Sure, DEX is nice, but eventually being able to convince and persuade is going to count for a lot more potentially. Ah well, a topic for another time.

Cook says that name level thieves "...a thief may construct a hideout (a fortified house in a city, a cave network, or so forth). A thief who has constructed a hideout will attract 2-12 1st level thieves who have come to learn under a master."

2d6 apprentices is not a lot to work with, manpower wise. However, he's not manning a castle or patrolling a barony, he running a gang of crooks. Sure the gang might one day rule a whole city's criminal underworld, but that's not something most DMs would just hand wave away. They'd play that arc out (as well they should!).

Furthermore, thieves don't need to set up shop in a city. They can be highwaymen, smugglers, spies, or pirates. The Master Thief can arguably adapt to settings or individual player concepts to what they want more so than the other classes. 

To use the pirate example, a sailing ship costs much less than our Tarnskeep example. A small ship might even be crewed by your 2d6 apprentices alone. Not to mention it provides convenient transportation to various parts of the world for the PCs and the thief can sack ships or raid coastal settlements as they go.

Name level thieves need to be smart more than tough, and willing to look at the different ways they can profit from their newfound status in the shady underworld of the setting.

Ahoy! (Nautical Adventuring in FAGE)

FAGE Ship to Ship (Pirates and sea serpents and storms, oh my!)

Ocean travel and its hazards are something that I've discussed on this blog quite often, albeit usually in terms of monsters. Many games include some rules for traveling and fighting on the water, but Fantasy AGE does not (yet). So, in an effort to fill a gap until some official rules appear, and to amuse myself by tinkering, here are some ideas about handling the perils of the deep in FAGE.

Most threats will either be a straight up combat or a hazard. This means the PCs (and possibly the NPC crew) will simply duke it out with some aquatic beastie or have to deal with things like a storm or shoaling reefs, etc. For the former, it's a combat. GMs will want to keep in mind things like damage to the ship or cargo (or minor NPCs). A lot of that might be handled narratively. The sea serpent lashes out with it tail and breaks the mainmast like a twig. Maybe someone has to jump out of the way or get smashed, but otherwise it won't effect the immediate combat. Later on, the ship may be drastically slowed in its travels, but for now the monster is the problem.  

Hazards could either be addressed with an Ability Test or an Advanced Test. The latter would be for when the danger or challenge lasts for longer than a few minutes. The former is for a sudden crisis: an iceberg looming out of the fog may be a simple Dex (Sailing) check to turn hard to port. Weathering a storm might be an Advanced test vs the captain's skill with a threshold set according to the severity of the threat. Failure in such a test might be represented by a cap on the number of rolls one can make before consequences set in. To use the storm example:

• Success Threshold: 13 (Tough, but not INSANE. A pretty bad storm)
• The captain will make Dex (Sailing) rolls. Each roll represents an hour's time. 
• TN: The storms's intensity is not without its challenges, but well within a competent skipper's normal skills. Let's say 11. 
• Max Rolls: The GM determines the storm lasts 5 hours. That means the captain must make the success threshold within that window (5 rolls) or it means he couldn't weather the storm and –depending on how far short he fell of the target– his ship and crew suffer the consequences. The GM can determine this as appropriate: Maybe they were merely blown off course. Maybe they were dismasted. Maybe the ship founders and sinks.

Another situation that might arise is a ship to ship action. Perhaps pirates attack the merchant vessel that the PCs have booked passage upon. Maybe the PCs are the pirates!

If the goal of each ship is the same but conflicting, i.e. to attack the other, then opposed sailing rolls by the captains will suffice for maneuvering. Modifiers can be given for things like advantageous positioning (the weather gage) or a ship's sea/battle-worthiness. A win in the opposed roll gives the victor some edge that turn in the fight. Maybe stunt points to those who are actually fighting. Gunnery (or catapults, etc.) are their own attack rolls. GMs could also allow the winner to describe some narrative effect based on the degree of success (stunt die result). 

Another tack (Heheh. Get it?) is to use opposed, advanced tests. This could be especially useful if one ship has a different goal from another. e.g. escape vs. attack.

Each captain declares what their goal is and then the GM sets the success thresholds and TNs. The interval between rolls (time) is determined by the nature of the goals, distance from each other, etc. (probably at least several minutes for each roll in a sailing ship scenario).

Each captain rolls –probably Dex (Sailing) or Int (Navigation), but it would depend on the goal– each captain can theoretically succeed in a turn, but the one who succeeds by the greater margin gains an addition +1 toward their threshold. GMs can also enforce a cap on a captain's rolls like in the storm example if it makes sense. Maybe the pursuing ship must catch its quarry before they can reach the harbor. Perhaps one ship is trying to get through a treacherous reef before night falls while the other ship races around through open water to cut them off on the other side. Who knows? 

Whichever ship that reaches its threshold first wins the contest and the results can be handled narratively. Of course, the result may lead to a new contest or conflict. The chase ends in a boarding action and combat.

These types of contests are probably best in situations where the PCs have some say in how things are handled. If the "captain" of the party's ship is an NPC, have one of the players roll for him. You (the GM) may tell them what the captain wants to do ("We can't win a stand-up fight, we have to flee!" or "If we can force them into the shallows, their heavier draft will run them aground!") but the players need some agency. 

Of course, if the party is in command, let them make their choices. They need to appoint one PC as the commander for the contest. Sailing ship actions depend on coherent orders given definitively and carried out obediently. The other players can have their PCs doing things like firing arrows at the other ship. 

They might assist the captain as well. A character with the Com (Morale) focus might inspire the crew to hop to it, or a mage might cast the Wind Blast spell to give the sails a gust of speed. Such actions might grant +1 assist to the captain for a turn or two.

One could fill chart after chart with different variations of wind and currents and turning radiuses, but I'm trying for something a little more abstract here. Likewise I'm not describing multiple ships from various eras or cultures. I'm not trying to quantify hull AR or health points or speeds and so forth. Most of that might be useful in a wargame or a scenario where the point of it was to determine a real naval battle or ship action in terms of crews, armaments, and ships, but I'm just trying for some ideas on how to run an adventure on the open waves.

Kelvernia: Arganta

To the south lies the arid land of Arganta. Most of the population lives along the coastline, fishing and sailing. There is a long history of piracy and raiding among the Argantans, and many merchant ships have fallen prey to their swift longboats. 

The Argantan people are swarthy and tend to be shorter than northerners. Culturally they have a great zest for life and tend to be somewhat fatalistic about danger. While many make living off plunder and theft, they are not without their own peculiar code of honor. The corsairs value their reputation for courage above almost everything, so anything that might make them look craven is avoided at all costs.

Despite its seafaring prowess, the wealth of Arganta lies in the interior; in the wastes. There, rare spices and herbs grow amid the blasted rock and sands. Many expeditions to collect such commodities never return. Those that do can make a man rich. 

The changed roam the wastes in vicious bands and some of the wildlife has "warped" as well, making it doubly dangerous to venture there. It is even said that there is a town of metalmen somewhere in the desert, but most dismiss this as mere rumor.