Trade; item value vs raw currency

[Phelot]

Though it does raise questions of item space - are we talking Divinity 1 style of endless pit only limited by your own str/carry-weight score or Witcher like slots that you can only carry a few items of?

I like the JA2 1.13 patch inventory system and I'd love to see somethng similar in a fantasy setting.

Basically, each character has a slot for various clothing: pants, belt, backpack, shirt, etc. You can attach things like pouches to your belt, or attach bags/backpacks to your back slot. Each item would open up a few slots for items.

Obviously, players would be limited in what they can carry. One sword with sheath and the rest would have to be put in a cart or carried by hand.

I really think the key here is to make the game rewarding enough WITHOUT the need for uber loot through superior writing, rewards that have more meaning or XP rather then through money.

And if a game has limited amount of combat, all the better or have enemies (like zombies or skeletons) that do not have item drops or whose items are useless at least to most merchants "Why did you bring me a decade old zombie liver??"

Also, players should be required to part more of their money. Maybe not require eating, but a living expense should be expected unless the player becomes destitute and stats are effect. If there is going to be a player owned house then they should be paying taxes/rent.

We always claim that these are just games and that's true, things can border on tedium, but there are so few survival style RPGs that it would be a nice change of pace.

 

[crufty]

an approach that I like, on a side note.

CONAN

In conan stories, the only loot worth looting are known, high level artifacts. Everything else is worthless. Sometimes, Conan skips loot just because it's too evil and not worth the harassment he'll get from stealing it. In game terms, this means some loot comes with a real price--spirits attacking the player when resting, or whatever. And the loot of value rewards the player with major gp, a real incentive to loot the good stuff--and steer away from hording piles of bloodied orc leather armor for pennies.

HACKMASTER

Phelot hits a good point. HackMaster DM Guide is a worthy read because it is filled with ideas on how to fleece players for gold--essentially, if a PC wants to advance in anything, it is going to cost major duckets. Players usually find plenty of weapons and armor on their own, but to advance in levels: that is a serious challenge. Warhammer FRP is also filled with many ways on reducing coinage: multiple currency, currency exchange rates, fee's on conversion, town entry fees, gate fees, taxes payable on return from a known dungeon delve, handing over high level artifacts for 'safe keeping' that never quite make it back into PC hands...

If we look at this in terms of bartering, maybe only really good loot is worth anything from a bartering perspective, and maybe the exchange is for things that are SUPER important to PC development: skill advancement, leveling etc.

This might make things easier from a design perspective and while the trick is to avoid the typical fed-ex quest ("Bring me the Ruby Eye of NOOB and I'll level your party") some kind of universal item type classification (named swords) and a monster type interested in those items (expert swordsmiths who collect named swords) w/item drops in difficult random encounters (sort of a reverse-leveling algorithm: instead of scaling the monster hp, de-scale the loot).

an uber detailed pack system is nice, but should be automatic. I also think that weight should have a much higher penalty in fantasy settings. Anytime weight is applied to the body, it causes resistance. I couldn't imagine doing anything wearing one suit of armor and carrying another, much less the bulkiness of multiple helmets etc.

 

[deuxhero]

A babaric society maybe? Something insanely structured in a capital/center of power (Atztec-alike), where advancement in the favour of a lord would mean the highest reward that society can offer? But that is at the same time primitive in small settlements, with no concept of currency (didn't mayans use cacao beans as a pseudo currency?).

Or something slightly more fantastic, like some economic failing liberal discovered the philosopher's stone and collapsed the value of gold.


There was a fairly interesting economy some guy thought up for Dungeons and Dragons based on its many imbalances. Basically everything over a fixed amount could not be bought for gold (as anyone could just bind a genie and wish for something under that or for gold), anything more expensive must be found yourself, crafted or traded for rare resources that wish can't duplicate. Never seen it used, but it sounded neat.

 

[J1M]

A babaric society maybe? Something insanely structured in a capital/center of power (Atztec-alike), where advancement in the favour of a lord would mean the highest reward that society can offer? But that is at the same time primitive in small settlements, with no concept of currency (didn't mayans use cacao beans as a pseudo currency?).

Or something slightly more fantastic, like some economic failing liberal discovered the philosopher's stone and collapsed the value of gold.


There was a fairly interesting economy some guy thought up for Dungeons and Dragons based on its many imbalances. Basically everything over a fixed amount could not be bought for gold (as anyone could just bind a genie and wish for something under that or for gold), anything more expensive must be found yourself, crafted or traded for rare resources that wish can't duplicate. Never seen it used, but it sounded neat.

Economicon.

http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=28551#28551

 

[deuxhero]

That would be it.