Continuity of Character

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:38 pm

You could ransom special items back in exchange for a large chunk of non-special items.

In fact, ransoming gear lets you have meaningful treasure and fight a mirror match without doubling party power. It does weirdify the setting, though.

IGTN · Post by **IGTN** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:15 am

If a special item is worth a pile of non-special items as ransom, then a special item is worth a pile of non-special items in trade. At this point, the world is torn apart with crowbars.

Draco_Argentum · Post by **Draco_Argentum** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:52 am

If we're pantry raiding as a setting you could just go pantry raid your stuff back. Course its probably gear that is appropriate for people your level and doesn't scale up much so maybe you wouldn't bother unless it was a family heirloom.

Bigode · Post by **Bigode** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:06 am

At a severe disadvantage (if the game places significant weight on items). So, risk of death spiral. Personally, I cut that problem by cutting the items, of course.

Draco_Argentum · Post by **Draco_Argentum** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:14 am

Technically its not going to death spiral, you'll just get ransomed back. Your clan's leaders might get pissed at you though. But obviously items have to be of little mechanical consequence in a game where you're expected to lose them.

Bigode · Post by **Bigode** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:21 am

Draco_Argentum wrote:Technically its not going to death spiral, you'll just get ransomed back. Your clan's leaders might get pissed at you though. But obviously items have to be of little mechanical consequence in a game where you're expected to lose them.

OK, fail spiral.

But yeah, solved by downplaying equipment, though meteor-shooting metal penises seem like they never go outta style. Dammit.

zeruslord · Post by **zeruslord** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:19 am

In some settings, particularly ones based on Greek and Roman epics, you can just have replacement equipment be granted by the gods whenever current equipment is lost. Both Achilles and Aeneas get handed an awesome suit of armor when they lose theirs, although the wars in this are not pantry raids.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:22 am

Well, equipment can be recovered in a number of ways. It could be ransomed as well as you. You could be able to make more. Or the equipment is merely a focus for your skill, so while you do need a barbed spear to do your awesome, any barbed spear you wield is the Gae Bolga.

SunTzuWarmaster · Post by **SunTzuWarmaster** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:52 am

Whatever. The only thing you really care about is your Moderate and Major gear. In the Wish Economy, you can totally wish back your Flaming Sword and Saiyan Armor. As long as you have the < +2 ability and the ability for it to scale up to your level, you barely even care. The Samurai will be getting his Ancestral Weapon back in 24 hours (plus his choice of minor stuff). Yes, it knocks them down a peg (that Major Artifact is as good as gone), but they lost, so that's fine.

Being that I was on occonus travel a while ago, I took the "if/when you get captured by the enemy" training. Being taken by the enemy (even if they don't particularly obey the Geneva Conventions, which are fairly lax) sucks hardcore, but the survival rate is over 85% across all US wars (including Vietnam, but not including Iraq). Prisoners are a valuable tool for information exchange, prisoner exchange, beating up and getting information from, code breaking, or just general morale boosting. Killing someone outright without listening to what they have to say is a poor tactical decision. This is among the reasons Iraq is actually scary (they hate us enough to kill us even when it is stupid to do so).

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:31 am

Artifacts of the non-replaceable variety should probably be fairly rare and have something of a coolness value to them. I could see something similar to the Saberhagen Book of Swords universe - with a finite number of interestingly powerful items in the area that people fight over. When you lose, people will take your artifact, and when you win you get to take theirs.

Throw in some finite number of rival groups trying to get all of them, and you can have an ongoing campaign with gains and set backs. The big thing you have to do is to remove the expectation that being an advanced character entitles you to a certain amount of magical artifacts. Because that leads to people being in the position of new characters being better equipped than old characters who recently got ransomed back to their village - and that's just wrong.

Getting the Ampersand should be a good thing and a contingent campaign event - like marrying a princess or conquering a valley. And it should no more be on a character's level progression than that. As long as Wealth By Level doesn't exist, players can have characters that aqre not Elothar Warriors of Bladereach, and that's a good thing.

-Username17