The Order of the Stick

The main point is that D&D is not designed for accurate worldbuilding of realistic economic systems. It's designed for adventurers to fight monsters in dungeons. The economy is only interacted with in the most peripheral way, and is given almost no attention whatsoever.

To be perfectly honest, the D&D isn't really designed for role-playing either, in the sense we normally mean it today. It's designed entirely for fighting and disarming traps and whatnot. The gameplay it has in mind is incredibly narrow.

I often hear RPG aficionados lament that so many people try to play other sorts of campaigns in the D&D system when they'd be much better served switching systems entirely.

There has been increased focus on roleplaying and alternative conflict resolution in later editions. I wouldn't say it's entirely built for combat and dungeon delving, although that is definitely where the mechanical emphasis is.

D&D can serve well at other purposes, especially if you want a rules light frame for them, I think. If all you want is occasional rolls for skill checks amid talking-heavy sessions, D&D can do that. If you want a crunchy game not about combat or dungeoneering, then D&D will probably disappoint.

Personally I'd rather play a game with a simulation-heavy approach or go with no gamifying and outright freeform text roleplay, and treat D&D as entertaining grid combat with awkwardly limited roleplay stapled on, but mileage may vary.

Also with that linked comic from a bit ago with the ruby, what was up with the wizard guy who served Vaarsuvius divorce papers? Does he generally antagonise people he serves papers to? Did he just happen to have picked a fight with V and hearing the name went 'Oh hey'? Did he expect Vaarsuvius not to accept the papers unless manipulated like that? I don't get it.

Edited by RaichuKFM on Dec 17th 2020 at 6:13:51 AM

I think it was that last one.

That's actually something I was taught in law school, that process servers should use every trick in the book to get the person to accept, even if they have to use deception.

The idea being that if someone knows they're getting sued or whatever they will almost certain just decide not to take the notice, in which case they can argue later that they were never served.

Edited by Clarste on Dec 17th 2020 at 3:35:16 AM

Thing is though that while D&D doesn't have mechanical systems or incentives to roleplaying besides "roll a skill roll", some people actually like that <_< Like some people prefer their RP Gs to be completely freeform, some of them prefer pretty loose set of rules and some want more involved roleplaying rules. Theeeeeeeere are lot of different rpgs.

(also on sidenote, I have grudge against Powered by the Apocalypse system ;p Just because of how many people I've talked to that tout it as better roleplaying game than D20 based systems and then act snobby about it and then getting dismissive about my suggestion's originality when we get to the "okay, everyone tells what kind of setting/story we want to tell" part of the system :p)

Heck even D&D's editions feel drastically different on so many respect, like besides 2e fighters eventually becoming barons with their own castle through leveling up, did you know that it was expected that each player character could recruit henchmen they bring around with them to everywhere? Charisma score was basically all about how many henchmen you can have hanging around yourself

Edited by SpookyMask on Dec 17th 2020 at 2:49:51 PM

Core D&D pricing is meant to allow players to raid dungeons and bring their hard-won treasure to the local town to buy supplies and equipment. It's not meant to simulate an actual economic system. As with all rules, they are guidelines and DMs can brew their own systems if they want, but it's pointless to discuss.

I don't know if this was the case in Third Edition, but the Fifth Edition Player's Handbook says that A) 50 gold pieces way one pound in total, and B) one pound of gold is worth 50 gold pieces. Implying that the coins don't really hold any value as currency and "gold piece" might as well refer to literally just a chunk of of gold of appropriate weight.

It's an implication of the conversion, yes. 50 gp = 1 lb, so a pound of gold is worth 50 gp. Maybe there's some overhead in the minting process, but very few D&D settings bother to have local currencies or stampings or anything else that makes a particular coin identifiable.

Edited by Fighteer on Dec 17th 2020 at 8:26:43 AM

I guess there's also the fact that most of the gold coins that adventurers handle are relics of ancient civilizations so their value as minted currency would be nonexistent. But their archaeological value...

Eh, it's just a matter of weight, with no apparent concession to purity. Can you imagine forcing players to go to the local gold trader after every adventure to painstakingly weigh out and test each coin? These are mechanical shortcuts for convenience.

For the sake of abstraction, every "gp" is a disc of 100% pure metal weighing 0.32 oz and has been since the beginning of time. Nobody ever clips them or forges them or otherwise defaces currency unless it's part of an adventure plot, and there is no inflation or deflation. All merchants accept all things in trade for their face value and there's an endless supply of money. Again, unless a plot device mandates otherwise.

Edited by Fighteer on Dec 17th 2020 at 8:40:32 AM

Actually, at least in 3.5, merchants only accept certain "trade goods" at their full value in barter or buying. Other items sold or bartered to a reseller are valued at half price, though presumably when traded with another end user would be bartered or sold for about full value.

Also huh, I didn't know that about process servers.

Process servers can't do anything outright illegal like trespassing or harassment, but anything else? Fair game.

That's what I meant, yes.

This is a system where you can take the rungs off a ladder and get two 10' poles that are worth more than a ladder. It is not a place for serious economic conversation.

I have alternate currencies in my game, depending on the nation, but I’m mean like that.

The old D&D campaign I used to play basically used the usual gold pieces, but there was one part where the group was traveling to a belligerent kingdom to perform some, ah, reconnaissance, and beforehand we had exchanged some of our coinage for ones from that country, out of concern that passing around foreign currency could invite unwanted attention, if it was accepted at all (since, again, they were either at war or at a very tense peace with all of their neighbors).

Edited by Reflextion on Dec 17th 2020 at 2:12:51 PM

Yeah the only reason it’s gonna happen in my campaign is because the party are literal privateers stealing from one country. They can use the coins interchangeably, it’s just liable to blow their cover.

A bit off-topic, I keep hearing other roleplaying games are better frameworks for creating campaigns, but I am so set in my ways. What would be a good system, for, say, a fan game of a show, with lots of fighting and roleplay?

Edited by DatLonerGirl on Dec 17th 2020 at 4:04:15 AM

I'd say that would depend more on the show in question and what powers and in-universe mechanics it needs to replicate.

[edit] Whoops, got this mixed up with the General D&D thread.

Edited by Wryte on Dec 17th 2020 at 5:27:19 AM

GURPS is intended to be grafted onto any sort of campaign you might want to run.

"GURPS is a system that lets you play anything." "Ah, so it's a good system for this show?" "... GURPS is a system that lets you play anything..."

I mean, a more general system will accomodate more themes/settings, but do so less perfectly. So you could probably play just about anything in Gurps, but you'll have to go to weird specific rulebooks or homebrew for certain features. If you want, say, a sci-fi game, a system specifically designed for sci-fi might be easier to use.

#1222: Cross the Line

I'm not going to say I called it, but I absolutely, 100 percent called it.

The dungeons aren't in the mountain at all. Bypassing the traps gets you to the true path.

I am surprised by one thing: I honestly thought that true seeing would let Redcloak get a sense of what is going on.

Edited by Fighteer on Dec 19th 2020 at 8:49:20 AM

I mean, half the thread called it, really.

Redcloak not seeing through this implies it's not a mere illusion or a simple teleportation spell, but instead something a bit more involved.

Hmm, so if they try to leave what happens? Does the portal just teleport them to the opposite side of a line somewhere else in the world? Or is it a one way thing?