Save or Die Podcast #11: The Gold Dragon
Welcome back, this week, Vince & Glen are joined by Julie Hoverson as they talk about ways to make your players spend that gold.. then draw swords against the mighty Gold Dragon! Then finish up the podcast by giving their favorite dragon magazine. Check it out! voicemail line 570-290-7283
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Another wonderful podcast, guys — Julie Hoverson was amazing, especially her insights on perishable treasure and trade goods — very inspiring!
Here’s the link to Encounter Magazine, in case anyone’s having trouble finding it: http://www.encountermagazine.au2.com/
Issue 3 is great, although I might be biased, because Chris Gilford does a retrospective on one of my favorite modules from my childhood, “King’s Festival”.
I use alot of spices, foods and rare perishable items. The best one was gaint bee honey.
Enjoyed the adventure very much. Kudos to Julie Hoverson for her input and knowledge. Chagmat – I remember that adventure! I have that Dragon issue somewhere…
Comments regarding the trimming of treasure:
Carts? What kind of terrain are you going to put in the way? Hills? Broken land? Chasms? Flimsy rope bridges? Muddy dirt tracks? A nice slow overland journey is fraught with opportunity for disaster and attack.
Gave the party too much loot? That’s when an NPC adventuring party comes in handy. The PCs are on a quest to find a specific item or treasure? So is the NPC party! Hey – the King of Loompaland sent us to retrieve that giant emerald to ransom his daughter from the dragon. Coins do not always have to be standard. Some could be counterfeit, for example. Gems are often flawed. Objects that seem to be solid gold or silver can be plated base metal. Unless the PCs take the time and effort to appraise each item – they have no way of knowing the true value of loot they find in a dungeon.
What do the players want to do with all that loot? Maybe it isn’t so bad if they want to sink a huge chunk of change into a tower or a house. That gives the DM a spot to focus on for future troubles and misery. PCs are drawn to towers and such for adventure…and so would NPCs or monsters. If they want to buy magic items – that is a great opportunity to haggle and/or deceive them. let an NPC try to sell them great-sounding junk.
Are the PCs beholden to a ruler? Perhaps the ruler is about to embark upon a military campaign and seeks to press some or all of the PCs into service. A great opportunity to levy a heavy tax to avoid military duty.
Finally, there are always the wacky concepts along the lines of a monster that animates and controls a form of metal in the same way a treant animates trees or a galeb duhr animates boulders. Have a monster that animates and controls gold, for example.