Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCaress
That was one of those modules that got me thinking, "Gee, Conan the Barbarian wouldn't have much of a problem here," and realizing that PC power isn't based on them, but on their stuff. Nowadays, I prefer a system where it's not your equipment -- it's you.
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D&D (in all its incarnations) is definitely a gear-heavy game. There are ways of removing gear dependence, but they take some doing. Things we've found to be helpful:
-Use a much higher point base for starting characters than the book lists. Many of the magic items that show up in game do stuff like add +2 to a stat or provide a similar low-end bonus. Starting with a higher stat makes the bonus inherent to the character, not his gear. The Conan RPG does this.
-Action Points (or a similar mechanic) are great. They have the effect of a lot of low-end magic items nicely, provide temporary access to feats, and so on. The GM can hand them out as "treasure" too.
Because they're strictly meta-game, they aren't part of the character's inventory. I've also found APs to be very useful as a game balance currency. For instance, in my campaign world, humans have a full complement of APs while "elder races" (elves, dwarves, etc.) have one third the total APs but are all gestalt characters (gestalt characters are 3.X's version of multiclassers). It seems to balance out nicely in play: APs provide a ton of flexibility and an ability to make it through in the clutch, whereas the gestalt abilities are very nice too.
Jay