Goals and Expectations, Feedback

So just a general thread for what you as the players would like to see in the sessions; more/less combat, RP, traps, puzzles, exploring, whatever; as well as a place for any feedback you want to leave.

Your Awesome Cloud! :)

Haha, thank you, I know. =P Still all the same, I'd like to keep improving and making sure the players are actually having fun.

With the new players and all that, bump for feedback.

I'd suggest that if players don't have any specific item wishlist, you might just give specific players an item within that tier at appropriate times and let them choose what they want themselves? These are mainly accessories if you adopt the suggestion below also. They just need to inform you after that so that you can keep track? Might be easier on both sides. For example at level 7 everyone can choose a level 10 and below item, at level 8 everyone can choose a level 10 and below boon or alternative reward, and at level 9 everyone can choose another level 10 and below item. Since we can use our level +4 items, it might also be easier to automatically bump everyone's core items (weapon, implement, neck and armor) to the next tier at level 5x +1 (i.e. level 6, 11, 16, 21, 26). They can also choose to change their core items at these levels for new ones that become available. In this case, there won't be wasted drops and players can have fun shopping for what they earned. They can also ask each other for recommendations.

Gold can still be used for consumables

Well, I'm still going to go off the DMG and give a number of magic items per level equal to the number of people in the party minus 1 (give or take a few, I'm more likely to ignore the level +4 item if no needs it to give out a few other slot fillers, but still). With a party of 6 that's 25 items over 5 levels, and 15 of that will be used on the 'big three'. I'm going to stick to item drops (and never use boons or alternative rewards) and if people don't give me an item wishlist, then I'm just going to keep picking interesting and/or useful items. Gold is largely for your secondary weapon if you have one (I'm probably not going to drop them given not everyone needs '4 big items'), and to help fill out your other body slots as even in the best case scenario of 6 people in the party, 10 items split 6 ways over 5 levels doesn't cover many secondary body slots.

My wish would be for a plat and gold circlet with a jewel in the center and it can have up to 8 ioun stones foating around my head each with a different spell

I'll keep the Ioun Stones in mind, though they tend to be a high level item, much like rings have been in editions past (and still are). The circlet largely is fluff as well, anyone can wear an Ioun Stone, they're a natural trait of the item.

The current rate of gold dropping isn't going to get me a +2 secondary weapon anytime soon though. At this rate, it would be the middle of the tier, or perhaps even towards the end. There are quite a few classes that need 4 to be effective. Examples include cleric and paladin (holy symbol, weapon, armor and neck), ranger and fighter have two weapon fightning, arcane classes have dual implement feat, shamans (totem, weapon, armor and neck), monks (ki focus, fist weapons, armor and neck), etc. Could you reconsider? There's also an error I believe in counting. For a party of 6, we need 18 to cover the big 3. Otherwise someone would have less and it's not fair. So that would generally leave 1 accessory per person per tier if you count 25 items per tier.

Sorry, you're right, that is 18, so 7 spare to go around 6 people over 5 levels, or 14 per tier. Kind of why I sometimes don't give out a level + 2 item say and instead give out several low level items, but also why you get gold. For what it's worth this method ends up inflated by about 4 million over standard wealth, or nearly ~30% more than expected, but the price is that sometimes the wealth is locked up in an item of level + 4, instead of spread equally, though it always even out over the course of ~5 levels. To be honest I expect secondary weapons/implements to trail a plus behind, or maybe get to the right plus at the tail end of the bracket, for example +2 at level 10. On the flip side, is it fair if I give people a secondary weapon, a 4th dedicated drop for them, instead of items that anyone could use in any slot? For example the Swordmage doesn't need a 4th 'big slot' item, and in the case of say an Avenger, pretty much the exact reason the Weaplment house rule exists. Bow rangers also don't need a 4th 'big slot' item. Neither do Bards because of the houserule basically letting them treat any blade as a songblade. Regardless if you add up the wealth of everyone, it would kick the crap out of a magic item of level +1, level, and level -1, and gold of level -1.

To be fair to those who do not have a secondary weapon or implement, they can get an additional item. I doubt anyone will complain about that. Level +1, level and -1 is only for starting characters. I don't think it's meant to be a rule for every level after that. Otherwise, it's pointless for WoC to have accessories slots and tattoos/boons/alternative rewards and consumables.

Not really the place to talk about items, but as I pointed out the parcel system where level +1 to level +4 items drop, but only items equal to the party size -1 per level, generates about 30% more wealth then the standard level +1, level, level -1, level -1, so there are left over gold for other slots. There are no boons or alternative rewards in this game. Now if I could use this again for getting ideas on what players want out of the game in terms of combat, RP, exploration, whatever, or any criticism of how I DM, that would be great, instead of complaining that more raw gold than the value of a level 6 item, 2,000 gp of consumables, 'three big slot' items of level 7 or higher, and 3 other slots on average per person, is somehow not enough compared to a level 8, level 7, level 6, and 1,800 gold or not using the 'rules' from the DMG.

So... I mean, I may be nitpicking here, but... would Rifkin be paid as a guild member? After all, He only just mentioned the idea of joining after the dust settled, and even then, IDK if he actually went through with it in short-order or if the next campaign takes place in, like a month and Rifkin's paperwork was just filed?

Technically no, which is going to cause all sorts of headaches for me to be honest. ^^" At least this time around you can just assume you took a larger share from the actual cultists, given you actually killed them and searched them first. In the future maybe the others just split their pay because you're useful, we'll have to see.

Well, I had wanted for Rifkin to begrudgingly join the Adventurer's Guild  as a way to keep an eye on their investigations. And since the current party has not only had intimate knowledge of Rifkin's only recent lead, but also been privy to a coordinated attack led by the Cult, he would want to keep with them. Mava seems to like Rifkin as well, so there's something to be said there... 

Ah, in that case, that works out well enough for future session rewards, woot.

Just giving this a bump while I hunt for new players and/or if people getting used to their characters had things they wanted them to achieve in the world. The DM needs to know character goals to build story elements around them and all that.