If the Dungeon Master had a magic item sold for only gold pieces, then money is either intentionally worth more in this world than in comparison to other ones in at least some areas (which might explain the smaller amounts of loot), or they haven't done enough research on how much things should be sold for.
The amount of coins you have is unusually though, but this varies a ton by campaigns and worlds and wanting less magic or less abundantly rich players is a perfectly valid goal that a DM might seek.
All in all, i would like to echo the excellent advice of CoolerAid: If this is a problem for you, politely talk to the DM about it because they can't change something you don't like if they have no idea that you're against it. Additionally, if it ruins the game experience and the person in charge of your group says no, then you are not obliged to stay at that table.
PS. I would ask your DM why you would have to roll perception to see a sword, because your passive score should have you covered there unless the sword is camouflaged or something.
Generally speaking, everything costs around 30-50% more than the suggested price and sells for around 30% of the suggested price, so everything is expensive and sells for very little. We even plane shifted recently and what little gold we did have, is now completely useless here as it's not recognized currency, so we're back to square one.
Regarding talking to the DM, I'm honestly reluctant to because ive tried a couple times before and have met a lot of resistance from the DM and the other players with remarks like "its how he wants to do it, he doesnt need to explain it" when asking why a surprise didnt work how it's officially intended. This is the DMs first campaign so I've been lenient on mistakes, but now all those mistakes seem to have become house rules unofficially and if I ever ask questions about a ruling then I'm labelled a rules lawyer no matter how much preamble I give that I'm fine with alternative rules, just that I want clarification. It's ironic because so many rules have been bent or changed, then I use Conjure Animals to summon 8 Raven Swarms(forgetting that this wouldnt officially work) and then get reemed for it, at the same time as being told that swarms cant occupy the same space as other creatures...
If the Dungeon Master had a magic item sold for only gold pieces, then money is either intentionally worth more in this world than in comparison to other ones in at least some areas (which might explain the smaller amounts of loot), or they haven't done enough research on how much things should be sold for.
The amount of coins you have is unusually though, but this varies a ton by campaigns and worlds and wanting less magic or less abundantly rich players is a perfectly valid goal that a DM might seek.
All in all, i would like to echo the excellent advice of CoolerAid: If this is a problem for you, politely talk to the DM about it because they can't change something you don't like if they have no idea that you're against it. Additionally, if it ruins the game experience and the person in charge of your group says no, then you are not obliged to stay at that table.
PS. I would ask your DM why you would have to roll perception to see a sword, because your passive score should have you covered there unless the sword is camouflaged or something.
Generally speaking, everything costs around 30-50% more than the suggested price and sells for around 30% of the suggested price, so everything is expensive and sells for very little. We even plane shifted recently and what little gold we did have, is now completely useless here as it's not recognized currency, so we're back to square one.
Regarding talking to the DM, I'm honestly reluctant to because ive tried a couple times before and have met a lot of resistance from the DM and the other players with remarks like "its how he wants to do it, he doesnt need to explain it" when asking why a surprise didnt work how it's officially intended. This is the DMs first campaign so I've been lenient on mistakes, but now all those mistakes seem to have become house rules unofficially and if I ever ask questions about a ruling then I'm labelled a rules lawyer no matter how much preamble I give that I'm fine with alternative rules, just that I want clarification. It's ironic because so many rules have been bent or changed, then I use Conjure Animals to summon 8 Raven Swarms(forgetting that this wouldnt officially work) and then get reemed for it, at the same time as being told that swarms cant occupy the same space as other creatures...
For starters, it sounds like the group may not be best suited for you - but I know tha tthis sort of thing is not always the best advice. In a vacuum, it sounds ideal, but if you have friends i nthe group and are the only people locally who play, then it's not the best advice to just say "maybe leave and find another table".
I will say that, if I am reading the subtext in your post correctly, you were asking for explanations - justifications - for why things were the way they were. This can be seen as arguing or undermining the DM, which is bad - regardless of whether that was your intention!
Consider the "less is more" approach. Don't start asking why X works like Y when it works like X in the book, instead say "Does X work like it does in the book?", and then if they say "No, it works differently", say "Ok, I want to do >X<, how does X work in the game?" and let them explain it to you. If you're happy with houserules, try not to put any weight on saying "oh, this isn't RAW". Focus instead on "how does surprise work then?"
So if you're thinking "I want more magic items", the trick is to not frame it in a way which could be mistaken for "I don't think you've given us enough magic items", instead say "My character will be on the lookout for magic items". It might be they will find them, but they are too expensive - fine, now you're looking out for big money contracts and haggling as much as possible. If you make your requests as a roleplay thing, the DM will likely use it as fuel for their inspiration. If I had a character who was always trying to do something, I would reward their roleplay with chances of success.
If you aren't emotionally attached to the group, then do consider looking for another. In most cases, you might find a second game you can play at the same time, and if things go wrong in the first, you can fall back on the second.
My Current DM is like this: Mead 6 gp Belt of Dwarven Kind, 250 GP. Wagon 700Gp
It makes no since.
Setting the worlds economy is 1/2 the world. Using the standard PH pricing works 99% of the time. It's when you start messing with it that it becomes hard.
This ties in with loot, we too have little gold loot. One wind fall for the party, but other wise no monster, npc, goblin etc has any cash on them. More than one night my chr has slept out side because the Inn wants 20 GP for a room.
That all said, we have great magic items in our campaign, we just cant afford beer , or find a bag in the general store.
Yeah, I’m with Thoruk and back to an earlier comment. Find a different group. I mean, DMs making house rules is fine. I’m about certain that every table has at least a few. But they should, at least be willing to explain why they made it. Ideally, they should also be willing to change it if someone points out flaws in it. It really sounds like they are trying to run a grittier campaign, but maybe they don’t quite know how, or don’t know what elements it’s safe to change without effecting game balance.
Like, with these examples, I’m really having a hard time imagining what will happen when you need an expensive spell component. If you find a 300gp diamond, but you can only sell it for 100, is it still a 300gp diamond? Can you use it for revivify? That’s just a mess waiting to happen.
On the other hand, the economics are such that gold really doesn’t matter after a couple levels. There’s an early race to get to 1500gp to buy the fighter plate mail. And after that, the cash just mostly piles up. Though in this case I wonder if the fighter will ever get it.
Either way, I’d say you wish them well, but tell them politely their game is not for you. Then go and find another. If nothing else, this has given you some ideas about things you like and don’t like, and given you some questions to ask when you are checking out other groups.
But i would start to hold tight to the cost of spell components. Charge the other players for any and all spells. in combat and out. Force the non casters to your side.
If everyone explained the problem about the costs of living and the serious lack of rewards the DM will come around.
If the Dungeon Master had a magic item sold for only gold pieces, then money is either intentionally worth more in this world than in comparison to other ones in at least some areas (which might explain the smaller amounts of loot), or they haven't done enough research on how much things should be sold for.
The amount of coins you have is unusually though, but this varies a ton by campaigns and worlds and wanting less magic or less abundantly rich players is a perfectly valid goal that a DM might seek.
All in all, i would like to echo the excellent advice of CoolerAid: If this is a problem for you, politely talk to the DM about it because they can't change something you don't like if they have no idea that you're against it. Additionally, if it ruins the game experience and the person in charge of your group says no, then you are not obliged to stay at that table.
PS. I would ask your DM why you would have to roll perception to see a sword, because your passive score should have you covered there unless the sword is camouflaged or something.
Generally speaking, everything costs around 30-50% more than the suggested price and sells for around 30% of the suggested price, so everything is expensive and sells for very little. We even plane shifted recently and what little gold we did have, is now completely useless here as it's not recognized currency, so we're back to square one.
Regarding talking to the DM, I'm honestly reluctant to because ive tried a couple times before and have met a lot of resistance from the DM and the other players with remarks like "its how he wants to do it, he doesnt need to explain it" when asking why a surprise didnt work how it's officially intended. This is the DMs first campaign so I've been lenient on mistakes, but now all those mistakes seem to have become house rules unofficially and if I ever ask questions about a ruling then I'm labelled a rules lawyer no matter how much preamble I give that I'm fine with alternative rules, just that I want clarification. It's ironic because so many rules have been bent or changed, then I use Conjure Animals to summon 8 Raven Swarms(forgetting that this wouldnt officially work) and then get reemed for it, at the same time as being told that swarms cant occupy the same space as other creatures...
For starters, it sounds like the group may not be best suited for you - but I know tha tthis sort of thing is not always the best advice. In a vacuum, it sounds ideal, but if you have friends i nthe group and are the only people locally who play, then it's not the best advice to just say "maybe leave and find another table".
I will say that, if I am reading the subtext in your post correctly, you were asking for explanations - justifications - for why things were the way they were. This can be seen as arguing or undermining the DM, which is bad - regardless of whether that was your intention!
Consider the "less is more" approach. Don't start asking why X works like Y when it works like X in the book, instead say "Does X work like it does in the book?", and then if they say "No, it works differently", say "Ok, I want to do >X<, how does X work in the game?" and let them explain it to you. If you're happy with houserules, try not to put any weight on saying "oh, this isn't RAW". Focus instead on "how does surprise work then?"
So if you're thinking "I want more magic items", the trick is to not frame it in a way which could be mistaken for "I don't think you've given us enough magic items", instead say "My character will be on the lookout for magic items". It might be they will find them, but they are too expensive - fine, now you're looking out for big money contracts and haggling as much as possible. If you make your requests as a roleplay thing, the DM will likely use it as fuel for their inspiration. If I had a character who was always trying to do something, I would reward their roleplay with chances of success.
If you aren't emotionally attached to the group, then do consider looking for another. In most cases, you might find a second game you can play at the same time, and if things go wrong in the first, you can fall back on the second.
The problem is moreso that they are a first time DM and they've been making so many changes seemingly at random to the classic rules and guidelines that I just, well I cant really tell what to do. I try to do Surprise rounds? works significantly worse than a normal round of combat. I start as a super persuasive bard and constantly get very high checks to keep prices in our favour? doesnt matter, everything is expensive but somehow sells for nothing anyway. So if I would have to ask for literally everything if it works like it does in the book, it would get annoying for everyone, so I've been only asking about the big ones like Surprise or encounters being unusually hard(4 Swarms of Cranium Rats and a Displacer Beast with ranged missile attacks for some reason, or yet another spellcaster that has over 250hp and ~18AC)
I typically wouldnt be questioning the DM, but this happens EVERY session quite literally. There has always been something that is being ruled or balanced in a way that doesnt seem to make much sense or have any pattern. I typically DM myself, so i've been approaching it from the angle of how I'd like a player to do it, where I'd prefer them not to sweat the small stuff but that if they feel blindsided they should call me out on it, because that should ideally never happen.
Yeah, I’m with Thoruk and back to an earlier comment. Find a different group. I mean, DMs making house rules is fine. I’m about certain that every table has at least a few. But they should, at least be willing to explain why they made it. Ideally, they should also be willing to change it if someone points out flaws in it. It really sounds like they are trying to run a grittier campaign, but maybe they don’t quite know how, or don’t know what elements it’s safe to change without effecting game balance.
Like, with these examples, I’m really having a hard time imagining what will happen when you need an expensive spell component. If you find a 300gp diamond, but you can only sell it for 100, is it still a 300gp diamond? Can you use it for revivify? That’s just a mess waiting to happen.
On the other hand, the economics are such that gold really doesn’t matter after a couple levels. There’s an early race to get to 1500gp to buy the fighter plate mail. And after that, the cash just mostly piles up. Though in this case I wonder if the fighter will ever get it.
Either way, I’d say you wish them well, but tell them politely their game is not for you. Then go and find another. If nothing else, this has given you some ideas about things you like and don’t like, and given you some questions to ask when you are checking out other groups.
Oh this isnt my first group. I've played about 3-4 campaigns as a PC before and DM'd about as many too. This group in particular just stands out as being unusual to me, between rewards being set well below "low magic", the economy being out of whack and encounters being so overtuned every time that the DM very obviously is fudging half the rolls... if I could leave the group I would, but 1 of the players is a close friend and the other is my partner, so it'd just be extremely awkward to be like "ya'll play this game weird, I'm out"
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Generally speaking, everything costs around 30-50% more than the suggested price and sells for around 30% of the suggested price, so everything is expensive and sells for very little.
We even plane shifted recently and what little gold we did have, is now completely useless here as it's not recognized currency, so we're back to square one.
Regarding talking to the DM, I'm honestly reluctant to because ive tried a couple times before and have met a lot of resistance from the DM and the other players with remarks like "its how he wants to do it, he doesnt need to explain it" when asking why a surprise didnt work how it's officially intended. This is the DMs first campaign so I've been lenient on mistakes, but now all those mistakes seem to have become house rules unofficially and if I ever ask questions about a ruling then I'm labelled a rules lawyer no matter how much preamble I give that I'm fine with alternative rules, just that I want clarification.
It's ironic because so many rules have been bent or changed, then I use Conjure Animals to summon 8 Raven Swarms(forgetting that this wouldnt officially work) and then get reemed for it, at the same time as being told that swarms cant occupy the same space as other creatures...
For starters, it sounds like the group may not be best suited for you - but I know tha tthis sort of thing is not always the best advice. In a vacuum, it sounds ideal, but if you have friends i nthe group and are the only people locally who play, then it's not the best advice to just say "maybe leave and find another table".
I will say that, if I am reading the subtext in your post correctly, you were asking for explanations - justifications - for why things were the way they were. This can be seen as arguing or undermining the DM, which is bad - regardless of whether that was your intention!
Consider the "less is more" approach. Don't start asking why X works like Y when it works like X in the book, instead say "Does X work like it does in the book?", and then if they say "No, it works differently", say "Ok, I want to do >X<, how does X work in the game?" and let them explain it to you. If you're happy with houserules, try not to put any weight on saying "oh, this isn't RAW". Focus instead on "how does surprise work then?"
So if you're thinking "I want more magic items", the trick is to not frame it in a way which could be mistaken for "I don't think you've given us enough magic items", instead say "My character will be on the lookout for magic items". It might be they will find them, but they are too expensive - fine, now you're looking out for big money contracts and haggling as much as possible. If you make your requests as a roleplay thing, the DM will likely use it as fuel for their inspiration. If I had a character who was always trying to do something, I would reward their roleplay with chances of success.
If you aren't emotionally attached to the group, then do consider looking for another. In most cases, you might find a second game you can play at the same time, and if things go wrong in the first, you can fall back on the second.
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Some DM's are just very bad with world economies.
My Current DM is like this:
Mead 6 gp
Belt of Dwarven Kind, 250 GP.
Wagon 700Gp
It makes no since.
Setting the worlds economy is 1/2 the world. Using the standard PH pricing works 99% of the time. It's when you start messing with it that it becomes hard.
This ties in with loot, we too have little gold loot. One wind fall for the party, but other wise no monster, npc, goblin etc has any cash on them. More than one night my chr has slept out side because the Inn wants 20 GP for a room.
That all said, we have great magic items in our campaign, we just cant afford beer , or find a bag in the general store.
Yeah, I’m with Thoruk and back to an earlier comment. Find a different group. I mean, DMs making house rules is fine. I’m about certain that every table has at least a few. But they should, at least be willing to explain why they made it. Ideally, they should also be willing to change it if someone points out flaws in it. It really sounds like they are trying to run a grittier campaign, but maybe they don’t quite know how, or don’t know what elements it’s safe to change without effecting game balance.
Like, with these examples, I’m really having a hard time imagining what will happen when you need an expensive spell component. If you find a 300gp diamond, but you can only sell it for 100, is it still a 300gp diamond? Can you use it for revivify? That’s just a mess waiting to happen.
On the other hand, the economics are such that gold really doesn’t matter after a couple levels. There’s an early race to get to 1500gp to buy the fighter plate mail. And after that, the cash just mostly piles up. Though in this case I wonder if the fighter will ever get it.
Either way, I’d say you wish them well, but tell them politely their game is not for you. Then go and find another. If nothing else, this has given you some ideas about things you like and don’t like, and given you some questions to ask when you are checking out other groups.
I would not quit.
But i would start to hold tight to the cost of spell components. Charge the other players for any and all spells. in combat and out. Force the non casters to your side.
If everyone explained the problem about the costs of living and the serious lack of rewards the DM will come around.
The problem is moreso that they are a first time DM and they've been making so many changes seemingly at random to the classic rules and guidelines that I just, well I cant really tell what to do.
I try to do Surprise rounds? works significantly worse than a normal round of combat.
I start as a super persuasive bard and constantly get very high checks to keep prices in our favour? doesnt matter, everything is expensive but somehow sells for nothing anyway.
So if I would have to ask for literally everything if it works like it does in the book, it would get annoying for everyone, so I've been only asking about the big ones like Surprise or encounters being unusually hard(4 Swarms of Cranium Rats and a Displacer Beast with ranged missile attacks for some reason, or yet another spellcaster that has over 250hp and ~18AC)
I typically wouldnt be questioning the DM, but this happens EVERY session quite literally. There has always been something that is being ruled or balanced in a way that doesnt seem to make much sense or have any pattern.
I typically DM myself, so i've been approaching it from the angle of how I'd like a player to do it, where I'd prefer them not to sweat the small stuff but that if they feel blindsided they should call me out on it, because that should ideally never happen.
Oh this isnt my first group. I've played about 3-4 campaigns as a PC before and DM'd about as many too.
This group in particular just stands out as being unusual to me, between rewards being set well below "low magic", the economy being out of whack and encounters being so overtuned every time that the DM very obviously is fudging half the rolls... if I could leave the group I would, but 1 of the players is a close friend and the other is my partner, so it'd just be extremely awkward to be like "ya'll play this game weird, I'm out"