First off, humanoids like kobolds should never have parts that are worth “harvesting.” Tell them that would be like skinning their human victims and trying to sell the skins. Creepy.
Ogres are monsters. Ogre components must be harvested, otherwise there would be no such thing as Gauntlets of Ogre Power. Giants are monsters, with components harvested for Potions of Giant Strength. Kobolds and monsters, though I don't believe there is much use for Kobold components.
I would simply tell the murder hobos that the OP is dealing with that many, if not most, creatures have no commercial value. There are also things called Survival Checks. "Oh, you tried to milk the poison gland of that giant snake, and rolled a 3? Can I have your char sheet, because your PC is now dead."
Technically humans are “monsters” too. But if their creature type is “humanoid,” (humans, elves, goblins, kobolds, gnomes, etc.) it shoulda’t be harvestable. You don’t actually need elf or dwarf parts to make boots of elvenkind or dwarven plate.
Same goes for the Gauntlets of Ogre Power- they get their name because they give the wearer the strength of an ogre, not because someone chopped the arms of an ogre and fashioned them into a pair of Hulk Hands.
I would simply inform them that that's not the type of game we're playing. No, you do not skin your enemies. If you want those few, occasional things that are actually useful - like dragon scales - feel free. But you're not going to lug around reeking piles of rotting trophies from dead enemies, like some gristly savage out of a cheap movie. The end.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
First off, humanoids like kobolds should never have parts that are worth “harvesting.” Tell them that would be like skinning their human victims and trying to sell the skins. Creepy.
I kind of feel like that ship has already sailed. I mean dragons are sentient creatures - arguably more advanced than kobolds in a lot of lore - and it's already established that people wear their scales. But yeah, you should at least draw the line at humanoids, and harvesting and crafting in a game where much of your "loot" comes from creatures you can converse with is going to be problematic for a lot of folks.
Agreed. Humans see dragons as big scary monsters, but'd likely be squeamish around the body parts of dead humanoids. I mean, Kobolds are even a common playable species in some worlds so they aren't automatically evil everywhere. But I dunno why bodies of humanoids would be useful, and merchants should revile those that try and sell them. That seems the most realistic too me at least.
--
Ultimately though, to the OP, you can overrule us on that in your world. But I'd like to preface my advice by saying that this all depends on whether or not you like them harvesting body parts due to reasoning other than extra gold. If you don't want them to do it because of comfort, more work in figuring out the value of items and having them sold, or too much time looting, just tell them that. If they greatly enjoy it, disallowing... Skinning dead creatures (?) might not be the smartest route unless it's a major issue for you. But it's your choice and you can just say butchery is no longer allowed and explain why if it's a really significant issue for you.
Now, onto the loot issue: If you wanna not give them boatloads of loot while not stopping them from their interesting methods of moneymaking, then I'd say that's probably the best path. How can ya reduce the value of flesh and scales? Well, the answer is right in the question: Just reduce the value, because it's your world and you decide how much everything's worth. Also, carrying around mutilated body parts of beasts is A) Unsettling but B) Unpractical. Even if you aren't using the incumberence system, you can still set limits on how much can be carried.
And on the subject of realism and reasonibility, then it needs mentioning that kobold scales aren't particularly valuable even if people greedily purchase the body parts of humanoids. We all know of the fantasy trope of the value of various skins and claws and scales and whatever but kobold scales are readily available. If they had magical or even vaguely useful properties, they might not be all over the kingdom, but they'd at least be in the DMG and known of by some. Yet they aren't (at least I think so). So, if we strive for D&D realism we should assume the bodies and skins of monsters are as practically useless as the bodies and skins of humans unless otherwise indicated.
And this gargantuan essay is gonna be concluded by one random final thought: If you've been letting the players sell humanoid body parts in public markets and wanna change that or just wanna decrease the value of their bodies in general, then I'd let your players know you've thought about the realism & what you think is best and have made some changes. Because otherwise they'll likely notice and get upset or walk into the market with the disembodied head of a kobold and be shocked when it goes over abysmally.
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Speaking on Harvesting Dragon parts... something I had established in roleplay for my players was the idea that Dragon society simply encourages the idea of having their body parts harvested for the purpose of crafting magic items. It's considered a great honor for a dragon to bequeath their remains to one of the "lesser races" to be turned into magic items, allowing their glory and power to continue to spread even beyond death. It's even considered a deep insult to kill a dragon and then not claim any of their body and just leave it to rot in a cave somewhere.
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I would simply inform them that that's not the type of game we're playing. No, you do not skin your enemies. If you want those few, occasional things that are actually useful - like dragon scales - feel free. But you're not going to lug around reeking piles of rotting trophies from dead enemies, like some gristly savage out of a cheap movie. The end.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Agreed. Humans see dragons as big scary monsters, but'd likely be squeamish around the body parts of dead humanoids. I mean, Kobolds are even a common playable species in some worlds so they aren't automatically evil everywhere. But I dunno why bodies of humanoids would be useful, and merchants should revile those that try and sell them. That seems the most realistic too me at least.
--
Ultimately though, to the OP, you can overrule us on that in your world. But I'd like to preface my advice by saying that this all depends on whether or not you like them harvesting body parts due to reasoning other than extra gold. If you don't want them to do it because of comfort, more work in figuring out the value of items and having them sold, or too much time looting, just tell them that. If they greatly enjoy it, disallowing... Skinning dead creatures (?) might not be the smartest route unless it's a major issue for you. But it's your choice and you can just say butchery is no longer allowed and explain why if it's a really significant issue for you.
Now, onto the loot issue: If you wanna not give them boatloads of loot while not stopping them from their interesting methods of moneymaking, then I'd say that's probably the best path. How can ya reduce the value of flesh and scales? Well, the answer is right in the question: Just reduce the value, because it's your world and you decide how much everything's worth. Also, carrying around mutilated body parts of beasts is A) Unsettling but B) Unpractical. Even if you aren't using the incumberence system, you can still set limits on how much can be carried.
And on the subject of realism and reasonibility, then it needs mentioning that kobold scales aren't particularly valuable even if people greedily purchase the body parts of humanoids. We all know of the fantasy trope of the value of various skins and claws and scales and whatever but kobold scales are readily available. If they had magical or even vaguely useful properties, they might not be all over the kingdom, but they'd at least be in the DMG and known of by some. Yet they aren't (at least I think so). So, if we strive for D&D realism we should assume the bodies and skins of monsters are as practically useless as the bodies and skins of humans unless otherwise indicated.
And this gargantuan essay is gonna be concluded by one random final thought: If you've been letting the players sell humanoid body parts in public markets and wanna change that or just wanna decrease the value of their bodies in general, then I'd let your players know you've thought about the realism & what you think is best and have made some changes. Because otherwise they'll likely notice and get upset or walk into the market with the disembodied head of a kobold and be shocked when it goes over abysmally.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Speaking on Harvesting Dragon parts... something I had established in roleplay for my players was the idea that Dragon society simply encourages the idea of having their body parts harvested for the purpose of crafting magic items. It's considered a great honor for a dragon to bequeath their remains to one of the "lesser races" to be turned into magic items, allowing their glory and power to continue to spread even beyond death. It's even considered a deep insult to kill a dragon and then not claim any of their body and just leave it to rot in a cave somewhere.
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