I'm playing in a game where one of the PCs is wealthy and the rest of the party is not. I think this has created an uneven social and power dynamic in the party.
It seems like social interactions often go through the rich character like a hub and spokes, rather than allowing for more of a direct network type of relationship within the party, which leave some players out a lot; I know I am guilty of role-playing things in that way.
I don’t think wealth inequality is a fun aspect of real life to bring into a party, but I think it happens (someone wants to make a character that comes from a privileged background - I’ve played in games where all the PCs were extremely wealthy, which was a lot of fun). I don’t think I would ever choose to play a character who is currently wealthy, unless the rest of the party was wealthy too and I think the default best practice is to make characters who are not wealthy or at least not currently wealthy. I expect I am likely to encounter this sort of situation again.
I want to learn how to deal with this type of situation better, (options for role-laying this situation, or dealing with it as the real people that we are). I don’t want to cause conflict in the party or in the game.
I might not be able to fix this dynamic on my own. If that is the case, I’m unsure if I ought to first go to the DM with my concerns, or if I should talk to the player first.
Yeah, that’s a pretty unhealthy dynamic to have in your party and it’s probably the fault of the DM for allowing it to persist up till this point. Talk to the offending player first and the DM second — roleplay issues within the party can usually be resolved without having to bring the DM into it, which can make things a lot more awkward. If the player is uncooperative, then you bring in your DM.
What's happening to the party's income? While you can get a PC from a wealthy background, that doesn't usually translate into more wealth than the rest of the party once you start getting treasure and payment from adventuring- after a couple of adventures everyone ought to have roughly the same amount of total resources available.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think this could be addressed in the story of the game by taking a "Let's go loot a dragon's lair!" type approach. It's a classic motivation, gives the entire group a purpose and motivation, and leads into dungeons, etc.
All the while fitting in the dynamics of the setting.
I'm playing in a game where one of the PCs is wealthy and the rest of the party is not. I think this has created an uneven social and power dynamic in the party.
It seems like social interactions often go through the rich character like a hub and spokes, rather than allowing for more of a direct network type of relationship within the party, which leave some players out a lot; I know I am guilty of role-playing things in that way.
I don't understand what having one rich character in the party has to do with which characters get to engage in social interactions. Everyone can be involved in roleplay interactions, it's not like talking costs money
Just to clarify, what classes are your group playing? People tend to perform tasks their characters are good at and if the rich character is a bard or charisma class, it may make sense to let them deal with social encounters. I’m playing in a group that is a noble cleric, his guard, who is a fighter, his huntsman ranger and a sorcerer who joined the party, during the game. The cleric noble tends to do most of the basic social interactions, especially with other nobles. However the fighter does the talking to other guards, and won drinking contests for the party. Equally only the ranger has speak with animals so has lead interactions with various creatures. The sorcerer is a halfling and using the ranger’s pass without a trace to perform the party’s criminal and scouting role.
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I'm playing in a game where one of the PCs is wealthy and the rest of the party is not. I think this has created an uneven social and power dynamic in the party.
It seems like social interactions often go through the rich character like a hub and spokes, rather than allowing for more of a direct network type of relationship within the party, which leave some players out a lot; I know I am guilty of role-playing things in that way.
I don’t think wealth inequality is a fun aspect of real life to bring into a party, but I think it happens (someone wants to make a character that comes from a privileged background - I’ve played in games where all the PCs were extremely wealthy, which was a lot of fun). I don’t think I would ever choose to play a character who is currently wealthy, unless the rest of the party was wealthy too and I think the default best practice is to make characters who are not wealthy or at least not currently wealthy. I expect I am likely to encounter this sort of situation again.
I want to learn how to deal with this type of situation better, (options for role-laying this situation, or dealing with it as the real people that we are). I don’t want to cause conflict in the party or in the game.
I might not be able to fix this dynamic on my own. If that is the case, I’m unsure if I ought to first go to the DM with my concerns, or if I should talk to the player first.
Yeah, that’s a pretty unhealthy dynamic to have in your party and it’s probably the fault of the DM for allowing it to persist up till this point. Talk to the offending player first and the DM second — roleplay issues within the party can usually be resolved without having to bring the DM into it, which can make things a lot more awkward. If the player is uncooperative, then you bring in your DM.
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What's happening to the party's income? While you can get a PC from a wealthy background, that doesn't usually translate into more wealth than the rest of the party once you start getting treasure and payment from adventuring- after a couple of adventures everyone ought to have roughly the same amount of total resources available.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think this could be addressed in the story of the game by taking a "Let's go loot a dragon's lair!" type approach. It's a classic motivation, gives the entire group a purpose and motivation, and leads into dungeons, etc.
All the while fitting in the dynamics of the setting.
I don't understand what having one rich character in the party has to do with which characters get to engage in social interactions. Everyone can be involved in roleplay interactions, it's not like talking costs money
Just to clarify, what classes are your group playing? People tend to perform tasks their characters are good at and if the rich character is a bard or charisma class, it may make sense to let them deal with social encounters. I’m playing in a group that is a noble cleric, his guard, who is a fighter, his huntsman ranger and a sorcerer who joined the party, during the game. The cleric noble tends to do most of the basic social interactions, especially with other nobles. However the fighter does the talking to other guards, and won drinking contests for the party. Equally only the ranger has speak with animals so has lead interactions with various creatures. The sorcerer is a halfling and using the ranger’s pass without a trace to perform the party’s criminal and scouting role.