WTF: Excerpts from the new DMG
So I follow a link to look at a chunk of text from the upcoming 4E DMG, and I'm greeted with this section on commerce:
"Even small villages give characters ready access to the gear they need to pursue their adventures. Provisions, tents and backpacks, and simple weapons are commonly available. Traveling merchants carry armor, military weapons, and more specialized gear. Most villages have inns that cater to travelers, where adventurers can get a hot meal and a bed, even if the quality leaves much to be desired. When characters stop in at a settlement to rest and restock their supplies, give them a bit of local flavor, such as the name of the inn where they spend the night, and move on with the adventure.
Even small villages rely heavily on trade with other settlements, including larger towns and cities. Merchants pass through regularly, selling necessities and luxuries to the villagers, and any good merchant has far-reaching contacts across the region. When characters have magic items to sell, a traveling merchant is in town-or will be soon-to take it off their hands. The same applies to exotic mundane goods as well: No one in the village makes silk rope or has much use for it, but merchants making their way between major cities carry it all the time.
Traveling merchants are also a great way to introduce adventure hooks to the characters as they conduct their business. Since they make their living traversing roads that are not as safe as they used to be, merchants hire competent guards to keep their goods safe. They also carry news from town to town, including reports of situations that cry out for adventurers to get involved.
These merchants can’t provide specialized services, however. When the characters are in need of a library or a dedicated sage, a trainer who can handle the griffon eggs they’ve found, or an architect to design their castle, they’re better off going to a large city than looking in a village. These services are less important in the economy of the game than magic items and other goods, so you shouldn’t feel as though you have to compromise your common sense for the sake of game play.
Of course, it’s natural for characters to travel far beyond their native villages as they pursue adventure. When they’re in the City of Brass, they should be able to buy even the most expensive magic items readily. If it doesn’t interfere with the flow of your game, it’s fine to expect that characters will travel to larger cities to do business as they reach higher levels and deal with larger sums of money."
I apologize for subjecting you to that, but we're going to pause here a moment and say, "What. The. Fuck?"
Let us not even touch upon the fact that towns now apparently encourage strange people who irritate terrible monsters, enter their society heavily armed under their own authority, and show little concern for the townsfolks' general wellbeing unless there's a big purse involved.
No, what's more, merchants now carry all kinds of crap that 99% of their clients don't buy on the outside chance that they'll encounter these high-rolling fatcats in desperate need of their silk rope. You are shitting me, right? And these merchants pass between the "points of light" where all the terrible monsters live to bring these goods. Screw facing a beholder, you want to be afraid of the traveling merchant in 4E because if he's good enough to get a slow moving wagon full of loot and pulled by two thick and meaty meals from point to point, you had better be certain that he's one bad mother. Seriously. I have the feeling they're going to be hiring characters as guards just to ensure their own cloud of minions.
And towns rely heavily on each other, but don't have the sense to band together and clear the wilderness between them of terrible monsters. No, no, we'll just sit here and cut firewood to send to the next town... I sure hope they have sheep to send us.
But wait! Here's the kicker! If you need it, it will be in the next town. Need a newer, more powerful magic sword? Next town. Want that awesome new armor and shield combo? Next town. *brrrr-ring* Excuse me moment. *Brrrrr-ring*Brrrr-ring* Yes... 4E? Hey, Final Fantasy called, and they would like their equipment purchasing plan back.
*sigh*
No commentary in there about scaling things appropriately for the region, or turning the acquisition of a particular item into a quest, or even the initial information gathering for an item into a quest. No, no... just pack up the gear and make for New LostHavenburgton and Smacky, the jolly angry dwarf blacksmith and his sidekick Tankard the one-eyed-human innkeeper with the buxom daughter hauling ales will have what you need.
And when you sell magic items, you'll get a fifth of their value...and expect to pay extra for what you want! Oh, bartering? No, no bartering for items. We will continue to screw you in the name of wealth balance. It becomes apparent to me that no one over at WotC has run at a table with players who believe that everything is treasure, and your dungeon is about to become their base of operations, once they've stripped it for scrap.
My concerns about 4E continue to mount. I still have no books in front of me, but the things I'm seeing about challenges, and treasure, and the heavy focus on combat is really making me regret the $84 I spent on preordering. That could have been three Ars Magica supplements that I know won't suck.
*heavy sigh* Oh, mindless smashing. Is there anything you can't ruin?
-Ben.
you can read the whole excerpt here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20080514a&pf=true