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Originally Posted by Jackal
But then again, Tolkien didn't spend a lot of time going over the foraging techniques as practiced in Ithilien by Faramir. Pipin didn't negotiate a stipend with the Guard. And I don't recall seeing a price list at the Prancing Pony in Bree.
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Nor am I suggesting any such thing. And I note that we DID learn that pipeweed was a tradable commodity, that wagons brought toys and firecrackers (luxury goods) in for Bilbo's party from places as far away as Laketown and the Lonely Mountain, that the inn in Bree catered to travellers of all sorts, who presumably had some reason to be on the road other than liking to be in an inn...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jackal
When an adventure ends, why not just glide over mundane stuff and slide into the next hook?
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By why should I and my players be forced to do so by the rules? Why shouldn't we have something that permits us to play in a somewhat coherent world instead of just merrily skipping over all that "in between" stuff? Some of the richest role-playing opportunities in the games I've played in have come up in the City State of the Invincible Overlord when players were tasked to escort a trade caravan to the Dwarves, or in the City of Grayhawk when they got tagged to go out into the hills and try to shut down orc raiding parties interfering with the city's trade -- how is that even a thing if you have no idea why it's important or what's actually being interfered with? And believe me, MY players DO ask those kinds of questions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jackal
"Well, you get some of that well-deserved rest you complained about missing in the woods -- and Esmeralda is certainly glad to see you back. The horses were getting restless and the hobbit was getting fat, when one morning, while out on your constitutional (on Physicer's orders) you spy a strange man striding across the glen: a man who looks vaguely familiar..."
Personally, my players never seemed to mind. But then again, perhaps that was just the expectations I'd set so they never asked for a richer, more in-depth treatment of daily life?
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That I can't answer, but I do know that my players wanted to know WHY the sword cost so much more in this area than the same thing cost over in that area there, and what was so important about THIS mining town as opposed to the other three the next kingdom over, and why a silver piece was the going rate for an overnight stay in this town, when 45 miles back it was 5 copper pieces. Things like that, if answered well, DO bring the world alive, and it makes it "feel" that much more real to them. Is it strictly necessary? No, but you would genuinely be surprised at the depth added to your game by something as simple as knowing WHY the prices for certain things are different *here* than they were *there*. And it took so very little effort on my part. About half an hour to set it up in the first place and then 15 or 20 minutes of "management" every ten or twelve game sessions, once they started traveling around a bit.
I'm not saying it's a "must," or that "you're doing it wrong" if you don't do what I did. What I AM saying is that you should give it a try some day. You might be amazed (truly; I was the first time I tried it) by how much easier it makes your life and how much more "into" your world your players get. It would really add to your world, even in a "Conan-esque" world such as the one you're telling us you prefer to run. It's nice to know that the quarterly jewel caravan is running from the gem mines of Agrapur across the Dunes of Salt to the markets of Khoraja where the gems and jewels will be sent out to dozens of other cities...suddenly, your players know why the caravan they're guarding is so important, or perhaps now have a better understanding of which caravan they want to raid...