Re: How Much Treasure?
Lord of the Rings is a good story, but middle earth sucks as dungeon fantasy setting. There is not nearly enough magic in the setting. There are no PC wizards or clerics, and magic items are so rare that there is no economy for them. Even a generic +1 short sword is priceless.
That works in the books, because there is a literal god level dmpc wizard there with the PCs for most of the story to provide plot protection from the things that would wipe out the party. The point of gaming is to let the PCs be the heroes, and you need more magic in the setting to allow healing and let them survive fighting a Balrog instead of running away while the DM saves them.
Adventure game settings have different needs than Middle Earth, and Faerun/Golarion/Oerth/Nordlond/Caverntown are not Middle Earth, and shouldn’t be Middle Earth. We’re not in the Shire, and making the game be the shire ignores most of the assumptions of the genre, despite the fact that LOTR was an inspiration for the genre.
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