Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Mmm... Floor Pie!
So you are walking around in some ancient ruins. You stumble across an old treasure chest lying forgotten in one filthy, crumbling corner. You open it with trembling hands, and inside you see...
... a loaf of bread! And maybe a hunk of meat!
MMMM! Yeah, raise your hand if you wanna eat that!
Okay, so now I'm specifically making fun of the Aveyond games - well, even more particularly, Aveyond: Lord of Twilight, since I've been playing that one this weekend. And I started making jokes about it to my wife, who was in the room as I played. I'd say things like, "Yum! I just found a hunk of meat sitting in some old box in the middle of a dark and dangerous forest! I think I'm gonna eat it!"
I don't know that it's any sillier than Persona 3 with treasure chests in an alternate dimension that contain Japanese Yen, let alone bathing suits with high armor value.
It's just one of those weird little quirks that we RPG fans - particularly CRPG fans - put up with. We do it because its a beneficial bit of meta-gaming. Why is there a treasure chest in some dead-end corner of the deadlands in some Final Fantasy game? Because the designers want to reward us for exploring, and want to cushion the blow of having taken the wrong turn in their maze.
It's kinda like how my daughters pretended to believe in Santa Clause for an extra couple of years. They were afraid that if they expressed their newfound skepticism, the presents would cease. I don't really question finding food - which provides much-needed healing - in the middle of ancient ruins. The designer-gods took mercy on me, and I really need the hitpoints after those last couple of fights, so... it's all good.
So I eat the micro-feasts; I drink down those potions that are conveniently labeled "health potions" or "mana potions" without looking at their expiration date or fear of mislabeling; and I don't question why the bad guy had the wand of fireballs sitting in his bedroom wardrobe instead of using it against me in the battle where we soundly defeated him. And we don't question where those gold pieces come from when a monster with no clothing or containers dies.
Well, not much, anyway. But I'll shut up now, before the designers take my treasure away.
Labels: Roleplaying Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:26 AM (Permalink)
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Oh, hey, a magical beer-cooler!
A couple of years ago I picked up a book called "The Mother of All Treasure Tables." I love the book, though I don't use it nearly as often as I should. It has tables of meticulous detail of a horde of non-magical treasure. And it's tricky. Sometimes the accessories or containers are worth nearly as much as the obvious treasure.
But - while it's secretly amusing to realize that the players took the obvious 200 gp treasure in the chest, while leaving the 300 gp rug that the chest was sitting on - it is not much fun unless the players figure it out.
But the point of the book was that most of the treasure isn't in easily tradeable form. It's just loaded with valuable goods and artistic items that characters might have to work for to find a buyer.
A couple of years ago I picked up a book called "The Mother of All Treasure Tables." I love the book, though I don't use it nearly as often as I should. It has tables of meticulous detail of a horde of non-magical treasure. And it's tricky. Sometimes the accessories or containers are worth nearly as much as the obvious treasure.
But - while it's secretly amusing to realize that the players took the obvious 200 gp treasure in the chest, while leaving the 300 gp rug that the chest was sitting on - it is not much fun unless the players figure it out.
But the point of the book was that most of the treasure isn't in easily tradeable form. It's just loaded with valuable goods and artistic items that characters might have to work for to find a buyer.
food sounds better than stock d&d 1 gold piece, 1 silver piece, 5 copper pieces, 2 electrum pieces, 1 platinum piece, 2 gems, 1 pieces of jewelery.
at least in nethack you can eat corpses!
green archer... hungry... mmmm refigerated ham hock!
at least in nethack you can eat corpses!
green archer... hungry... mmmm refigerated ham hock!
In CKK I've tried to set it so that things like 'meat' are not likely to be found lying around (but can be found by killing certain animals) ... However, since I have the passage of time in my game, you can be carrying around your hunk of raw meat for YEARS before you sell, cook, or eat it. Tasty!
First thing I thought about was WoW. My friends and I used to joke about the food we found in chests or dropped by enemies. "Wow, these guys sure like their Moist Cornbread!" was a running joke in our small group.
Unfortunately I am just not able to do that anymore. I don't play RPGs anymore, sadly, because of me. I just can't look past that idiocy anymore. I think I just like simulations more than games.
It's my fault really, the more data that can be given the more I expect it to make sense. Animals don't have purses. Meat decays. As stated in previous blog posts of yours...we do not staff our defensive perimeters with children.
I can't let go of reality enough...oh, I can go along with fantasy, but it has to make logical sense.
I am so sad and lonely for a good RPG...or a good game for that mater, but don't trust any of them with my time.
So sad.
cl
It's my fault really, the more data that can be given the more I expect it to make sense. Animals don't have purses. Meat decays. As stated in previous blog posts of yours...we do not staff our defensive perimeters with children.
I can't let go of reality enough...oh, I can go along with fantasy, but it has to make logical sense.
I am so sad and lonely for a good RPG...or a good game for that mater, but don't trust any of them with my time.
So sad.
cl
"we do not staff our defensive perimeters with children"
We don't? Go to any military base that doesn't outsource their gate security and will find an 18 year old with a gun who is the first line of defense for that base's security. He is just as green (pun intended) as the orc in east commons.
We don't? Go to any military base that doesn't outsource their gate security and will find an 18 year old with a gun who is the first line of defense for that base's security. He is just as green (pun intended) as the orc in east commons.
Reminds me of Fable 2, where you could enter a cave full of monsters, start digging, and turn up a supposedly-delicious pie or steak. I really wouldn't want to eat one of those.
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# posted by 
: June 24, 2009 5:39 PM
: June 24, 2009 5:39 PMLinks to this post:
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