The small collection of items here are hardly considered in the game, but that is perhaps because the matters are not remotely considered. Things like patents, contracts or writs are among those things that DM's must pull from the air when asked how much will this cost or that. I am especially proud of being able to add these sorts of things to the equipment list as I attempt to 'flesh out' the campaign beyond the giving of prices for swords and horses.
I tend to be in agreement that the equipment table in the game is central to presenting the game's reality. This last weekend, as players in my offline campaign considered what they were going to eat for dinner, from foods they had bought from these lists, I could not help smiling. When they came to an inn, and chose from the food there, not merely the cheapest food but whatever they felt like buying, I recognized that even without the benefit of taste there is still the remnant of perceiving what their character might eat or enjoy. I think there's something base in the human senses that insists we buy according to our fantasies and not merely according to the measure of the rules of the game.
So what does it matter if the playing cards are hand painted? A great deal, I think. Just as it matters if the quill is brass-tipped, whether or not the player can detect any difference.
It is a shame that power players deny themselves such pleasures.
I'm not the best actor, nor am I very good at coming up with characters. Food and drink, or other luxuries, are GREAT ways to flesh out weak characterization and start building a proper personality to go with race-class-level-stats. They're also quite helpful for setting the scene- they are excellent aids to visualization.
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