Things Players Don't Buy

18 days and here's where I am.  Not to worry about reading it; the copy on my patreon is fully expandable.  I'm updating it at the end of each day.

 

And here's the block of content that gives explanation to the post's title.

Forgive me wanting to talk about this; it's on my mind and there's little else.  I haven't felt like a hard-core public project in a couple of years and I'm stoked to get this into production.  The examples shown only comprise what I'm willing to add to the actual poster.  Some may think that none of it belongs, since players usually don't concern themselves with women's clothing—but I have it on good authority that this is what makes my equipment list different from that of others.  It contains real things, real objects, everyday objects, not just stuff that helps to fight monsters.  This is a much stronger road towards building a game character than backstories.  What does your character like, what do they wear, how do they identify themselves, what material items do they love?  How much are they willing to spend on a thing that has no immediate practical applications?  I've learned, an awful lot, since they have the money; and on top of that, they're willing to build the house and the functional day-to-day circumstances that will ensure that after they've bought the 2,112 g.p. dress, they have a closet to hang it in and people to take it out and keep it maintained.  This sort of thing helps a campaign hang together far better than people realise.

So, I muck about adding things to the list such as doormats and hall carpets; a banner and embroidery that will let you put your chosen heraldic symbol on the thing; giving you the choice to eat pumpernickel, rye or wheat bread; letting you buy bonbons or pay to have your room cleaned when you're at an inn.  These are not just things to bleed you of money, as Gygax saw the reequipping side of the game.  They exist to make a character feel pampered, and to make the player feel a part of that pampering.

There is something very human in sacrificing something we have for someone else.  One aspect of D&D allows the player to consider the fantasy coins as "my money" and yet at the same time think of the character as a person apart from ourselves.  Thus, we pay our money to help our characters feel better, and get a strangely derived seratonin boost from knowing the character owns a flannel blanket for nights spent at the inn or enjoys a cigar now and then, even if it doesn't give any in-game bonus of any kind.  Moreover, it is a much stronger relationship when we can SEE the things we're buying and know what they are, complete with even a modicrum of description, rather than simply saying, "I spend a hundred g.p. on my character worth of frivolous things."  The money has no meaning.  A new pipe, a prime cut of beef or a fine new silk cape are completely different.

It's a bit sad, however, when a fighter character looks at a list of items at the Apothecary, useful things like skin oil to block the sun, disease antidotes or insect repellent (yes, it exists), and says, "I'm not a mage or a cleric, so why should I care?"  There's something broken in a system when characters view an equipment list with a mindset that all they need are swords and boards, because the game affords little or no attention towards anything else.  Everything I've said thus far includes the DM caring enough about clothes and food to mention them during the game; to tell the players they've just eaten a very good meal and now they're sitting around the fire joking and digesting.  It needs a DM who will have an NPC react to a player's new 50 g.p. doublet, or the shield they've polished with linseed oil.  If the DM is myopic to such things, the players will be as well ... and all that's left is cut-and-paste gaming, with little reason not to quit after 33 months of play.

I meet far more people who "used to play" D&D than do.  The complaint is almost always the same: "I tried it, but it was ... well, not for me."  I know perfectly what that means.  It means the DM did not capture the player's imagination.  They were willing to try and the DM failed them.  For all the trashing I give to the game, we have to always acknowledge that the game can be addressed, fixed and expanded only if the DM cares.