By GreatArc:
1:) GOLD AS A MOTIVATOR:
Unless the PCs are a never-ending stream of restless youths seeking glory and excitement (and most usually, their deaths) by searching out fantastic monsters who can easily kill them, there needs to be a realistic approach to why an otherwise studious 1st level wizard--who is more at home amongst his scrolls and magical apparatus--should drag his frail carcass up one side of a mountain and down another, just to cast a sleep spell on a bunch of goblins he has never met, nor have ever wronged him. Whether a character is seeking power and titles, revenge upon an enemy, a journey to a far off land, hidden knowledge, simply having a career as an adventurer to sustain them without taking on some more common employment, or whatever the case may be--there is something which separates the PC from their goal, and something has to be done to achieve their motivation. In most cases, gold is the most common denominator to satisfying most any 'reason' the character needs to continue adventuring. But for this, gold must be treated as something more than a simple thing the PCs have or do not have. If gold is treated as something which it is very difficult to do without, it becomes instantly more important and by extension, the mundane parts of the game world become far more immersive.
For example: an adventure has wrapped up and the players have been spirited away to a month later where they simply find themselves back at full HP, new spells learned, and re-equipping the character has been a simple matter of scribbling down a couple of lines on a character sheet and subtracting their cost from the number which lies in the box beside the letters 'GP'. This does not address the fact that PCs will lose money between adventures for food, housing, training, research, stabling or purchasing new mounts when they are old or lame, purchasing information, hiring guides or hirelings, armour and weapon upgrade and maintenance and replacement (armour becomes damaged and degrades, ropes fray and rot, lanterns become battered, weapons and armour should not be a one-time purchase!). It does not mean that every gaming session begins with an hour of role playing the purchase of a new lantern for the party, but a DM who begins a gaming session with something like the following has gone the extra mile to immerse the players beyond another DM who simply ignores it.
DM: "After several weeks spent in the village, between the healing houses and the alehouses, your party is finally back in fighting shape. The innkeeper's debt has been settled and the blacksmith has finally repaired the dent the ogre's club left in Roderick's breastplate. The horses have grown quite fat again after so long without proper grain and feed in the wild, and are likely the only ones in the party who do not share your concern about how much lighter your coin purse has grown this past month. Now that expenses have been satisfied, spells and skills upgraded, your party is back in full form. What would you like to do?"
1:) GOLD AS A MOTIVATOR:
Unless the PCs are a never-ending stream of restless youths seeking glory and excitement (and most usually, their deaths) by searching out fantastic monsters who can easily kill them, there needs to be a realistic approach to why an otherwise studious 1st level wizard--who is more at home amongst his scrolls and magical apparatus--should drag his frail carcass up one side of a mountain and down another, just to cast a sleep spell on a bunch of goblins he has never met, nor have ever wronged him. Whether a character is seeking power and titles, revenge upon an enemy, a journey to a far off land, hidden knowledge, simply having a career as an adventurer to sustain them without taking on some more common employment, or whatever the case may be--there is something which separates the PC from their goal, and something has to be done to achieve their motivation. In most cases, gold is the most common denominator to satisfying most any 'reason' the character needs to continue adventuring. But for this, gold must be treated as something more than a simple thing the PCs have or do not have. If gold is treated as something which it is very difficult to do without, it becomes instantly more important and by extension, the mundane parts of the game world become far more immersive.
For example: an adventure has wrapped up and the players have been spirited away to a month later where they simply find themselves back at full HP, new spells learned, and re-equipping the character has been a simple matter of scribbling down a couple of lines on a character sheet and subtracting their cost from the number which lies in the box beside the letters 'GP'. This does not address the fact that PCs will lose money between adventures for food, housing, training, research, stabling or purchasing new mounts when they are old or lame, purchasing information, hiring guides or hirelings, armour and weapon upgrade and maintenance and replacement (armour becomes damaged and degrades, ropes fray and rot, lanterns become battered, weapons and armour should not be a one-time purchase!). It does not mean that every gaming session begins with an hour of role playing the purchase of a new lantern for the party, but a DM who begins a gaming session with something like the following has gone the extra mile to immerse the players beyond another DM who simply ignores it.
DM: "After several weeks spent in the village, between the healing houses and the alehouses, your party is finally back in fighting shape. The innkeeper's debt has been settled and the blacksmith has finally repaired the dent the ogre's club left in Roderick's breastplate. The horses have grown quite fat again after so long without proper grain and feed in the wild, and are likely the only ones in the party who do not share your concern about how much lighter your coin purse has grown this past month. Now that expenses have been satisfied, spells and skills upgraded, your party is back in full form. What would you like to do?"
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