How should a Loremaster handle giving out loot in the game, given the Reward system for Valour? I am talking about items of value beyond just treasure. If a character loots a normal quality sword no big deal but what happens if a players gets to loot a really nice item, an item of worth that perhaps has a history, a name, and maybe even enhancements like the ones listed in the Rewards section?

If a loremaster is not careful he/she could throw off the balance of the game a bit it seems with these kinds of loot rewards, given the fact that levels of Valour buy you your item upgrades in this game.

Would you handle it like the following? Player A loots a very nice sword from a hoard of treasure, guarded by a troll. The sword basically is so nice it contains 2 Qualities. The Loremaster then informs the player that he/she must spend their next 2 pts of Valour ranks they achieve paying basically for the privilege of this weapon?

Is this a fair solution? How would you all handle nice items as loot given the Valour/Rewards system in the game?

I wouldn't. Give the item. If the PC doesn't buy Rewards to reflect it, it remains a story item that can be changed or removed from play. For example the sword could loose it's edge or magic over time. If they reflect it as a Reward, it becomes a part of their PC and gains the story immunity outlined in the book. Essentially, let the player make the decision of what interests them.

On saying that, I would generally avoid magic weapons and armour as loot as being a little dull, except on rare occasions. IMO Orcrist, Glamdring and Sting are good examples of the GM awarding Treasure Points and the players coming up with Rewards that fit well into the story (or the GM saying that there are some nice blades and the players elaborating).

Also remember that Rewards can reflect new and previously unknown qualities. Bilbo didn't really know Sting was a good sword until Mirkwood and the glowing when Orcs were about was hinted at but not seen until the Misty Mountains.

Also, for non-Reward items I would not specify the effects at all TBH. This is an old skool trick we used to do in AD&D1e days to help keep magic items feel... well magical.

Someone could hear about the qualities or even witness them, but it is very Tolkien that they should remain mysterious and unquantified for the most part. Did the magic sword really do extra damage or was it just a good hit? The GM could run a lot of benefits out of sight of the Players.

A good example of this is the Vial of Galadriel. She says it will light dark places but the fact that it's light actually harms Shadow creatures is only seen much later.

Tolkien just screams this kind of unquantified magic IMO and TOR really embraces freedom outside of Rewards, so I would too.

TOR is kinda backwards with magic items, but in a good way.

You don't give players magic items and then expect them to pay for them with Valour...

They increase their Valour and then you award them the item in the next adventure. Doesn't matter whether they find it in a treasure horde or a patron gives it to them.

So it seems the best way to handle it is as such.....you the Loremaster tell the players they uncover a large Treasure hoard and give them the figure for how much it is in terms Treasure pts. Let's say it is worth 5 pts. You describe there are a couple swords within the hoard but it is unknown as to if they have any special properties. Later, when a player goes up a level of Valour you explain to him/her that one of the swords they found in that particular hoard was magical and let the player choose the upgrade he/she wants to say it has...then he/she can use that magic weapon. This would require some book keeping for the Loremaster but is really the only way to handle this sort of thing, as far as I can tell.

But trouble can still arise when players expect to be able to make identification rolls to see what properties an item has. I just kind of see this becoming a problem later on and I foresee players complaining about wanting to get cool items in Treasure if all they ever get is coin, save for the Rewards system.

Not quite.

Essentially, how you do it is no different from any other RPG.

The differences are that players can define and "own" items using Rewards. So, if the PC spends Valour, then it would be for the player to explain what that meant and where he got the weapon from. If it needed GM cooperation to introduce, then that's fine.

It is implied from that and the fact that they system contains no rules from other magic items that the GM pretty much has a free reign otherwise. If you want to define everything, feel free to do so. However, I think the system would best be utilised and most like Tolkien by embracing that GM freedom.

So the GM can definitely introduce magic items as well, especially if it has a good story/dramatic purpose. The PC might look to cement that item as tied to there PC with Rewards. Otherwise, it remains a story item and can be altered and removed as the plot dictates.

I don't think this requires any more book keeping. Essentially, the players can define an ability through Rewards or the item remains defined as the story requires.

I also don't see an issue with identification. GM led magic items can have magical effects but they may be subtle or constant until such time as it suits the story. Galadriel gives Frodo a quick summary of the Vial when he gifts it to her. Bilbo discovers Sting's deadliness when he kills an Attercop, but its still a magic blade before then that glows in the dark as Orcs are close. These things come out in play all the time, just as they do in Tolkien's work.

Resist the urge to have every magical thing set in stone. That way D&D lies.

Apologies for resurrecting an old post, but it perfectly matches my question.

I'm intending to run an adventure in which the players help a group of dwarves recover stolen loot. At the end, the idea I had was for the players to get a choice from the loot, not treasure (poor Dwarves only have their items). The only way this works as a reward is if the loot is better than what the player's have access to anyways.

So then I go back to the rules, and basically I'm co-opting valor. Yes, I do understand that items taken as rewards for valor have plot-immunity (King Dain has heard that your great axe was lost assaulting goblin-town, he begs you take this one for your great deeds on his behalf). But that seems somewhat small on the scale of things

Of course, I can just go back to rewarding treasure and leaving it as an item-bare campaign. But experience, advancement, and treasure(=status, basically) doesn't seem like a lot of options.

-Jeff

I would suggest awarding an amount of treasure, and say, "There's all kinds of nifty stuff here, describe what you take." One character might take a handful of jewels and a sword with a gilded hilt and scabbard. If he wants to drop some points into making it a Reward, great, now it's Keen or whatever. If not, fine, it's still a sweet sword, worth a lot of money (Treasure). Same goes for a shirt of fine mail or pretty much anything else. A weapon or piece of armor doesn't have to be measurably superior to be more valuable. Heck, I imagine a Beorning would drool over the quality of a dwarf-made axe, even if they have the same stats.

Thank you for that...I told my players they can replace any of their equipment with "dwarf-made", and consider it an aspect of style.

I also finally internalized the rules on standing, and I realize now that "treasure" is in reality a more abstract measure of both fame and fortune, so the awarding of treasure is more than just gold and jewels.

-Jeff