The Twice-baked Honey Cake conundrum

[Geomtje]

Hi all,

I was just wondering how some of you would go about PCs wanting to buy certain items that could help them later on. Especially with items like Twice-Baked Honey Cakes, keeping in mind that the PC does not own the corresponding Virtue. Or items that would help restore Endurance during the Adventure Phase.

[Indur Dawndeath]

Hi all,

I was just wondering how some of you would go about PCs wanting to buy certain items that could help them later on. Especially with items like Twice-Baked Honey Cakes, keeping in mind that the PC does not own the corresponding Virtue. Or items that would help restore Endurance during the Adventure Phase.

You should handle it like the market pool and charge 2 treasures and grant +1 to travel. For flavour the +1 is due to a supply of Twice-Baked Honey Cakes...
You can also grant a higher bonus, but limit it to the Adventure phase. Say +2 or +4.
This will of course only affect the companion that use the fellowship phase to get the bonus.
If you allow the players to buy something equally powerful to a virtue, then it is a slippery slope...

[Random221B]

Personally, I would not have twice-baked honey cakes as something that you could just buy, in my campaign. They're not something that just anyone can bake. It's a special recipe that Beorn developed, and teaches to certain select few of his people, as I understand it. I don't really see Beorn--or any Beorning he had taught the recipe to--just putting them out for sale somewhere. If nobody in the fellowship has the Virtue, the only way I would allow the possibility of getting TBHC, is if they have Beorn as a patron, he *might* consider giving them some once or twice. But it certainly wouldn't be done casually, or very often.

I understand it may work for other people, but for me, the idea of being able to buy TBHC just feels wrong. It would be like popping down to the market to pick up some lembas.

That said, if you feel a strong need to allow players to buy them, I think Indur's suggestion works--use it like the market pool, for a +1 to Travel. I would not allow purchased TBHC to also give a bonus fellowship pool point, the way the Virtue does. That basically becomes buying Hope with treasure, which really feels counter to the spirit of the game, to me.

[Geomtje]

Not quite sure if I follow you on the market pool part.

I am quite new to TOR, to RPGs in general for that matter, and I have not read anything mentioning a marketing pool or what so ever. Is this something from a supplement or might this be a AiME thing?

[Geomtje]

If nobody in the fellowship has the Virtue, the only way I would allow the possibility of getting TBHC, is if they have Beorn as a patron, he *might* consider giving them some once or twice. But it certainly wouldn't be done casually, or very often.

I agree with that it should not be made into something that could be bought everywhere. Like you said, maybe if no one has the virtue and if you have Beorn as a patron, you might be able to get lucky and receive one. Or that you could get them from some Beorning against a hefty feat or price and/or with the caveat being that they only affect one PC.

[poosticks7]

Not quite sure if I follow you on the market pool part.

I am quite new to TOR, to RPGs in general for that matter, and I have not read anything mentioning a marketing pool or what so ever. Is this something from a supplement or might this be a AiME thing?

It is from rules from the Lake Town supplement.

[Geomtje]

It is from rules from the Lake Town supplement.

Thanks for the heads up! I will go and have a look at that, as soon as it will be available

[Glorelendil]

This is entirely personal preference and you (and everybody) can LM however they like, but personally the only circumstance under which I would ever make Honey Cakes available (outside of a Beorning having the virtue) is if having Beorn himself give them to the party were a major part of the narrative. Like in the Hobbit.

Other Beornings who know the recipe would consider it an honor that Beorn shared the secret, and would consider it his and only his perogative to give them away.

I know it's tempting, particularly when coming from other game systems, to find ways to give players access to various bonuses. Especially the really juicy one like Honey Cakes. But TOR is different: mechanics should follow narrative, not vice versa.

[Rich H]

Completely agree with Glor on this!

And really wish there was +1 button sometimes.

[Otaku-sempai]

Not quite sure if I follow you on the market pool part.

I am quite new to TOR, to RPGs in general for that matter, and I have not read anything mentioning a marketing pool or what so ever. Is this something from a supplement or might this be a AiME thing?

It is from rules from the Lake Town supplement.

Yep! The Lake-town Sourcebook introduces the new undertaking Go to the Market-pool which allows heroes to spend 2 Treasure to acquire one of a selection of items that gives them a + 1 bonus to all rolls made using a corresponding skill. I am not sure, though, that this mechanic should be allowed to acquire Twice-baked Honey Cakes, except perhaps as a one-time purchase applicable only to one Adventure phase.

In addition, the sourcebook provides guidance for using coinage in TOR with a price list for some items that might be purchased in Lake-town. 2 Treasure = 2 gold pieces = 40 silver pennies.