Uses for Treasure

[PencilBoy99]

Aside from raising Standing (and temporarily raising your Standard of Living), what, if anything, do you do with Treasure?

[Stormcrow]

What else does anyone do with treasure? Forget the game; tell me what people do with treasure besides spend it or give it away?

[PencilBoy99]

Hmm. Well the game isn't really built so that you can buy better gear . There aren't rules for that . I guess just improve your standard of living .

[atgxtg]

If you have the Laketown supplement, during the Fellowship Phase, you can "Go to the Market Pool" and spend 2 Treasure to buy an item that grants a +1 bonus to a specific skill roll. This bonus can be stacked twice (for a +2 bonus). The downside is that of you improve the affected skill later on the item loses it's effectiveness, and you lose the bonus (but you can take the time and spend the treasure to get another item that grants you the bonus again).

[Dunkelbrink]

There are a few other options - like buying things on the market in lake town (Laketown guide) or hiring a smith on Anvil way (Erebor sourcebook). But yeah, Treasure is mostly for raising Standing or narrative uses without mechanical effects. After playing a few sessions you will soon realise that money or the collecting of treasure plays a very small role in the game (as in the books, so the theme is well reflected).

[Glorelendil]

What else does anyone do with treasure? Forget the game; tell me what people do with treasure besides spend it or give it away?

I buy magic items.

[Otaku-sempai]

I buy magic items.

Okay, but magic shops tend to be scarce (as in 'non-existent') in most LMs' Middle-earth games.

[Winterwolf]

A dwarven character in my campaign wants to establish a smithy alongside the inn that Dody will build in the coming year (2947 T.A.). He will have to pay for the materials and any other labour (no electrician or plumber required, at least ) out of Treasure he has accumulated - his reward from retrieving the Sickle of the Full Moon and his share of the tolls from helping guard the Old Ford during the Fellowship Phase.

So Treasure can also be used to build or expand any Holding....

[Falenthal]

Aside from raising Standing (and temporarily raising your Standard of Living), what, if anything, do you do with Treasure?

I think the main problem is "what consequences in the game have a higher Standing or Standard of Living?".
If you and your players find a satisfying answer to that, then you don't need much more.

I'd also add that Treasure and it's main uses (Standing, Standard of Living and Holdings) have mostly an impact during the Fellowship phase in the personal histories of the characters, much more than in mechanical advantatges for the Adventuring phase.

[Glorelendil]

I buy magic items.

Okay, but magic shops tend to be scarce (as in 'non-existent') in most LMs' Middle-earth games.

Yeah, it doesn't always work in RPGs.

But, in real life, I buy magic items.