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OK. I both love and hate the treasure rules. I love the abstract part of it and how it saves the LM from having to figure out costs and availability of every tiny thing in every town... But.... I am lost with how it actually works.

For example, my shield breaks in combat... How many treasure to get a new one? I'm guessing none? But what if a poor standard of living character wants a shield... But he has 10 treasure... Can he get one? Does it cost him treasure?

Also, do characters get treasure at the beginning of a campaign? I don't see anything in character creation?

The Lake-town Sourcebook for TOR discusses treasure and money. "In broad terms, 1 Treasure can be considered to be the equivalent to 1 Gold piece."

1 gold piece = 1 Treasure
1 gold piece = 20 silver pennies = 240 copper coins
1 silver penny = 12 copper coins

According to the AiMe Player's Guide the monetary cost of a standard Shield is 10 silver (1/2 a point of Treasure). A great shield is 30 silver or 1.5 Treasure.

Under the rules as written (RAW), treasure can be spent during a Fellowship phase. A Player-hero's standard of living is normally used to determine what can be acquired during an Adventuring phase, though things can be purchased more conventionally if the Loremaster prefers to use the monetary system and wants to go the trouble to research the appropriate values for items (that might mean acquiring at least the PDF for the AiMe Player's Guide).

RAW allows war gear to be easily replaced: "If a hero loses or breaks any of these items, they can be replaced automatically, at the next friendly settlement they reach or other appropriate moment in the narrative." This is why TOR does not ascribe a value in Treasure points to weapons and armor.

Remember that heroes can pay to temporarily raise their Standard of Living. If you felt it necessary for the story, you could insist on a hero raising their Standard of Living in order to re-equip themselves. But as Otaku indicates, that's not really the focus of The One Ring. In the source materials, the heroes seem to find themselves well-situated to find the war gear that they need, when they need it. Fortune smiles on them.

One thing you could do: A member of the company has lost his shield which was broken in combat. The next community that the heroes come upon is a Woodman settlement (standard of living: Frugal). The hero can find another shield, but it is an old, battered hand-me-down that is barely serviceable.

Andrew

Assuming you want to stick with the basic, abstract rules from the core book, think about the sort of item they want to buy and whether someone of their standard of living would buy it.

People from Poor and Frugal cultures probably won't be able to buy anything.

People from Martial cultures will be able to replace weapons and armor, or buy basic supplies, meals, and transport, and they can't buy anything else. If they want something more they'll have to haggle successfully and what they get will be noticeably shabby.

People from Prosperous cultures can buy those things, plus reasonable luxuries like extended stays in inns and fine clothes.

People from Rich cultures can buy anything they want, so long as the local economy can supply it.

Basically, look to the descriptions given in the rule book, and imagine whether the thing they want to buy fits that description. And let players invest treasure to temporarily raise their standards of living to be able to afford more.

Stormcrow wrote: ↑

Fri May 19, 2017 5:10 pm

Assuming you want to stick with the basic, abstract rules from the core book, think about the sort of item they want to buy and whether someone of their standard of living would buy it.

People from Poor and Frugal cultures probably won't be able to buy anything.

I wouldn't go quite that far. For one thing, unless everyone in the company is poor, its not likely to become an issue with the exception of acquiring personal items. A Frugal person might not be willing (or able) to readily purchase anything beyond the most necessary gear or equipment without haggling or attempting to barter. A Poor individual might not have any money at all; however, he might still be able to barter for basic necessities, including such exchanges as chores for a place to sleep and a simple meal. Let me paraphrase from the "Equiment" section of the AiMe Player's Guide (I think it can be equally well applied to TOR):

• Impoverished folk struggle every day to find what they need to survive and have no time or resources to look for anything beyond the bare necessities. The equipment of adventurers from a Poor culture generally represents the entirety of their family's wealth and may very well be all they own.

• Adventurers from a Frugal folk do not usually carry anything of unusual worth (unless part of their war gear) and generally avoid ostentation other than perhaps some token of their status among their peers. They can rarely afford to pay for anything out of the ordinary, and prefer to find or make what they need instead.

• Martial Player-heroes have enough resources to look after themselves and to pay for such things as simple accommodations on the road and an occasional fancy meal. Ever mindful of the cost of any luxury, both to their purse and their spirit, they often lead an austere life, or resort to haggling to lower the cost of what they are trying to acquire.

If you don't mind, I don't feel a need to go on to cover Prosperous or Wealthy adventurers.

The text of The One Ring says "Frugal adventurers can rarely afford to pay for anything," not "Frugal adventurers can rarely afford to pay for anything out the ordinary."

I don't see this anywhere in the book, but the podcast I just listened to had the players start with treasure (I think). I'm not missing a rule somewhere, am I?

No, there's no rule in the rule book that starts you off with treasure.

Stormcrow wrote: ↑

Fri May 19, 2017 11:05 pm

The text of The One Ring says "Frugal adventurers can rarely afford to pay for anything," not "Frugal adventurers can rarely afford to pay for anything out the ordinary."

So the wording is a bit different between TOR and AiMe, with the latter including a slight elaboration. Other than that the descriptions are almost identical. If anything, the difference serves to clarify the matter. It also reflects the differences between how expenses work in the two systems, keeping track of money being optional in TOR.