Using Treasure Points

[Mythicos]

Hi all,

I'm trying to gauge what's the "normal" level of Treasure Points (TP) PCs should get, as my playing group has some difficulties adjusting how much they should earn.

To try and get a sense of it, I went through my books and tried to look for "mechanical" ways to spend TP, and I've found four, all Fellowship phase Undertakings:

• Prevent the loss of Standing by spending TP

• Raise Standard of Living for a month

• Go to the Market-pool in Lake-Town

• Visit the Market at Trader's Isle

My first question is, have I forgotten other mechanical ways of spending TP?

Second, do you have some guidelines to share as to how many TP to give to PCs?

Thanks!

[Ecorce]

I think you forgot the main Undertaking that needs TP : increasing Standing (don't know the official name, as I use the french edition).

[Otaku-sempai]

Outside of undertakings, Player-heroes can also spend Treasure Points on additional gear and equipment, including pack-animals and mounts. The simple truth, though, is that players in TOR don't need and shouldn't expect to find the kind of massive hoards that are common in many D&D games.

If players are finding it difficult to maintain their Standings and meet other advancement costs then you might want to increase the amount of Treasure in your games. If they are finding much more than they can easily spend then you are either giving them too much or they are not using their TP to its full advantage.

Of course a Hero from a Frugal culture is going to have fewer expenses than a Hero who is Wealthy unless the Frugal Hero has greatly increased his/her lifestyle.

If you feel that the TOR Treasure Point system is a bit too abstract for your tastes, you can adopt the monetary system and equipment lists from the AiMe Player's Guide. TOR's Horse-lords of Rohan has a table that includes prices for different categories of horses.

[Stormcrow]

Second, do you have some guidelines to share as to how many TP to give to PCs?

Look at the Treasure table on page 135 of the hardcover rule book. Based on those number, give players an amount of Treasure that they would reasonably expect to find on the adventure they're on.

Forget about trying to "balance" Treasure. The only thing you might want to consider mechanically is whether the players are satisfied with their current Standings and whether you've been making available enough Treasure for them to achieve the Standings they want in a reasonable amount of time. ("Reasonable" is defined as the longest they'll be patient waiting for Standing.) Consider all other uses of Treasure as bonus opportunity.

[Otaku-sempai]

Look at the Treasure table on page 135 of the hardcover rule book. Based on those number, give players an amount of Treasure that they would reasonably expect to find on the adventure they're on.

I was having some trouble finding that table in the original two-volume set; it is on page 116 of the Adventurer's Book. It is useful to remember that 1 Treasure Point represents enough wealth "for one adventurer to spend one month at a Prosperous standard of living." Bilbo brought approximately 500 TP home from his adventure with the Dwarves (it is unclear if that included his share from the Troll hoard).

The cost to raise one's Standing increases in multiples of 12 (12 to achieve a Standing of 1; 24 to acheive a Standing of 2; 36 to achieve a Standing of 3; etc.). If a Hero wants to increase his standing by more than 1 point then the costs of every point increase must be included (to go directly from a Standing of 0 to a Standing of 2 costs 36 Treasure Points).

[Terisonen]

Look at the Treasure table on page 135 of the hardcover rule book. Based on those number, give players an amount of Treasure that they would reasonably expect to find on the adventure they're on.

I was having some trouble finding that table in the original two-volume set; it is on page 116 of the Adventurer's Book. It is useful to remember that 1 Treasure Point represents enough wealth "for one adventurer to spend one month at a Prosperous standard of living." Bilbo brought approximately 500 TP home from his adventure with the Dwarves (it is unclear if that included his share from the Troll hoard).

The cost to raise one's Standing increases in multiples of 12 (12 to achieve a Standing of 1; 24 to acheive a Standing of 2; 36 to achieve a Standing of 3; etc.). If a Hero wants to increase his standing by more than 1 point then the costs of every point increase must be included (to go directly from a Standing of 0 to a Standing of 2 costs 36 Treasure Points).

I would be very interested were it was estimated. I was wondering how it can be translated in game term. Bilbo had forfeited his 1/14th share of Erebor hoard.

[Otaku-sempai]

Bilbo brought approximately 500 TP home from his adventure with the Dwarves (it is unclear if that included his share from the Troll hoard).

I would be very interested were it was estimated. I was wondering how it can be translated in game term. Bilbo had forfeited his 1/14th share of Erebor hoard.

That estimate is based on the Treasure Table itself where a Treasure Rating of 500 equals: "Silver and gold to last the rest of a middle-aged Hobbit's lifetime". However, the Encumbrance rules might have to be fudged to allow for the two small chests carried on Bilbo's pony. Those rules, as written, would have Bilbo's treasure count as 500 points of Encumbrance.

[Terisonen]

Bilbo was said to be already a wealthy (if not rich) Hobbit (hence the starting standard of living as Prosperous). His treasure can also only be used for ponctual activity when he wish to. 500 Treasure seem's... Big.

[Otaku-sempai]

Bilbo was said to be already a wealthy (if not rich) Hobbit (hence the starting standard of living as Prosperous). His treasure can also only be used for ponctual activity when he wish to. 500 Treasure seem's... Big.

Well, let's break it down in terms of TOR:
- 1 TP = 1 gold piece = 20 silver pennies. Let's assume that the same holds true for the coinage of Erebor.
- Bilbo took home two small chests from Erebor, one filled with silver and the other with gold (as much as his pony could carry).
- The chests may have been sized for Dwarves and Hobbits, making them smaller than the standard small chest for D&D/AD&D (Weight: 10 pounds empty; capacity of 2 cubic feet or 40 pounds).
- The total value of both chests was worth 500 TP.
- We can estimate that one chest contained approximately 475 gold coins and the other held approximately 500 silver pieces.
- Using D&D 5e as our standard (as we can presumably do for AiMe): "A standard coin weighs about a third of an ounce, so fifty coins weigh a pound." So 500 coins would weigh about 10 pounds.

Those seem to be reasonable numbers to me.

[Terisonen]

Seem's ok also