Loot Sucks

I'm a fan of ARPG's (You know, like diablo). There's something about finding a cool item that makes you go "oh, I know what to do with this" that never gets old.

It's fascinating really, Diablo and it's ilk were born from DnD, but it isn't clear how. Loot in DnD actually kind of sucks when you think about it.

Why TTRPG Loot Sucks

Imagine you bust open the ancient tomb of the Zarath the Lawbinder, the highest paladin of this or any age, and find his enchanted mace that brought a thousand-thousand demons a true death. It's a +3 mace.

It's boring. It's so obviously boring. It's so deeply boring it spits in the face of finding a cool ancient item. 

And the issue is that all items are boring! Items tend to fit into the categories of "does something objectively better" or "emulates a magic spell". +3 mace? Does a mace, but better. Horn of blasting? Glorified fireball. Very few items do things that are interesting, such as a dagger of returning.

So Define Interesting

There are two forms of interest: opening up a new playstyle, or refining a playstyle. Let's go into them one by one:

• If an item has a unique effect that creates a new playstyle based around it, then you've allowed a PC with that item to have a unique playstyle that is inherently interesting by virtue of being new. A dagger of returning allows someone to play a real throwing weapon based character, something that is somewhere between difficult and impossible in most other games. But why stop there? Why not have a sword that doesn't consume poisons applied to it when it hits opponents, or a set of armor that allows magic missiles to reflect off of you?
• If an item refines a playstyle, that helps a player focus in on the parts of their character they think are fun. Refining a playstyle isn't just a generic buff, it's buffing certain parts in fun ways. A +1 dagger of returning isn't meaningfully more interesting than a dagger of returning, it's just better. But a pair of gloves that improves throwing damage when attacking from shadows is deeply interesting. How do you get use from that effect? Now your throwing playstyle is even more interesting.

So How Does Diablo Relate?

Diablo-likes are defined based on having interesting loot. A Diablo-like with bad loot isn't interesting, as you need the loot grind to make playing for more than a few hours worth it. Getting upgrades, getting items that make you think, that's what Diablo-likes are focused on.

You see both styles of interesting item in Diablo-likes. A unique effect item might be a unique item that changes how one of your core abilities works, or any item with a stat that you can't use without a build designed around it. Refining items are also common, such as with uniques that provide powerful bonuses when used with a certain playstyle.

Of course, Diablo-likes also have lots of items with raw damage bonuses, but this is partially to make getting new items interesting long term. A 10% damage improvement feels good when you're chasing big numbers, but we don't need that in TTRPGs. We just want interesting items. 

Side Note on Baldur's Gate 3

I've been playing through Baldur's Gate 3 for the first time. That game fundamentally understands interesting loot, and at no point have I found an item and went "yawn". Every new thing I find makes me rethink what is viable, what is possible. This ability might suck, but these two items make it disgustingly strong.

How To Make TTRPG Loot Interesting

This is going to be a bit theoretical for now, but let me toss some ideas out there:

• Remove generic +X items. They're boring. Replace them with ones that are situational. A +1 if you do Y.
• Add items with unique mechanics. Like actually unique. Don't think about if the players can use them, that's their job.
• More loot. Replace the game's primary progression loop from levels and XP to loot. Loot can't be an occasional reward, it has to be constant, many items per session.
• If we want to go full Diablo: a system to create loot from random tables. Actual items, with mechanics randomly determined. They might be useless, that's half the fun. 

I do wonder what a game where loot is your primary progression looks like. I understand that games like Cairn and Knave do that, but not really. I want a game where players buildcraft with their items (anathema as you might think it), finding interesting synergies and fun play patterns.

 

The Thousand Miles

The Thousand Miles.

Photo by David Wirzba on Unsplash

 

The western reaches of Neurim are dominated by a massive desert known as The Thousand Miles. The region is not one singular desert, but instead a series of biomes related by a lack of rainfall and the blistering sun.

The Stone Forest .

In the center of the Miles is the Stone Forest. Ancient rivers carved this winding canyon, leaving behind great pillars of painted rock. A few rivers remain, but they are stagnant and stained with mud. Still, some plant life remains, clinging to what shade there is and soaking up what water remains from the yearly flood in spring, where melted mountain snow runs through the forest.

Argava.

The forest is home to Argava, the largest permanent settlement in the Miles. It is a network of tunnels and homes carved out of a massive pillar. The lower levels act as a reservoir, holding as much flood water as the town needs to survive each year. Argavians accept coin as currency, but as a measure of water. In the Miles, water is worth more than its weight in gold.

Argava is run by the Tlah, a group of once nomadic water traders. They settled in Argava a long time ago, but they did not build it. The Tlah are technically vassals to the Zetterite Empire, the strongest and largest in the world, though the Tlah ignore Zetterite taxes as long as they keep the Tin Road open. The Tlah are strictly meritocratic. They try to place people in positions they can succeed in, and those who succeed are given power over those who don't.

Tlahlan soldiers use the stats of bandits or guards, whichever you prefer. They use scimitar and shield, and sometimes carry light crossbows. All tlahlan soldiers carry 1d4-1 cactus fans. Tlahlan soldier commanders carry whistles and ride camels. The Tlah can communicate wordlessly using these whistles.

The Tar Marshes.

To the south of the Stone Forest lay the Dune Sea and the tar marshes. Few pass through these lands except to reach the magic city of Zahallas.

Photo by Gilberto Parada on Unsplash

The Dune Sea is a vast and open desert, devoid of life except where there is an oasis. Merchants and nomads are the only who would willingly go there. The Dune Sea has frequent sandstorms. They can last for weeks. At times, they've lasted years.

Past the Dune Sea are the tar marshes, lakes of tar connected by rivers of black sludge. The ground there is nonviable, so soaked with tar as it is. There is great value in fishing bones out of the tar. There is one road through, to Zahallas. It is protected by hundreds of magical wards.

In the center of the marshes is Akrahiel, the Bonepowder Mountain. The name is not a metaphor. It is ruled by Mahkireth, often called the tar-black dragon.

 

The Painted Desert.

Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash

To the north is the painted desert. The dirt there is glorious colors of red, orange, yellow, and at places blue and purple. Trees can find root in the dirt, as devoid of nutrients as it is. Patches of forests and greenery make home for travelers and beasts alike. There's an old belief that there's gold in the dirt there, and many have tried digging for it. None have been successful yet.

Further to the west is Asuria, land of the ghouls. It weeps of rot.

The Tin Road.

In ancient days, the great kingdom of Asur needed copious amounts of tin to keep itself running. Tin is rare in those lands, and bronze was the best metal they could work, so they made a great trade route to the east to buy tin in exchange for copper. Asur has no more need for tin these days, but the trade route remains open.

This is the Tin Road, the safest route from easy to west. One could be a fool and try to cross the mountains and draw the ire of a giant or dragon, or one could be a fool and try to cross through the Dune Sea and die of thirst long before they ever found an oasis, but wise folk take the Tin Road. 

The Tin Road ends are Argava. It used to go further west, to Asuria, but now ghouls patrol that road. A road extends further south, but the historic Tin Road never went that far.

Creatures of The Thousand Miles.

Tar Elementals.

They're called elementals as a euphemism. Born of necromantic energy animating the bones of a beast that drowned in tar. Their bodies are thick and viscous, with protruding bones. Pseudo-pod like arms drag the creature to its prey. It can always have more bones. They can't be killed with swords or arrows or clubs. They can be trapped (they aren't very wise), healed back to proper death, or disenchanted, but striking one with a sword is asking to lose your sword to the tar. They fight like they have 5 hit dice.

Giant Antlions.

Take an antlion and make it six feet long. They dig pits in the sand and spray super-heated sand at anything that comes near. Like a shotgun crossed with a flamethrower. They have 2 hit dice, can hit multiple enemies at the same time, and hit very hard, but can only attack every other turn. They also have a bite with paralytic poison. This poison can be extracted after their death. It is quite valuable.

No one has ever seen an adult giant antlion. No one wants to see an adult giant antlion.

Stirges.

Giant flying mosquitos. They gather blood and bring it back to their nests, where flightless worker stirges mix it with their excretions to turn into into a thick pulp. Their hives are made of the stuff. It smells like iron and rotting meat for miles around a stirge nest. Blood squeezes out of the floor when you stop on it too. Their grubs live in the walls, feeding on the blood-pulp. Stirges also make "honey" as its called.  It tastes of rotten hopes but it never goes bad and is good at hydrating and that gives it value.

Skullbugs.

Small, scorpion like creatures, but without the stinging tail. They carry around skulls, and sing into them, attracting swarms of scorpions, spiders, beetles, and who knows what else. They use these swarms to kill, then lay their eggs inside the corpse. They hatch once all the meat is gone.

Horn Beetles.

Giant beetles, somewhere between a dog and a horse in size. They skitter about eating cacti and bushes. Their shells are impossible smooth. Swords slight right off. As a result, their shells make excellent shields. They have 1 hit die.

Gnolls.

They get their own post.

Monsters.

Goblins with sandstone gold skin and rocky hide are common in all parts of the Miles. They crawl up at night, being born in small caves below the sand. Mahkireth's brood of tar-black kobolds are common in the marshes of the south.

See this post for monsters in Neurim.

Items of The Thousand Miles. 

Dripcoins.

Small bits of crystallized water make trading and transporting water easier. They look like little blue marbles and revert to normal water when crushed. One dripcoin is equal to one gold. A waterskin is equal to 100 gold. A barrel of water is equal to 10,000 gold.

Needle Fans.

Fans filled with cactus needles used by tlahlan warriors. They can be used to spray a cone of needles up to 15 feet away. Perfect for dealing with skullbug swarms.

Horn Beetle Shield.

Shield made from a horn beetle shell. Impossible smooth, but gets worn down fast without constant maintenance by a beetle. Provides additional defensive benefit, but only for 2d6 hits, then works as a normal shield.

The Horn of the Tlah.

A magical musical horn made from a dragon's, well, horn. The sound travels for miles. Like a horn of blasting but the sound is directable. Anyone the wielder doesn't wish to be harmed will be fine. Currently possessed by the leader of the Tlah in Argava.

The Oasis Pen.

A quill and ink-pot with the ability to draw mirages. Any who are not chosen by the user believe the mirage to be real until it is proven false. The pen can only be used once a day, with the magical ink refilling at midnight. Currently possessed by Mahkireth at the Bonepowder Mountain.