Balancing Treasure

[CAD]

I hope you don't believe I implied you're a rules lawyer. When I spoke of mechanics I wasn't implying rules lawyering; mechanics are functions, tables, dice/variables, etc. and that is different from prompting them to look for a solution. You may remember the example of the INK RECIPE for a specific spell to be penned as a scroll, in the AD&D DM's guide (pumpkin seeds, light of the full moon, etc.) This is the personalization of the game I'm looking for.

I don't know what you're like as a DM; I haven't gamed with you and will with hold judgement, but I have met with you and was personally impressed with your knowledge and demeanor Craig.

[Zijaerdran]

Like so many here, I tend to err on the side of "less-is-more". In my experience, players will tend to be more clever and creative when faced with challenges if they have less powerful items to rely on. This in turn, has had the secondary effect of requiring players to be more attentive during game play so that they can better assess a situation rather than, "oh, we're faced with 10 fire giants. I don't need the details, I'll just pull out my +5 icy burst greataxe of giant's bane with the ability to cast Heal 5 times per day as a free action and contingent teleport back to my inner sanctum should I go below 1/4 my hitpoints. Just tell me when to roll initiative and i'll stop: watching TV, playing with my miniatures, talking about something other than D&D, etc."

That's a bit of an over-the-top explanation but you get the idea.

Cheers,