Okay, so I get that some characters get a few coins (presumably gold?) whereas others don’t. There are equipment choices, and I really like those as options for the players, but I’m still at a loss about wealth.
I’ve read the entire book twice as well as the Guide posted as a sticky here twice, and have practiced my usually flawless Google-fu until I was blue in the face.
How are those characters who don’t have any ‘starting gold’ deal with interactions in the world that require payment of some sort? E.g. a Fighter wants to stay at a common inn, it’d be [X] coins, but there is no mechanic for dealing with this. I understand DW is less about specific mechanics than it is the storytelling experience, which is what I love about it.
But how the heck are the PCs supposed to get along in a world that operates on a normal market economy? Hand-waving away this issue seems to be a huge oversight inasmuch as the noble and wealthy are obviously going to be dealt with differently in the world than the poor and destitute. Not to mention just wanting to buy a simple meal at an inn.
Thoughts/suggestions/references in the books that I missed?
You, the GM, give them money as part of play.
Or they don’t have money, and something interesting happens as a result (they sing for their supper, literally or metaphorically; or they borrow it from a loan shark; or anything that makes things interesting).
The gear on the sheet is what they start with. If they start the game needing to buy rooms, they’re in for some trouble – time to go on an adventure to get some coin! If they start the game in a dungeon… they’re already on an adventure to get some coin!
Looting memorable treasures!
They beg, borrow, or steal everything they need. Or get a job, like self-respecting adventurers!
Ah, well, that might be my problem. Running Lair of the Unknown, and I did a pretty good job of setting backgrounds up but had them ‘go into town’ for two of the PCs (my 10 &11 year old boys) meet up one of the other PCs (my wife). So not starting them at the dungeon seems like it was the problem.
Which explains a lot, the younger one reacted to questions and ‘What do you do?’ like he was being called up to do calculus on the blackboard in just his underwear. About an hour in he even asked ‘when are we going to start playing the game?’
So, yeah. Next time we play I think I’ll just railroad them to the dungeon, maybe fight something related to one of the Unknown Dangers, and take it from there.
Oh yeah, always open up in the middle of a scene demanding decisive action. Buying supplies? Not so much — your satchel holding secret treasure maps is snatched from you in a crowded market place and the thief is making a run for it? Better!
@ Alfred Rudzki ….that is nearly perfect for the module and where they are currently. I think I’ll open the next session with that. 😀
Adventurers who have enough money to rent rooms or buy food don’t really need to be adventurers, do they?
If you go with that, make sure you start in the thick of the action. The thief hasn’t escaped yet, there is time to act but you must do it now and so on. Give them a solid chance to win or lose on their own merits, the fiction as established, and the whim of the dice. I’d suggest, since you had a frustrated player last time, making the opening scene just complex enough that everyone can contribute.
So maybe not just one thief — maybe its a couple thieves, and the theft is only noticed as they mount their wagon. Its now a multi-variable problem — someone might take out the driver, someone might go after the thief, etc. Choices for all involved.
Just ideas of course; I hope your game gets back on track and everyone has fun!