Players, in my experience, never want to accept an increase in difficulty—but they also get bored when things are too easy. The DM’s job is to create problems to solve, not let the players do whatever they want.
Obviously if nobody in the group wants to track arrows, they shouldn’t have to, but not tracking ammo because it’s tedious is like not tracking spell slots or Channel Divinity for the same reason. Scarcity is a balance consideration.
The differences between spell slots and ammo is that you cannot have 30 spell slots on you at level 1, running out of spell slots is expected because you have so few of them, making tracking them easier since it actually matters, and you cannot buy your way into more easily just like that.
They are both resources, but dont go and say that an arrow is worth a spell slot.
You also cannot get spell slots back by tediously scourging the battlefield or looting basic as fuck soldiers.
And we come back to this question : what is the WORST SHIT to happen to a game if you remove the coubting of normal arrows and simply give everyon an infinite quiver that cannot be sold for gold ?
Because up to now, nobody came with a decent answer to this. Im still waiting.
What’s the worst thing that could happen if you remove tracking of spell slots? I don’t understand the emphasis you’re putting on numbers. It’s very reasonable to expect to run out of arrows in a campaign that includes any element of survivalism.
Well, every caster becomes more or less 3 times more powerful ? Because spells are so much better than cantrips ? Because if there wasnt any limits on spell slots, then who wouldnt make a caster ?
When I play a caster, my main question is : when is it worth it to burn a precious spell slot.
But I never EVER saw or heard of a ranged player using a bow or crossbow thinking : is it really worth using a regular ammo here ?
It sounds to me like you run campaigns where you have ready access to ammunition, so sure, maybe it doesn’t matter so much for your group. I run campaigns where it might be five or more long rests between shops. Running out of ammo is extremely possible, and people do consider it as an exhaustible resource.
Hmmm… survival campaigns actually IS a good reason to make ammo counting a thing.
But how about this. Do you limit inventory of merchands, or can they load up on 150 arrows for 10 gold every 5 long rest ?
Remember. Average fights are 4 rounds, so 4 to 8 arrows per fight if they only do that. Meaning if you have 3 to 5 fights per long rest, that is maximum 200 arrows for 5 long rests worth of fights if you ever only shoot arrows all the time and fight a fuckton.
And its possible to load up on so many arrows. They are cheap, light and easy to craft. Meaning it becomes a hassle to take care more than a real challenge.
So, do you make them scarce, or worth more than per the PHB ? Or doing something else to tighten up the arrows available ?
Actually I have to give you credit here as I forgot a balance change I did make: arrows are much heavier. I always found the ~25 gram weight of an arrow in the PHB to be unrealistically low as a proper war arrow IRL weighs more like 80 grams, so in my campaign 20 arrows weigh 3 pounds instead of 1. It makes it harder to carry a fuckton on you at once.
Ok, new question for you because you are interesting and I love that. What would happen if the ranger would say to the barbarian pretty please carry these 60 arrows for me until I need them ?
I’m fine with that, tbh. The caveat would be they can’t reasonably access those arrows in the middle of combat. Otherwise, it’s just an opportunity cost.
Sorry, I did a mistake in my calculus. I didnt included the arrows you can pick back up and the ones that you find on enemies. So its not 200, its more like between 50 and 100 depending of the kind of enemy you fight. So way easier.
Players, in my experience, never want to accept an increase in difficulty—but they also get bored when things are too easy. The DM’s job is to create problems to solve, not let the players do whatever they want.
Obviously if nobody in the group wants to track arrows, they shouldn’t have to, but not tracking ammo because it’s tedious is like not tracking spell slots or Channel Divinity for the same reason. Scarcity is a balance consideration.
The differences between spell slots and ammo is that you cannot have 30 spell slots on you at level 1, running out of spell slots is expected because you have so few of them, making tracking them easier since it actually matters, and you cannot buy your way into more easily just like that.
They are both resources, but dont go and say that an arrow is worth a spell slot.
You also cannot get spell slots back by tediously scourging the battlefield or looting basic as fuck soldiers.
And we come back to this question : what is the WORST SHIT to happen to a game if you remove the coubting of normal arrows and simply give everyon an infinite quiver that cannot be sold for gold ?
Because up to now, nobody came with a decent answer to this. Im still waiting.
What’s the worst thing that could happen if you remove tracking of spell slots? I don’t understand the emphasis you’re putting on numbers. It’s very reasonable to expect to run out of arrows in a campaign that includes any element of survivalism.
Well, every caster becomes more or less 3 times more powerful ? Because spells are so much better than cantrips ? Because if there wasnt any limits on spell slots, then who wouldnt make a caster ?
When I play a caster, my main question is : when is it worth it to burn a precious spell slot.
But I never EVER saw or heard of a ranged player using a bow or crossbow thinking : is it really worth using a regular ammo here ?
It sounds to me like you run campaigns where you have ready access to ammunition, so sure, maybe it doesn’t matter so much for your group. I run campaigns where it might be five or more long rests between shops. Running out of ammo is extremely possible, and people do consider it as an exhaustible resource.
Hmmm… survival campaigns actually IS a good reason to make ammo counting a thing.
But how about this. Do you limit inventory of merchands, or can they load up on 150 arrows for 10 gold every 5 long rest ?
Remember. Average fights are 4 rounds, so 4 to 8 arrows per fight if they only do that. Meaning if you have 3 to 5 fights per long rest, that is maximum 200 arrows for 5 long rests worth of fights if you ever only shoot arrows all the time and fight a fuckton.
And its possible to load up on so many arrows. They are cheap, light and easy to craft. Meaning it becomes a hassle to take care more than a real challenge.
So, do you make them scarce, or worth more than per the PHB ? Or doing something else to tighten up the arrows available ?
Actually I have to give you credit here as I forgot a balance change I did make: arrows are much heavier. I always found the ~25 gram weight of an arrow in the PHB to be unrealistically low as a proper war arrow IRL weighs more like 80 grams, so in my campaign 20 arrows weigh 3 pounds instead of 1. It makes it harder to carry a fuckton on you at once.
Huh. So you changed the weight…
Ok, new question for you because you are interesting and I love that. What would happen if the ranger would say to the barbarian pretty please carry these 60 arrows for me until I need them ?
I’m fine with that, tbh. The caveat would be they can’t reasonably access those arrows in the middle of combat. Otherwise, it’s just an opportunity cost.
Sorry, I did a mistake in my calculus. I didnt included the arrows you can pick back up and the ones that you find on enemies. So its not 200, its more like between 50 and 100 depending of the kind of enemy you fight. So way easier.