Loots & Lutes

Rewarding your players can be one of the more difficult tasks as a dungeon master or game master. Balancing between too little to maintain interest and too much to make the party overpowered is key.

So how do you make things interesting and rewarding while also being fair? Sorry to give a cop out answer but it really depends on your game and players. However, there are some easy ways to make the decision.

Gold, money or credits, whichever system your game uses, cold hard cash is a simple, shiny reward. It is basic, but lining the players' wallets goes a ways to keep thing interesting. You don't want to give them an early retirement, but gold can entice some players to keep adventuring.

It works as a lure as well. Instead of simply having your players fight a monster, give it a bounty they can collect. This gives them a reason to go out of their way to fight something. Some players won't battle baddies for the sake of it being the "right thing to do."

New gear is another good way to reward players for a hard-fought fight or deep dungeon trek. Pay attention to the way your players play their characters and their motivations. Is someone always running behind in combat? Find something that can be best used by that character and reward it to them. Make them work for it, of course, but it can sometimes be convenience sake the the players find something.

You will want to make sure you don't end up giving out too many magical items as a reward, however. They will lose their wonder and appeal if everything is magic. Knowing when and where is something you have to judge for yourself.

That said, you can also create dungeons around specific treasure. An ancient tomb that houses a specific sword might lure in players. Don't be afraid to experiment or run things on the fly, either. In a pre-made path, these things can be a bit more difficult, but in an open world of the GMs creation, having the flexibility to go where the players want is key.

Your game books may also contain tables for rolling dice for treasures. If even the GM doesn't know what the reward is going to be, the players won't be able to guess which dungeons will house the best loots and lutes.

Having found items act as a story hook is a wonderful way to kill two birds with one stone. You reward your players for a difficult challenge, and lure them toward the next without it railroading the story.

In the game I'm running now, my players have been finding a series of gems imbued with an unknown magical energy. After certain fights, or deep in select dungeons they have found these mysterious artefacts. Sure the barbarian doesn't care for trinkets that don't enhance his power output, but the elf wizard finds himself drawn into the wondrous allure.

Don't forget, you can also punish players for being too greedy. Keep them on edge with traps and monsters, but not enough that they avoid every chest. If their first destination in the room is always the treasure chest, however, you can throw a mimic into the mix once in awhile to take them off their feet.