Ok ... So talking about RPGs with Dr. Lew (@lewpuls) and reading a bit of the confidential project list from Eric (@larienna) got me thinking about something very important yet cumbersome task when DM-ing RPG Games and that is SHOPPING!
Sure during your Battles in a Dungeon or in a Keep, players can find all kinds of cool items which include both Armor and Weaponry.
The problem arises when players return to a City or Town where they find various Guilds that exist to BUY and SELL items where the complexity comes from doing so.
Specifically if a DM needs to always "set-up" shops in each City or Town, this is a major time wasted when more of the adventure needs attention.
The solution??? A Simulation of Guilds.
What does this require and what can be available from a shoppe?
Weaponry (Daggers, Swords, Maces, Hammers, etc.)
Armor (Suit of Armor, Gloves, Boots, Helms, etc.)
Items (Rings, Amulets, Trinkets, Necklaces, etc.)
Components (For all kinds of different Spells)
Scrolls (To learn new Magic Spells and scribe them into your Spellbook)
Healing (Minor to Major wound healing, Revival from certain death, etc.)
It is easy to see ... That even the BEST of DMs can waste a MINIMUM of a Week perfecting a City's guilds/shoppes.
What if I told you that was all in the past!? What if there was a SOLUTION to Generative (AI-Connected perhaps) Dynamic resource that can allow you to make a shoppe of your choosing in less than 1-Minute???
Wouldn't that be a BENEFICIAL resources to ALL RPG Gamers and their DMs?!
What if I said, it doesn't need to end there... What if there was also a way to allow CUSTOMIZATION and PERSONALIZATION of the shoppe such that special items be available to purchase based on the specifics of a Guild or Adventure???
That's what the Simulation of Guilds would allow.
Given a series of input parameters, it would produce a listing of items that may be purchased in a specific City or Town. This means that items could vary from one City or Town to another and the DM could rapidly generate a shoppe to suit his whims without wasting countless hours.
How to get the players involved?
It would be simple, once a shoppe is generated (and maybe customized), it can then Go-Live for a DM's adventure and a Link/URL can be given to the players of the adventure. It's as simple as that... All players need is a web-browser and the Link/URL and they can visit the shoppe that was made by their DM.
Wouldn't this be a BENEFICIAL RPG tool for both Players AND DMs???
For any and all who are curious, I propose we continue this discussion. In the event that this Pain Point address a real issue in DM-ing and RPG Adventuring such that once made solves all those issues and finally makes the process of MANAGING shoppes easy to handle and customize each shoppe with items that are made and thought up by each of the DMs for this adventure!
I think this topic is worthy of discussion... But we aren't many members who regularly contribute to BGDF.com and just maybe ... Someone who is interested in DM-ing or RPG Adventuring may care to comment further or to discuss the topic in more detail.
There is PLENTY to discuss ... This is just an INTRODUCTORY post. If anyone want to continue this discussion, feel free to ADD a comment and see what we can achieve together. I'm fully aware that many will probably read and ignore contributing to this thread... But I know there are some people who would ENJOY conversing about a REAL Pain Point in DM-ing RPG adventures and such a solution or automated generative system could go a long way in making the process of spending hard earned Gold into various items sold by the Guilds in all the Cities and Towns around your adventure's World.
Cheers all and hopefully I get some people interested! It's not only a GOOD idea, if implemented properly it can HELP people with the things that matter to THEM most.
So one of the ideas is to have a bunch of input variables which allow the DMs the chance to customize and produce a "generic" yet custom shoppe.
The FIRST (1st) input variable needs to be a dropdown with a list of the TYPE of shoppe it is going to be (belonging to which Guild).
Next your SECOND (2nd) input variable has to be the STARTING price for the offering available from the shoppe. So if you input "500" that means the shoppe starts at "500 Gold Pieces" for the items or services offered by the shoppe.
The THIRD (3rd) input variable should be the "Standard Deviation" which produces a random effect which may add to the price or lower the price by a small amount. Why is this important? Well it makes the shoppe feel more dynamic as the pricing is affected an ever so small amount which means visits to the shoppe feels like it is less predictable.
That was just some early thoughts. I'm already thinking about other input variables that can be used to better customize the experience of the shoppe. Things like adding a "custom" item for your specific adventure or a "reward" for completing a specific "quest" are two (2) "customizable" options and would come at a minor price ($$$) for the capability to inject, modify and personalize the items available from the shoppe.
But I guess we'll get into that a little bit LATER!
Cheers all...