I love that, and I consider it the kind of thing that should be a trope but doesn’t seem to be.
If you’re in a setting where player power can get as big as it does in high level campaigns, then the NPCs should have access to a lot of that as well. Not nearly everyone, but far more than seem to in most campaigns and settings. At the very least people running shops selling high end gear or magical artifacts aren’t going to stay in business for long if they can’t deal with every hotshot murderhobo or sticky fingered arcane trickster that walks in the door.
Doesn’t even have to be a beat down. Maybe the items are cursed to burn whoever’s holding it if they leave the store and the owner just lifts the curse when someone purchases. You can get creative with it.
I think too many players think of settings like it’s Oblivion or Skyrim, where a few days of magic training can allow you to set a whole guardhouse on fire. And survive. They know it’s not quite that way in D&D, but since that’s the reference point they have, even adjusted they still tend to assume main character privileges override versimilitude of the setting.
Your cleric is a powerhouse of skull crushing and healing? Congrats, so was old man Bartholomew who runs the local temple. He’s not quite as spry as he once was, but those skills are like riding a bike and his magic has only improved as his physical prowess has aged.
The players should still get to be special, but they shouldn’t go into every situation expecting to just “win” if they’re going to play stupid games.
I love that, and I consider it the kind of thing that should be a trope but doesn’t seem to be.
If you’re in a setting where player power can get as big as it does in high level campaigns, then the NPCs should have access to a lot of that as well. Not nearly everyone, but far more than seem to in most campaigns and settings. At the very least people running shops selling high end gear or magical artifacts aren’t going to stay in business for long if they can’t deal with every hotshot murderhobo or sticky fingered arcane trickster that walks in the door.
Doesn’t even have to be a beat down. Maybe the items are cursed to burn whoever’s holding it if they leave the store and the owner just lifts the curse when someone purchases. You can get creative with it.
I think too many players think of settings like it’s Oblivion or Skyrim, where a few days of magic training can allow you to set a whole guardhouse on fire. And survive. They know it’s not quite that way in D&D, but since that’s the reference point they have, even adjusted they still tend to assume main character privileges override versimilitude of the setting.
Your cleric is a powerhouse of skull crushing and healing? Congrats, so was old man Bartholomew who runs the local temple. He’s not quite as spry as he once was, but those skills are like riding a bike and his magic has only improved as his physical prowess has aged.
The players should still get to be special, but they shouldn’t go into every situation expecting to just “win” if they’re going to play stupid games.