Which items should enemies drop

[pipboy2000]

There are RPGs with no logical connection between an enemy and the items left behind after death.

 

Like, for example, wolves that mysteriously carry not only some kind of weapon or an armor but also lots of gold.

 

On the other hand you maybe kill a full plated, axe-wielding death knight and he leaves nothing but 25 pieces of gold and a potion of health.

 

In my personal opinion, this is not only rather disappointing, but also really kills the atmosphere.

 

I would like to see a logical connection in between the enemy and the loot:

 

- A wolf should drop nothing, unless you maybe have a skill that allows you to take the pelt or maybe use something as an alchemical ingredient.

- A humanoid enemy should drop the weapons, clothes and armor he was wearing.

If, for example, a town guard attacks you with a pike and wears chain mail, you should at least find something like: a pair of boots, pants, a shirt, chain mail, helmet, the pike and maybe some coin on him.

- etc.

 

To prevent people from power-selling tons of items, you could, for example add the possibility, that the weapons etc. get damaged in the fight.

If the before mentioned death knight was killed by ten heavy blows of a two handed warhammer, it would be obvious that the full plate armor is in a rather bad shape after the fight, etc.

 

I am aware that this might lead to balancing issues, but on the other hand I think, that the guys at Obsidian would be able to solve them.

 

What is your opinion an this? Should there be a chance that monsters drop all kind of stuff, or should there be a logical connection in bewteen an enemy and the loot?

 

pipboy2000

[Jarmo]

The enemies should always drop all equipment they had.

And If a plate armour costs 1000gp, and I kill 10 guys with plate,

I should be able to get... maybe 2-5 thousand GP's for the lot, used and damaged as they are.

 

And if armor and weapons degrade and get damaged, I should be able to by used plate for 500.

 

The rewards you get from doing stuff should outshine the value of loot,

so much as not to force everybody to become corpse looters.

[Luckmann]

I don't have much to add, except that I absolutely hate it when wolves drop gold.

[Hagen]

Enemies should drop whatever they logically carried. Wolves and other animals drop nothing, unless you got a skinning knife, the appropriate skill and time on your hands. Bandits drop some ****ty composite armor where some parts might fit some of my companions. Knights might drop a plate armor, but it should be darn heavy to carry off.

[lolaldanee]

i agree with what has been said here

oh how much i liked this in titan quest!

[Kalavan]

probably going to be the only one, but I'd like for the enemies to drop a realistic and complete equipment, but I'd also like realistic carriage capacities for our characters: 1 armour (the equipped one), max. 3/4 weapons, including shields, bows and guns, and a few other smaller objects.

 

kinda like the inventory system in The Witcher

[TCJ]

They should drop their equipment for sure. After that, they should drop items that they'd likely be carrying. Humanoid? Gold, gems, odds and ends. Animals? Pelts. The great thing about the BG series was that you could always grab the armor from enemies that you killed so you could sell it (assuming you could carry it). I've seen other games that don't provide that option, or eliminate it on certain enemies so you can't get the nice stuff. If an enemy has a nice stuff that they use AGAINST you, then they should drop it if they are defeated. If not, at least make a plausable reason for why it can't be looted.

[Aedelric]

I want to loot the balls of lint from a dead mans pockets!

 

Wait, did that come of as a bit psychotic? What I mean to say is I want people to carry more than just swords and armour but mundane items too. Vendor trash basically, but it would be nice if we could transmute such trash in useful things.

 

Also, no purses of gold tied around wild wolves and bear necks, just the pelts, tendons, meat and other realistic things please.

[Elerond]

Enemies should drop all useful items what they carry, but armours should have restriction that player can use them only after smith or tanner is make them to fit for those characters who wants to wear them.

[NerdBoner]

npc's should only drop what they have on them (stuff they use)...that includes all equipment and things like keys to chests (for any extra loot)

Edited September 22, 2012 by NerdBoner

[Rostere]

I don't have much to add, except that I absolutely hate it when wolves drop gold.

 

This. Also, when you slay larger beasts some might even have magical items on them. I mean, come on. Where could that wyvern possibly have hid that longsword +1?

[TCJ]

I don't have much to add, except that I absolutely hate it when wolves drop gold.

 

Me too, but it never stopped me from taking the gold. Never look a gift wolf in the mouth, I say!

[Aedelric]

Where could that wyvern possibly have hid that longsword +1?

 

That is a easy one!

 

The Wyvern ate it... along with the guy who was holding it.

[Tamerlane]

Humanoid enemies don't necessarily have to drop their armour, or even sometime their weapons.

 

After three fireballs and two dozen swings of a warhammer, that armour probably wasn't in very good shape, y'know?

[eimatshya]

I agree that enemies should drop realistic loot (so humanish enemies drop whatever they're equipped with). To balance that, just make gear really heavy so that you can't cart around boatloads of looted weapons and armor. You could grab a few choice items, but you shouldn't be dragging around several suits of plate armor.

[TCJ]

I agree that enemies should drop realistic loot (so humanish enemies drop whatever they're equipped with). To balance that, just make gear really heavy so that you can't cart around boatloads of looted weapons and armor. You could grab a few choice items, but you shouldn't be dragging around several suits of plate armor.

 

Speaking of carting around, has anyone else around here used the human chain method in BG1/2 to move around large amounts of loot? I used to form a chain across the map and pass the loot from one character to another until I finally got the stuff to the edge of the map, then I'd do world travel to the nearest place with a store. Yes... all that for some gold that I really didn't need.

[Cantousent]

I'd like to have someone drop a magical mini-me who cleans up after battles for me, cleans and oils all of my blades and armor, and plays the part of my wingman at local taverns when I try to pick up wenches.

 

NPCs are mules for me, so I say lots and lots of loot, but I agree with the folks who say monsters should drop realistic loot. Don't have the wolf who attacks you in the forest drop a sword, but that does mean that the wolf didn't kill someone with loot and the party could find that loot. Personally, I think it would be funny for the party to find a random location with evidence of some sort of battle between wild animals and a small party, finding odds and ends of loot. However, I'd like a relatively low magic world where there isn't the usual inflation of powerful magical items.

[Knott]

Yeah, casualties should drop plausible things and mostly everything they had.

 

Medium and smaller animals could plausably contain one or two coins by coinsidence

 

larger monsters could contain undigested equipment from people they ate or even have old weapons lodged stuck between their scales. (or simply be collectors that stash "shinies" in their lairs.)

[Kaldurenik]

Items should also have weight... This will make the player not pick up every item... And hopefully the prices will be somewhat "realistic" so that we dont see items costing millions of gold. Oh and animals should not drop coins. And humanoids should drop what they have (to a certain degree) and if something is damaged it should be worth less and so on.

[Dxmc4]

One thing enemies shouldn't drop is too many health/mana items. In some games where that happens it makes things a little too easy. Making those items tougher to find affects your strategy and the pace of the game. So loot drops should be more limited to, say, gaining items you might need for crafting, occasional useful armor or weapons, etc.

[TCJ]

One thing enemies shouldn't drop is too many health/mana items. In some games where that happens it makes things a little too easy. Making those items tougher to find affects your strategy and the pace of the game. So loot drops should be more limited to, say, gaining items you might need for crafting, occasional useful armor or weapons, etc.

 

A nice touch is that enemies might use anything they have on their person, including health items. So managing to kill them quickly would result in the reward of some nice potions, but if you take awhile to bring them down, you'll find they use that time to drink the potions and make your fight harder and the rewards less.

[Wombat]

The thread starter haven't played Fallout: New Vegas? Also, like in Gothic series, if you have a skilled hunter, he will be probably able to get wolf pelts and meat form wolves, horns and fangs from different types of animals, which can be sold to NPCs and/or made into items through craft skills.

 

An odd thing is most role-playing game is that dropped armor and weapons tend to be much cheaper than what we can buy from the stores. Rune Quest had more "realistic" solution, you don't have anybody interested in weapons since there is not much demands for them. And, with that encumbrance system, it doesn't worth carrying them all the way to big cities, which have more demands on various things.

[smithereen]

I agree with most of the above, and would like to add that loot left in chests of cleared areas/on corpses should be attached to a variable 'decay' timer- a dead guard in the slums will have his armor scavenged the second you turn away; 50/50 chance that the bandit king (and his armor) got dragged off by wolves when you came back to his camp for a second load, etc.

[Metabot]

A logical connection between the enemy and what they drop when you loot them is preferable. Skills that allow you to take additional items/parts for alchemy or crafting of some sort would be welcome too.

[dlux]

Like, for example, wolves that mysteriously carry not only some kind of weapon or an armor but also lots of gold.

Oh yeah, the wolves that **** jewels and gold when they die. A real classic. ^^