Re: Black Hats Kevlar (was Re: [HoE] [Hopler] EMP vs. Black Hats)

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

Steve Crow wrote:

> Like I noted, I just have a problem with a group fighting 20 Black Hats and
> walking away with...15,000 "dollars" in goods.  Granted, BHs are tough...but
> are they real worth that big an award?

Either you or your players are still thinking in terms of gold pieces, methinks.
Economics doesn't work that way. Especially in HOE where most commerce is based
on barter.

Ok, so they've got $15000 worth of kevlar vests. It's only worth what they can
TRADE for it.  You can't go down to Monty Haul's Dungeon Exchange and get the
value in cash.

So they show up in the nearest town with a huge load of Kevlar vests. Turns out
a convoy just went through, unloaded several hundred vests already, and
everybody's got 2 or 3 to spare. Nobody will even look at the vests, much less
trade for one.

Or, better yet, nobody in the town has kevlar vests, because they're smart
enough to realize next time Throckmorton's goons roll through and they see the
entire town outfitted with kevlar vests, then that means the town or somebody
friendly to the town wiped out a bunch of black hat patrols, so now their
buddies decide to kill everyone and burn the town to the ground. Don't you think
that many vests is pretty much a huge flaming "kill me now" sign to other black
hats?

Break your players of the idea that if they've got a lot of stuff or if the
rulebook says its worth a certain price then it ought to be worth something.
This is the post-apocalypse, after all... people will only pay for stuff they
can use, and they'll only offer something they can live without.