GM Standard Policy

 WOB Dungeon Crawl Campaigns is a shared-world campaign set in Bethica. Different GMs may run different adventures, locations, and storylines, but all games take place in the same living world. Players may use the same approved characters across WOB Dungeon Crawl Campaign sessions unless a specific event says otherwise.

This policy is not meant to control how GMs tell stories or run their tables. Its purpose is to protect campaign balance, reward fairness, and world consistency so players can move between tables and still feel like they are part of the same world.

 GMs are free to run their own style of game, build their own encounters, and tell their own stories within Bethica. At the same time, all GMs are expected to respect established world lore and the shared nature of the campaign.

If a session introduces something that could affect the wider setting, such as the fall of a major faction, the death of an important named figure, a kingdom-wide event, or a major discovery that would reasonably spread beyond one table, the GM should discuss it with the other WOB GMs before treating it as ongoing campaign truth.

 Bethica is intended to be a controlled low-magic campaign. Permanent magic items should not be handed out freely or every session. In most cases, session rewards should lean toward gold, silver, copper, story rewards, reputation, useful information, and limited consumables such as potions or scrolls.

Permanent magic items should feel meaningful and uncommon. As a general standard, GMs should usually award permanent magic items only once every 2 to 3 sessions, and many sessions should award no permanent magic item at all.

 The following limits are the maximum recommended ownership limits for non-consumable magic items gained through normal campaign play. These are not target numbers for every character, and they are not expectations for every session. These are campaign ceilings meant to protect balance across all WOB Dungeon Crawl Campaign tables.

• In Tier 1, a character should normally have no more than one uncommon non-consumable magic item.
• In Tier 2, a character should normally have no more than one rare and two uncommon non-consumable magic items.
• In Tier 3, a character should normally have no more than one very rare, two rare, and four uncommon non-consumable magic items.

Legendary items should not be part of normal reward flow. They should only appear at high level, on rare occasions, and usually through a major special quest or direct campaign approval.

 Consumable items such as potions and scrolls may be awarded more freely than permanent items, but still with restraint. These should support play, not flood the campaign.

• In Tier 1, a session should normally stay below two potions and two scrolls.
• In Tier 2, a session should normally stay below four potions and four scrolls.
• In Tier 3, a session should normally stay below six potions and six scrolls.

These are upper limits, not standard payouts. Most sessions should award less than this and should still favor coin over magic.

 Downtime Tokens are a major campaign resource and should remain valuable. A standard reward is one Downtime Token per session unless the event is unusually important, difficult, or campaign-significant.

Awarding more than one token should be rare. Downtime Tokens should never be handed out casually or in a way that weakens their importance. Players use Downtime Tokens to gain access to controlled rewards, including magic items, and this system is one of the main tools used to keep campaign balance healthy across all tables.

 The following Downtime Token costs apply for permanent magic items unless a campaign exception is announced.

• Uncommon non-consumable items cost two Downtime Tokens.
• Rare non-consumable items cost four Downtime Tokens.
• Very rare non-consumable items cost eight Downtime Tokens.
• Legendary items are not part of the normal Downtime Token system unless specifically approved by campaign leadership as part of a special high-level reward structure.

Consumables may be made available at lower token costs at GM or campaign discretion, since they do not permanently raise character power in the same way.

 Gold rewards should be reasonable for tier and session length, but should not be used to bypass the low-magic structure. GMs should reward treasure in a way that feels fair and satisfying without allowing players to buy or stockpile power far beyond campaign expectations.

Money should help characters live in the world, prepare for future adventures, and enjoy downtime, but it should not become an easy path around reward control.

 GMs should respect one another’s tables and the shared balance of the campaign. No GM should intentionally introduce rewards, powers, or permanent advantages that would create problems for another GM’s session.

When in doubt, it is better to award less and keep the campaign stable than to award more and create future problems. If a GM is unsure whether a reward, item, or story result is too large for the campaign, they should check with the other WOB GMs before making it permanent.

 At the end of each session, the GM should record what the players gained. At minimum, this should include gold or treasure awarded, Downtime Tokens awarded, consumables gained, permanent magic items gained, and any major world-affecting events.

This helps maintain trust, consistency, and campaign continuity between all WOB Dungeon Crawl Campaign sessions.

 The purpose of this policy is not to restrict creativity or tell GMs how to run fun games. Its purpose is to keep the campaign fair, connected, and balanced so that players can move between tables and still feel like they are part of the same world.