I don't know if this is a "me thing" or an "old school" thing, or what but I notice that not everybody seems to look at every strange resource and every defeated creature, as a source for potential new gear. To me there is an almost instinctive process of evaluating materials in RPGs for future use in upgraded gear. New weapons, new armor, or new tools.
Example from this past weekend's game:
My cleric of the mountain lord finds a vein of strange glowing rock deep within a cave. Looking at my gear I see that I have the right tools to extract a hunk of it and tell the Judge that I want to do so with the aim to be able to carve a new hammer head from the strange rock. If nothing else I figure its an opportunity for my character to upgrade his primary weapon and holy symbol to be a cool glow in the dark fashion accessory.
Does this glowy rock have other strange properties? Will I end up with a one of a kind magic item for my efforts? I don't know, probably won't know for a few more sessions. For the moment though I can imagine it'll be something awesome until proven otherwise.
As a player that is my mentality: look at what the adventures give me, and find ways to use the materials and tools in new and creative ways. It's like a mini-game for me. When I run games I am very receptive to the same behavior from others. I see some players engage with the game at this level, building new items, or upgrading existing gear, and I think it makes for a better experience for all at the table.
As I also tend to play and run a lot of post-apocalyptic RPGs this both comes in very handy and feels very true to the genre. That said I see no reason why this cannot work in fantasy RPGs, or even some kinds of sci-fi. Advanced materials, rare minerals, and the like all fill this niche. Heck, much of the aesthetic of Dark Sun comes from the settings infamous scarcity of metal and the resulting propensity for weapons made of natural materials such as bone, chitin, and shell.
These kinds of gear also allow players to exercise a level of aesthetic control over their characters that may not normally come up in games. Crafting all your gear from the chitinous hide of a certain species of giant insect will not only give your character a unique look but it will telegraph to the NPCs that the character is (presumably) skilled at dispatching said creature. Armor made from destroyed robots, a macuahuitl lined with teeth from slain dinosaurs, or a bow carved from the rib of a vanquished dragon! Keep your eyes out for opportunities to make your gear as cool and unique as you deserve then work with your GM to make it happen!
Still, I am curious if this is something fairly normal or something unique to certain kinds of gamers.
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