Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
I would use it in combination with other techniques. And from what I read it was the player's choice to hustle the government like that, not something the DM pushed.
D&D 5E What could 5E do to make wealth worthwhile?
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
cranberry
Hero
If I recall correctly, Star Frontiers (TSR game from a long time ago), had a partial solution.
First, the cost of guns and equipment was expensive relative to a PCs earnings, and second, 50% of the PCs earnings were assumed to be reduced by taxes and basic living expenses. (I don't remember whether this was just recommended, or part of the rules)
First, the cost of guns and equipment was expensive relative to a PCs earnings, and second, 50% of the PCs earnings were assumed to be reduced by taxes and basic living expenses. (I don't remember whether this was just recommended, or part of the rules)
User51
Villager
I haven't had a campaign with wealth in a long time, but I have thought about this and one approach I would like to take, if I ever get there again, is to just ask where they are keeping that wealth. Is it a Gringots-style bank? Where is it located? Are they keeping it in a bag of holding? OK - all of it, in that same bag? If they are going to bury it somewhere or stuff it in a mattress, then what is that location, how is it guarded, etc. Keeping a room somewhere or stashing it with a friend all imply NPC interactions. Thieves are watching, enemies are actively seeking them out.
It would create some adventure hooks and open up the possibility of losing it all. I think it could be interesting to run this kind of game, but many may not want to play this way at all.
It would create some adventure hooks and open up the possibility of losing it all. I think it could be interesting to run this kind of game, but many may not want to play this way at all.
Multiple people have suggested this an I don't get it. how does reducing wealth make it matter?
cranberry
Hero
Perhaps I misunderstood your OP.
My reasoning to make wealth matter is to either make it harder to obtain, or increase prices to the point where earning a lot of GP matters.
I guess another approach is to make more high priced items available for purchase, so the PCs have something to spend it on.
(As a side note, I'm not an advocate of PC's being able to easily obtain and purchase magic items, regardless of their wealth)
The PCs go into the dungeon and pull out the loot. The question of the thread is "How do you make that loot matter?" since 5E does not have very many built in uses for money.
cranberry
Hero
Well, I guess the solution is have more high priced items available for purchase.
Maybe, but I don't think buying "items" is necessarily the only possible solution. Hence the thread.
Willie the Duck
Hero
We did similar things with BX/BECMI/AD&D (after we ditched training) -- instead of gp=xp, it was xp for every gp that was 'wasted.' That could be carousing, donating to your religion's temple, spent on a bling-wagon, put into a dedicated 'castle fund' that likely would never happen, anything that wasn't spent on adventuring gear (such as magic items) or somehow flowing back into the PCs hands*. This was stipulated as having to be 'loot' (coins and gems and such in chests, etc.), so if you wanted some extra cash for equipment (especially during those early levels), and didn't want it eating into your advancement, you stripped the humanoid enemies of their weapons and armor** and sold that back in town (thus getting rid of that behavior in later levels).
*buying jewelry and then having the party thief steal it from you for more xp, we had that happen once and nipped it in the bud.
**or just stripped the dungeon furnishings down to the studs, as adventurers are wont to do.
Pretty much anything that doesn't have an immediate effect on your actual adventuring performance, I would think.
User51
Villager
If you want wealth to matter when characters have it, then I think it makes sense to make it matter when they don't have it, that is, right from the start. Wealth has to open some doors that are closed to characters early on, and they ought to feel the sting from level 1.
The advantage of building a scarcity setting is that players are very familiar with it from real life, so the transition should be straightforward. It requires DM prep and a refocus of attention in NPC interactions. Now thieves become much more significant, and not just because they can sneak attack. Having a noble background matters more. Being a good scrounger is now a thing. Guilds are more important. It all comes down to being able to say honestly, "You can't afford that."
Just using it as a metacurrency for better gear feels unearned to me, which is why I tend to ignore it entirely with players who don't want that kind of roleplay.
The advantage of building a scarcity setting is that players are very familiar with it from real life, so the transition should be straightforward. It requires DM prep and a refocus of attention in NPC interactions. Now thieves become much more significant, and not just because they can sneak attack. Having a noble background matters more. Being a good scrounger is now a thing. Guilds are more important. It all comes down to being able to say honestly, "You can't afford that."
Just using it as a metacurrency for better gear feels unearned to me, which is why I tend to ignore it entirely with players who don't want that kind of roleplay.
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