Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 DigitalEccentric Feb 24, 2015 2:49:02	Hello!   Just a quick one for all you veterans out there.   I'm having trouble determining how I should handle the flow of wealth going to my players. I fear in the first session I front-loaded it a bit too much by just awarding GP (or items worth GP), and I'm trying to reign it in slightly. I could justify it narratively without any issues (I hope), but the two main things I'm worried about are:   * Determining how much money to actually give players from any one quest. Is there a trick for determining what's fair? I've rolled a few random treasure hoards for some but for more mission-based/they're not raiding a dungeon type quests, I don't know what to really do there. (Roll individual? But then those amounts will again pale to what they've been getting previousl).   * What to do if the players start refusing quests because the money isn't as good as before (and don't accept my in-game reasoning).   I don't want to starve the players out or anything, but I worry the game will get too imbalanced too quickly if they just start racking up the gold.   I don't mind just straight up OCC saying "look guys, I need to reign it in" but I can manage this situation without breaking down the fourth wall I'd like to.   They're all brand new players (apart from one who played D&D like 10 years ago or so), and I've got them in a guided-sandbox type region, so lots of different quest types and a central thread that they may/may not engage with, with plenty of personalised stuffs (again, I hope).
#2 Rowan_Whispercloak Feb 24, 2015 7:29:18	Perhap (depending on you group) you would attempt to reward them with something else like a lost and now overrun with monster estate that they will need to adventure to truely gets the most of. Then they would have additional ties to the world through their interacting to get to most of it.   I take it your group is likely to blow all their money on comforts (or gambling) between adventures?
#3 Archon007 Feb 24, 2015 9:23:04	Depends on your character group make up. We generally play good groups so as the DM I give them opportunities to use ther loot for good. For example in a Greenest the players gave most of the loot to the city to help rebuild.    If your group is a bunch of mercenaries then it's harder and you should have a group discussion on it. A good idea is have them form a guild that way they have expenses they need to cover by adventuring. Give them advantage in certain area of their guild or some other benefit. Maybe they can call on members for some big battle you design.
#4 CCS Feb 24, 2015 9:29:30	1st) Don't make $/payment the hook that must motivate them for many of the adventures. 2nd) figure out (roughly) how much $ you want them to have maximum at any given lv/per segment of the campaign. Look at what they've got & scale back the $ rewards until it averages out. And don't mention it to the players. 3rd) come up with interesting ways to siphon $ out of the pcs. Ex; in the game I'm running the PCs are in charge of a pirate ship. There's ALWAYS upkeep expenses. Some are just general, some are much more specific (often the results of sea battles - wich are occurring more & more as they rise in lv/infamy).
#5 FrogReaver Feb 24, 2015 9:35:50	Just tell them, hey I gave you too much money the first quests.  I can't continue doing that and your in game characters would realize they were extremely fortunate for getting paid what they did on those quests.  They also would understand that the going rate for mercenary services is closer to what I'm now suggesting.
#6 DwarfLordSeven Feb 24, 2015 9:36:30	I have been fortunate in that my players seem to be largely story motivated; so I haven't had to proposition them with gold to get them to hop on my railroad.  That said, I gave them an airship at the end of the first session, and then required that they hire a crew if they want to fly it.  2gp/day per skilled hireling adds up pretty quick.
#7 DigitalEccentric Feb 24, 2015 9:50:19	Well, the PC's arn't officially mercenaries apart from one, and he is always one to say "What do I get out of it?", and the others mainly followed his lead because they are new to the game (the Mercenary is the one who's played D&D in the past). Plus we're all from a videogame background which is very much 'Risk/Reward', which I'm trying to ease them out of but being new I'm not yet so confident in my NPC role-playing that saying "You'll have our love" will work.   Atm they are a group of strangers who fell in together as they were part of the same caravan travelling to the desitnation where the campaign is set (Silver Marches), the first session was kind of a pre-lude session just so they could get used to the mechanics of the game, so they ended the session at the first city.   I only had a limited amount of content planned for the first session, and since it was my first as a DM I didn't want to be having to make up crap on the fly so I kind of threw money at them to incentivise going the way I wanted them to go, so I fully accept a lot of the problem is my own fault.   When we next go back it would only be our second session, so I haven't had a chance to monitor how they handle the concept of 'downtime', or to see what kind of expenses I can throw at them other than basic lodging expenses, so there may not be anything to worry about, other than the issue that I worry I over did it with the innitial monetary rewards for things.   @ CC Good feedback, but it comes back to the core of my question - how do I determine how much money I think they should have at any given level? I've got no idea what a reasonable kitty looks like, or what a level one character should/shouldn't have. So I could use some pointers there.
#8 Coredump00 Feb 24, 2015 14:25:06	Using the default assumptions... money isn't really all that useful in the game.  Mechanically, 1-2 guys get platemail, maybe some silvered weapons.  Keep a small fund for ressurection....   after that its all role play issues.  Do you want a Keep, do you want nice things, do you want to own a ship, etc.   Their PCs need goals, if they don't already have them, they need to figure out what they are.  Maybe Bob wants his own keep, or to be a Baron in control of an area of land.  Perhaps Marion wants to be the best known Paladin in the land.  Or Julius has a need for revenge against certain people. Etc. And yes, some PCs may just be after the money....   Now that you know what the goal is..... you create obstacles in getting them.  If they want to own land, they need to please the local Duke or King first.  If they need revenge,they have to track down the right people, maybe doing some quests to get leads.  If they just want money, then they perhaps a bounty, or taking up a  paid quest.   If all they want is money, treat it like real life.  There are only so many options available. If the pay isn't 'enough', then ask them what they want to do instead. Let them provide a course of action. Another option is to have them get robbed.... and they need to track down the person(s) responsible and get their money/stuff back
#9 BRJN Feb 24, 2015 14:35:17	In my expereince, L1 characters DO need a lot of GP.  There is so much equipment they have to buy to be "properly equipped", plus the wagon to carry it all in.  After that, ask what important equipment they want next.  Better Armor?  A Longbow?  Brewers' Equipment?  Based on the answers, figure out the minimum you can shell out.  Include another say 33% in a big dollop - read: a treasure hoard - so they feel like they "struck it rich" and are successful adventurers.    Nothing says that loot has to be all in the form of GP though - a complete set of Louis XIV-style living room furniture, wall-hung artwork, bookshelf full of books, complete set of silver tableware for 8 - all are worth money or can be kept by the PCs for personal use.  Also see the Trade Goods section of PH for other ideas (you find about 15 lbs of various spices in the kitchen cupboard; roll a CON Save to not sneeze the odor is so strong but curiously tasty; you also find a big bolt of silk cloth next to the Tailors' Tools in the workshop).   Of course if you move away from the Silver Marches and into the frontier, the luxury / art stuff gets to be more of a pain to convert into cash, if you don't want it.