Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Jimbro Jul 16, 2015 6:04:39	So I have found my players have a lot of gold they aren't spending now that they're hire level and getting some bigger hoards. I came up with a few ways to tempt them into spending their loot on my blog.   http://worldbuilderblog.me/2015/07/16/big-purchases/   Anyone else finding this is an issue and if so (or not) what are you offering your players a chance to buy? I love giving out gold, but I'd like it to be worthwhile for them.
#2 Tempest_Stormwind Jul 16, 2015 9:36:24	I've been saying this for quite a long time - gold rewards continue to climb, but there's nothing in terms of capital investments (i.e. things that make you a better adventurer) that actually cost that much money by default. The only extant money sinks are buying land / running businesses (both of which are highly DM-dependent and not translatable to many campaign types; there's also a few bizarre twists in how those rules run) or magic item creation (which is also DM-dependent since they need a formula; this also won't fit in some campaigns).   Let's just say that without capital investments in adventuring, having a lot of money turns you from an fantasy adventurer in to a Fantasy 400 CEO - the only thing to sink money into is owning property and managing it, which doesn't directly relate to your universe-hopping high-level playstyle. It's not a question of "what to buy" - it's a question of "should you be buying at all?".   I sincererly wish that, instead of continuing on to the "300,000 GP per hoard" stage that the DMG suggests, the upper limit on the gold you received was much lower (say, 50,000 endgame, tops, and even that might be too high). That way, the PCs wouldn't be encouraged to buy cities at high level, since they still couldn't afford it (though they could if they wanted - business rules that actually turn a profit can be used to get more gold, and without things to spend it on, it goes into expanding your business or buying more of the city. Since that amount of gold is contingent upon running businesses, it won't show up for non-businessmen PCs). Instead, the game could refine its Renown system, such that completing tasks in dungeons translates into an increase in renown everywhere - you're famous (better starting attitude) and can expect more support or access to better goods as you travel through friendly territory, and attract the attention of more powerful and noteworthy enemy NPCs as you travel through hostile territory. Maybe it ups the scales on your contacts as well - a high enough renown signals to the DM that his proud and stubborn king may finally give in and ask the PCs for help turning the tide of a hopeless war. Or maybe it translates into access - security clearance in friendly territories, and fear in enemy ones, can let you walk right past guardposts without getting the proper authorization first, meaning more lands and more dungeons become available. Or maybe enough renown is a way of a supernatural force measuring if you're "worthy" enough to pull that legendary sword from the stone.... And if that adventure type isn't for you, congratulations, we already have several examples of what to do with Renown in the context of the five PC affiliations in the Adventuerer's Leage - it's not hard to make other ones that are appropriate to your campaign.   Basically, I'd like an alternate to the Scrooge McDuck adventurerer. I don't want to be Scrooge, just with enough non-adventuring money sinks to absorb my surplus gold. I'd rather not have the gold to track in the first place, but instead get other rewards that feel like actually being a successful adventurer.   (Fundamentally, that's what the magic-mart and magic-item-factory approaches provided, after all - lots of gold "went away" and in return you were a better adventurer (numerically) after you spent it. 5e's got a good numeric curve so far, so my thought is to make the lots of gold "go away" and in return you become a better adventurer (narratively). )
#3 Warmonger10 Jul 16, 2015 23:50:25	Don't use gold... Seriously. Instead use objects that might be worth 300,000 gold pieces. But finding a buyer is basically impossible. The objects can then be used as igredients to make magical items though. Thee items don't really have "I'm going to buy a city" value.    For example, how much is the head of medusa worth? Well alot, but can you buy a city with it? No... Could you distill the magic out of it and make it a magic item? I don't see why not.    Alternatively, we are playing in Birthright at the moment. One of the brilliant parts of the campaign world is that everything of value is basically in gold bars. A gold bar is rough 2000 GP bt it's also Y cows or Y bails of cotton. So as you adventure and build influence and power you end up with costs which tend to bleed you dry quickly. So yeah you have a ton of cotton but you have to pay your troops and upkeep your castle. So sure you could buy a bunch of magic items with that wealth, but your mercenaries will leave you, and your enemies will sack your castle and now you are a disgraced noble bum in a land of have and havenots.    I'm also a huge fan of not really giving loot. Boons are better. For saving the bar and village, the owner of a chain of pubs gives you a purple coin that grants you free drinks at all purple pony pubs. Now you just created a whole new plot line of business that is all across your world. Plus now you can use it as a plot line of a halfling family / underground information network. It's a lot more interesting than 10,000 GP.    Even mundane things can be valuable. I put a ban on plate mail, saying only barons or higher tend to have it because it's such a luxury specialty item. You should see how much they are all trying to kill barons now :p   Seriously though, loot is for suckers :p