How do you distribute treasure?

[Asmor]

I'm wondering how people distribute their treasure. Do you tend to space the treasure out evenly? Do you follow the guidelines?

Myself, I follow the guidelines for 4th edition. I generate a new set of treasure parcels whenever the party's overall level increases. But I then usually forget all about treasure, and end up giving the whole kit & caboodle in one or two large troves.

It works out well, since for some reason my players usually forget to search for loot.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

I have a system worked out that is going to remain secret until I can publish it.

However, whenever I forget the physical copy of my system, I judge as a DM what parts of the adventure deserve to have treasure, I roll a dice to pick a random player, the treasure is then geared toward that player's character. I also go with desending values.

Ie.: (Roll 1d6) ... 3, Counting from my left going clockwise, the 3rd player gets an item of his level +2, (Roll a die) ... 6, that player gets an item of his level +1, (Roll a die) ...1 That player gets an item = his level, Roll a die ... 4, there is gold equil to a magic item of that players level.

I've also been letting my players chose their own treasure. Nothing in the 4e books seem to be overpowering, and the players get exactly what they want within their restrictions.

It's quite easy and my players like it.

 

[Badwe]

So far I've been pretty simple minded about treasure, just kind of roughly dividing it among my encounters. I have a plan the next time I DM.

First, I'll start with 2 treasure parcel sets generated randomly (thank you mr. asmor). next, i'll look at all the gear the PCs currently have and slot out upgraded versions (+2 lvl 8 item becomes +3 lvl 13 item, etc.), then fill in the remaining blanks and create one more parcel set out of PC wishlists. from there, when that parcel slot comes up i'll random roll it. i'd still need to determine when and what loot to give out.

 

[weem]

I give it when it makes sense to and I do not use any guidelines... I wing it as I always have.

Last week though, I gathered up info on my players characters to get a feel for where everyone is at this point (level 7) as far as items and money.

According to the (4e) rules, they are WAY behind on money but as far as items go they are not too bad - they have items right now that would put them in the level 5 range or so - so they aren't too far behind.

I'm fine with both of these aspects (being short on money and items) - they knew up front I am generally pretty stingy about treasure. Some of them have said they wish they had more money, but that's it... so with that in mind I'm considering doing something in the near future where they come into a TON of money... but it would cause them nothing but headaches... might be fun

 

[kitsune9]

I'm wondering how people distribute their treasure. Do you tend to space the treasure out evenly? Do you follow the guidelines?

Myself, I follow the guidelines for 4th edition. I generate a new set of treasure parcels whenever the party's overall level increases. But I then usually forget all about treasure, and end up giving the whole kit & caboodle in one or two large troves.

It works out well, since for some reason my players usually forget to search for loot.

I use the starting treasure values for each PC and then break it up for the encounters. So if I know that a starting PC is supposed to have 20,000 gp at their level and there are 5 PC's, I'll put in 100,000 gp worth of treasure, mundane items, magic items, etc. This includes the swag that they'll loot from dead NPC's and villains' bodies. I keep track of XP for the party, so I know how many encounters will generate how much XP for them to get to the level where starting PC's will have 20 k gp each.

I'm not worried about PC's who would hoarde their cash to buy a mega sword +5 at 5th level since I use GP limits similar to what the RPGA did for Living Greyhawk so that prevents obtaining crazy items. Overall, it's kind of time-consuming, but it's fun and the players get to have some swag instead of scrounging their coppers to buy a longsword +1 at 8th level (I played in a few campaigns where the DM was a total miser )

 

[Fallen Seraph]

To put it in a couple words: Not very often.

The campaigns I run are usually few and far between when it comes to giving out treasure. This is generally due to the fact that well the campaigns don't fit with places that there be lots of treasure.

We don't run dungeons, nor usually face monsters that hoard treasure, humanoids generally have similar gear (not always but a lot of the time (though I do mention any one-time treasure such as alchemical fire or special arrows these they do take)), etc.

What we do instead is have lots of little "upgrades". To give an example, the classic Vorpal blade, it isn't magical it is that the character has become more efficient in using his weapon in that way. Or the weapon deals out poison damage that means he modified it, to do so.

Usually when it comes to getting "treasure", it is part of/is a quest onto itself. So stealing from a military barracks, or canvassing the underbelly of a city for a Witch who has a special brew, etc.

 

[Montague68]

I place treasure the same way I've done for 20-some odd years. Most of the time where it would be appropriate, occasionally where it's not appropriate (to keep the players on their toes) and make sure the total amount of treasure doesn't make the players too fat and happy or too powerful for what I'm planning on throwing against them.

The section on treasure parceling is ok for a novice DM who has no idea how to go about placing treasure but to stick to the rules in that section is a recipe for boredom, IMO.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

I have fully adapted a grain-based economy into my games, along with dumping magic items and integrating a cost-based system that allows players to purchase improved equipment by quality.
http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/f/Armor_WeaponsFinal.xlshttp://deismaar.pbwiki.com/f/Armor_Weapons.xls
http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/f/CommonSalariesAndEquipment.doc

http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan...ames-economy-d-d-4th-edition.html#post4696653



Since we treat levels as a measure of options, as opposed to power (meaning the world around you acclimates to your level of challenge depending on your tier), I distribute "treasure" in a way that seems fitting towards the challenge or task they're on.

 

[Wormwood]

Myself, I follow the guidelines for 4th edition. I generate a new set of treasure parcels whenever the party's overall level increases. But I then usually forget all about treasure, and end up giving the whole kit & caboodle in one or two large troves.

That's precisely the way I handle it.

 

[Jack99]

About once per adventure atm. Which means they usually get a big pile and then go about for a level or two without finding anything significant.