How Does Your Party Divide Treasure?

[Storm Raven]

I take it you are excluding every version of D&D that wasn't first or second edition Advanced.

Nope. Perhaps you missed the pricing section on magic items in the DMGs of those editions. Magic shops were just as prevalent in 1st or 2nd edition D&D as they are in 3rd.

 

[jrients]

Maybe I was unclear. What I can't find is the price chart for magic items in my 81' Basic Book, my '81 Expert Book, either of my '83 D&D books, or the Rules Cyclopedia. I don't recall magic item prices being in the Little Beige Books either.

 

[Storm Raven]

Maybe I was unclear. What I can't find is the price chart for magic items in my 81' Basic Book, my '81 Expert Book, either of my '83 D&D books, or the Rules Cyclopedia. I don't recall magic item prices being in the Little Beige Books either.

I distincly remember pricing for magic items for the Basic+ edition of D&D. I'll go back through my stuff later and come up with a reference.

 

[jrients]

I suppose I could be wrong for the Rules Cyclopedia or the LBBs, but if the '81 Basic/Expert rules have a magic item price chart I will eat my hat.

Edit to add: It's a nice hat too. I would miss it.

 

[Greylock]

Dang, too much math and accounting in this thread. Personally, I see it either as a purely roleplaying choice, or as was said above, in Meta, need before greed. My gaming group has yet to get to the point where we're quibbling over copper pieces. The newest game might be different (same players). Two of the characters are craftsmen, and one hired another as a porter, so they all are a bit more concerned with the mighty $. Oddly, the character I've brought to the table doesn't understand the concept of money. He was the first to inspect some fallen hobgoblins the other day, and just dropped the silver pieces he found to the ground. Kind of surprised the other players. I think they saw it as an alignment thang.

 

[Ibram]

There's usually someone else who likes gems and will take all those (usually the wizard or sorcerer, just in case a spell requires it).

characters who want a gem take it as part of their haul. Using my previous example lets say that the party of 5 found 40gp and a 10gp gem. If an individual wanted said gem then they would just take it as their share of the loot.

Weapons pretty much automatically go to whoever is currently wielding a lesser version of the weapon (if possible) or to the front-line fighter(s) (if he wants it). Armor goes pretty much to the whoever can wear it and currently has the worst AC.

Characters usualy only get 1 magic weapon or amor throughout a campaign, if they want something extra they have to buy it with their own money.

Bracers go to the wizard. Ability enhancing items depend on the ability, with Con items going to the person who is most feeble (often the wizard). Staffs, wands, rods go to the wizards.

Thats the way it usualy goes, and since I custom create all my magic items its fairly obvious to whom they go.

Others pretty much fall to whoever has been shafted by the previous distribution. I've almost never seen any argument over the stuff being taken by one person as long as it benefits the party.

Thats somewhat of an unwritten rule in my group as well. Its assumed that a character will use an item to benefit the party and not just themselves

 

[KB9JMQ]

Money-wise I never get involved.
Items though I normally put specific things for specific people to keep things in balance from my point of view.
Now when I put in a ring that I am sure the wizard will take and the group gives it to the artificer well that is their decision. Now the artificer has more than she should but I will add something later for the wizard.
Basically by the time the wizard finds someting for him it will be better than the original ring due to it needing to be more to balance the party again.
The group does discuss who needs what the most or can make best use of it and it works out in the end.
But it is funny to watch them dole out things to characters other than whom you thought it would go to.

 

[jrients]

As a DM I only get involved in the loot split if someone tries to claim treasure their PC doesn't know exists or in similar situations. As a player I usually side with the "whoever can use it gets it" school. That creates inequities at times, but I really don't care.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

Well, most of the party wants to split items based on need and keep money in a party pool and dole it out as PC's need gear, etc. The paladin (and his player) do(es) not like this, as he wants a share with which to build a fortified temple to the glory of Heironeous.

I will not intervene unless violence is imminent.

DM

 

[jrients]

I distincly remember pricing for magic items for the Basic+ edition of D&D. I'll go back through my stuff later and come up with a reference.

I'm home now and have access to my D&D books. Scattered around me at the moment are my copies of the original Little Beige Books (volumes 1-3 plus Supplements I and III), the '79 booklet (edited by Eric Holmes), the '81 Basic Rules (Tom Moldvay, editor), the '81 Expert Rules (David Cook with Steve Marsh), the Basic and Expert books as revised by Frank Mentzer and released in 1983, and the Rules Cyclopedia. As far as I can ascertain not a single one of these versions of Dungeons & Dragons tells me how much a potion of healing or +1 sword costs on the open market. No prices are listed in the magic item charts and the only cost formulae given are for computing the expense of creating magic items, not for resale value. The Rules Cyclopedia goes so far as to specifically mention that finding a buyer can be an arduous task if one wants to sell a magic item. That hardly sounds like an environment conducive to running a potion & wand outlet mall.

Therefore I stand by my earlier assertion that your statement (that the rules have always allowed magic items to be bought and sold like an enchanted commodity market) really only applies to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. There have been plenty of other incarnations of D&D, played by many players over a long period of time, in which magic items were treated as rare, wondrous, and difficult to replace rather than as something you pick up at the Sears Roebuck en route to the dungeon.