D&D 5E Why I think gold should have less uses in 5e, not more.

[CapnZapp]

To keep the post brief, I think gold should be used as an exchange of intangible experiences in a game rather than mechanical benefits like trading it in for magic items or XP.

The reason is that when players realize they can expend gold for concrete buffs to their character, they will hoard and only spend their gold on those buffs. But if they don't have that option, and (key point) they are aware that they can expend gold on fun intangible experiences, they will expend it there, increasing immersion and engagement with the world, as well as being a more fun experience having and spending gold.

For instance, rather than spending gold on buying a magic sword, they could go on a vacation to a mystical land where they recieve incite on their own character's magical affinity. Or something to that effect.

To keep my post brief, I think the game rules should give Dungeon Masters options to choose between, rather than making the choice for them.

In other words, a full and complete ruleset would include rational and balanced pricing of magic items, but also say it is up to the DM and the party to choose to give gold this power (to provide "concrete buffs").

If the DM does not want that, he or she is free to ignore that extra information, which will then be valuable to some other groups instead.

 

[wedgeski]

Without any decent wealth by level guidelines (something which 4E, with its interwoven systems, did very well), I've mostly winged my way through to 17th level in 5E. Gold has served its purpose. It's a tangible reward, a signal of player empowerment (a distinctly un-elven drive for wealth was part of one of the PC's backstory), and yes, a route to power. I've provided multiple ways to spend that money, almost all during downtime (item commissioning from reputable sources, theft from less reputable sources). I've used guild and other civil connections to reduce the wait time. I've applied availability restrictions, rolled randomly. The party has started a tavern franchise. The elf has set himself up as Administrator in Amn. By luck and judgement, the gold I've handed out has landed in good place, and the players are happy. I can't say I'll have the same success next time.

All of which is to say, no change needed, IMO. WotC retreated from the strict, system-embedded wealth by level assumptions in 4E, which a lot of players so vocally disliked, and put more power into the hands of the DM, with just enough guidelines (eventually), to make it all work.

 

[Mephista]

In video games, gold and other currencies functionally serve as an experience track for your gear. This is expected and normal. If you remove that expectation, you need to replace it with something directly relevant to adventuring. IE the game we players came to the table for. If it doesn't relate to the game we are playing... why should we as players care about it?

I mean, I get the desire to keep magic items in check and DM control. That's decently fair. But... then just get rid of the treasure. Its lost its purpose.

For instance, rather than spending gold on buying a magic sword, they could go on a vacation to a mystical land where they recieve incite on their own character's magical affinity. Or something to that effect.

And why would the adventurers spend gold on a trip to a magical land to incite their magic? That's... their day job. They're the ones who'd go out to discover said magical land, chart it out, and then be the paid guides who take the stupidly rich nobles and merchants to said land for magic.

This statement is basically so weird to me. "Gather gold your PC got from playing the game so you can have them spend it to avoid playing the game." Like... isn't that counterintuitive?

 

[Bacon Bits]

In my experience, if gold does not have a use in the game part of the game (mechanics) players very quickly stop caring about it. Which is fine if you are saving the world or reaching for other goals, but kills treasure hunting dead.

See, I don't think that's really true. Because in B/X and AD&D, gold is pretty useless.

• You need enough to upgrade your equipment. Full plate and composite longbows. And horses and carts and hirelings. But that isn't very expensive, really. A couple thousand gp is enough to equip and supply any PC for a very long time.
• You get XP for gold (before 2e, anyway) but that's not really the value of the gold itself. The gold doesn't have a tremendous use after you've extracted the XP from it. Like it could be a concrete block that gave you 1,000 XP when you returned it to town and it wouldn't be that much different. The XP is the reward. The gold it secondary.
• You could save up for a stronghold for the domain management game. But I don't think very many people did that or wanted to do that. People wanted to keep adventuring. It's Dungeons & Dragons, not Domains & Diplomacy. Indeed, the only people I know whose PCs built strongholds did so to retire their PC.

But none of that really stopped PCs from going out looking for treasure. I think PCs sought treasure because treasure meant magic items, and magic items meant new character abilities. The gold was basically free XP, and it has some limited use in-game. Either way, though, 10,000 gp in any edition of D&D is more than most PCs ever need to spend.

That's why training costs were a common house rule. It gave you something to spend all those cubic yards of metal discs on.

 

[Reynard]

That's why training costs were a common house rule. It gave you something to spend all those cubic yards of metal discs on.

In AD&D training costs weren't a house rule.

Nothing sucks the wonder out of fantasy like buying magic items.

 

[wedgeski]

In AD&D training costs weren't a house rule.

Nothing sucks the wonder out of fantasy like buying magic items.

That's a setting specific observation, imo. I don't subscribe to the magimart next to the bakery school of play, but giving avenues to the PCs to exchange their hard earned cash for greater power can be great fun.

 

[Reynard]

That's a setting specific observation, imo. I don't subscribe to the magimart next to the bakery school of play, but giving avenues to the PCs to exchange their hard earned cash for greater power can be great fun.

I did not say it wasn't fun. I said it killed wonder.

 

[payn]

I understand that gold for power ups is not just liked by some, but needed for the game to get played at all. I am more focused on the adventure and if its too boring to bother with becasue its got no gold, then you need better adventures.

While I do wish there was a gold for power module in 5E, im glad they removed it from base assumptions in the game. Many GMs never understood that aspect of the system. They simply didnt understand that magic items are assumptions, not special treats, and that the game doesnt work when you starve players of them.

 

[Distracted DM]

By luck and judgement, the gold I've handed out has landed in good place, and the players are happy. I can't say I'll have the same success next time.

All of which is to say, no change needed, IMO.

 

[wedgeski]

That's right. I'll take a dollop of uncertainty if it frees me creatively.