D&D 5E Do We Really Need a Lot of Gold? (D&D 5th Edition)

[Minigiant]

Strongholds & Followers is a 3PP from Matt Coleville, and it's probably just what you're looking for.

It's good stuff.

I just hoped that if 5e was going the nostalgic rout, the choose to be lord, leader, researcher, or wanderer to be baked in the system after level 11 or so.

 

[Weiley31]

Personally I wish 5th had in some way really came up for rules to create factions and strongholds. Starting and funding an international thieves guild would be both cool and useful.

The Iron Kingdom: Requiem 5E setting actually has rules for Adventuring Companies which are basically Factions you can level up(up to a max of 4) via gaining Prestige/Reputation and each level of said Company gives you a bonus/perk. It's pretty neat.

 

[Weiley31]

One can never have too much gold.


On a serious note: Acquisitions Incorporated has rules for strongholds/"Franchises" so one could always start up their own adventuring business and funnel money into their. So your Rogue can start up their own Thieving Guild. Your Paladin/Cleric character can always Tithe some of their funds into their respective religious affiliations for either Rep points or perhaps for the option of using a feature from another Background that makes sense for em like, once per ten day or something. A Monk could take a vow of Poverty for bonus xp or whatever. Etc, etc.

Wait: what do you guys mean you didn't like Old School DND's tithing stickh? Dude I played Temple of Elemental Evil on the PC where taking a drink at the bar as a Paladin made you fall instantly, so don't ya hash me about not liking something like having the Paladin/Cleric tithe for roleplaying flavor.

 

[akr71]

Why would you NOT want a stronghold? Its a place for crafting, a place to sleep, storing your loot, and other downtime activities. Doesn't mean you should be constantly sitting in it. Its like the Avengers Tower, not every single Avenger is in there all the time.

I always find the statement 'not much to spend gold on' really weird. Every DM i played with have magic shops to buy gear from. And they can cost a lot of money.

In my very limited experience with published adventure paths, there is rarely any consideration given to downtime. At least nothing significant enough for the building of strongholds and such. For people that mostly play through the books, I suspect that at the end of the adventure, they are sitting with obscene amounts of treasure. At that point it is time to move on to new characters, so putting effort into a stronghold and all the trappings seems like a waste of time, when they'd rather be playing that new character.

 

[Reynard]

In my very limited experience with published adventure paths, there is rarely any consideration given to downtime. At least nothing significant enough for the building of strongholds and such. For people that mostly play through the books, I suspect that at the end of the adventure, they are sitting with obscene amounts of treasure. At that point it is time to move on to new characters, so putting effort into a stronghold and all the trappings seems like a waste of time, when they'd rather be playing that new character.

I think this is an important distinction: the default mode of play for 5E based on what WotC publishes is for characters to go from 1st to 12th level during the course of a single over-quest, and then retire. It's one summer blockbuster campaign after another, rather than a long ongoing series.

A well written book aimed at levels 10+, focused on the transition from adventurers to Very Important Persons would go a long way to extending the life of campaigns.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Part of an issue is a disconnect with what made people wealthy in modern times (land) and what modern people, ie players, consider wealth (liquid assets).

So characters find large amounts of currency in their travel (how much coin were these ancient empires minting) and seem reluctant to spend it on things that aren't widgets that grant +1 to that or +2 to this.

Strongholds don't need to be tied to "name level" or a certain higher level. In my last campaign I gave the characters a stronghold at level 4. Adventuring was done to get the cash to fix the place up.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

In my very limited experience with published adventure paths, there is rarely any consideration given to downtime. At least nothing significant enough for the building of strongholds and such. For people that mostly play through the books, I suspect that at the end of the adventure, they are sitting with obscene amounts of treasure. At that point it is time to move on to new characters, so putting effort into a stronghold and all the trappings seems like a waste of time, when they'd rather be playing that new character.

Yes, that's the main problem. Every published adventure rushes the characters from one event to another without any downtime, so a lot of newer players come to think that that's how things should work.

 

[Reynard]

Yes, that's the main problem. Every published adventure rushes the characters from one event to another without any downtime, so a lot of newer players come to think that that's how things should work.

This is reflected in character customization in 5E: it is primarily done at character generation or at least by 3rd level, so the only way to try out new player facing options is to create a new character and get them to 12th level as quickly as possible. Then the cycle starts over with the next mega module.

 

[Asisreo]

The purpose of money in D&D is the same purpose of money in real life: luxuries.

Yeah, we use them for survival as well but its not like we can't, in some points, just live off of wild insects, stick houses, and near a river.

So we use money to buy more comfortable and reliable versions of these stuff. The luxury of living in a well-made structure with warm food and comfortable air conditioning is more appealing to us.

Therefore, the use of money in D&D serves the same purpose. The issue is that luxury essentially means nothing, especially from a mechanical perspective. Not only can you not care about your character's comfort, you can override their comfort by saying "yeah, they're extremely happy being a beggar on the streets. That's his preference."

If your DM is conscious of politics, he may be able to ingrain wealthier PCs into a more political position but there's no real system.

I constantly engage in political encounters taking into account downtime costs but since its not systemized, there's definitely some inconsistencies.

All-in-all, gold in D&D is meant to add flavor to your PC but its other uses aren't as mechanically important.

 

[TwoSix]

This is reflected in character customization in 5E: it is primarily done at character generation or at least by 3rd level, so the only way to try out new player facing options is to create a new character and get them to 12th level as quickly as possible. Then the cycle starts over with the next mega module.

This is the single biggest flaw in modern D&D, and I wish more people recognized it. Character growth, especially in abilities, is more satisfying if the powers are gained within the narrative of play.