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

[TerraDave]

That’s only true of the working class. The upper class invests money in the production of more wealth - in a very literal sense, they use their money to be better at their job, which in turn earns them more more money.

......

The rich may try to stay rich, but they do in fact spend money on other things.

 

[Reynard]

Unironically, 4e DID solve quite a lot of D&D problems... That's why so many people had a hard time seeing it as "true D&D"

4E didn't solve D&D issues so much as sidestep them by not engaging with them. That's why people see it as "not D&D."

 

[Charlaquin]

The rich may try to stay rich, but they do in fact spend money on other things.

Obviously. I said the upper class spends money to invest in producing more wealth, not that they don’t spend money on anything else.

 

[Nefermandias]

One of our table stories was our friend Kenny who made a ranger with that motivation and after his first adventure, getting his share of a few hundred gold and a long sword +1, plus hitting second level, decided to retire to the woods, since he was now hardier, had a good weapon, and had more than enough money for his chosen lifestyle. The player just then happily made a different character (though some people in the group groused that that magic sword was "wasted").

I hate Kenny.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I like to use gold to invest in the setting.

The orphanage burned down and the village doesn't have the money to rebuild.

A nice young lady is seeking donations to build a library for the town.

The priestess has been trying to help the people in the goblin ghetto start a community garden, but the church elders say the church doesn't have the funds for such a project.

The merchant could really get his business going if only someone would take a chance on him.

The NPCs are then grateful to the PCs going forward. Maybe they give a small reward, or throw the character party.

You've not only sunk however much gold you decided the project cost, but the players are now more invested in the setting. They'll go out of their way to check up on those NPCs when they're in town. If you add any complications (bandits waylaid the latest shipment of books for the library) it's almost certain that the players will take the hook. I like to put plenty of gold in my campaigns so that players can have the pleasure of throwing money at such problems. It's extremely satisfying for many of them.


Admittedly, there are some players who aren't interested in this sort of thing (though I've been pleasantly surprised by how many are). For them I have a magic item broker who has a few randomly rolled items at any given time. It's rare that he has the exact item that someone wants, but it has happened. Usually, though, they have to make due with what he has or wait for the inventory to turn over.

Additionally, they might occasionally come across an NPC with a (usually unique) magic item that they are looking to part with for an exorbitant sum.

 

[darjr]

Gold

 

[nevin]

If your playing wow at a table then no you dont need it. If your playing a roleplaying game and the characters have lives that include more than dtabbing things there should be plenty of places to spend money

 

[el-remmen]

I hate Kenny.

We love him. But he actually stopped playing D&D years ago. So you're safe.

 

[Reynard]

If your playing wow at a table then no you dont need it. If your playing a roleplaying game and the characters have lives that include more than dtabbing things there should be plenty of places to spend money

Seriously, in 2021 we are going to pretend this is a thing?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Seriously, in 2021 we are going to pretend this is a thing?

Yeah. In 2021 people don't play WoW anymore. It's FFXIV now.