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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Garnfellow" data-source="post: 2770762" data-attributes="member: 1223">I really enjoy abstract wealth. At one, early point in my DMing career, I made my players keep detailed records of every item and the associated encumbrance value, right down to the very last copper piece. (I think I may have even had a coin worth less than a copper . . . a lead coin.)Oh, I had detailed tax tables and different currencies and exchange rates for all the different kingdoms in my world. I probably could have taught the IRS new and even more fiendish ways to siphon off excess funds.And then one day it struck me: while I did get a kick out of making up all these creative details, and my players got some enjoyment out of having this little extra dollop of verisimilitude plopped on top of our game, in the final analysis that modest additional pleasure did not really justify all the additional book-keeping.So I just hand-waved it all away. Abstracted everything. And you know what? After they recovered from the initial shock of having their ultra-anal DM suddenly convert overnight, my players didn't miss the book-keeping. Not. One. Single. Bit.At the core of my apostasy was the realization that, whether we tracked the money down to the last copper piece or just hand-waved it all, the players in my game were only ever going to have as much wealth as would to keep our game balanced and rewarding. Not too much more, not too much less. They weren't ever going to be able to buy a ship at 1st level, but they could usually afford a good sword. They might be able to buy that ship at 10th level, but they weren't going to buy a castle. And they might be able to buy a castle at 15th level, but they sure as heck weren't going to buy a sphere of annihilation.</blockquote>

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