CR for equipped NPCs?

[MithrasRahl]

From what I understand, a level 10 Fighter would be a CR10 Mob. How does the CR change when he has equipment worth up to the total amount of gold a level 10 character would have?

 

[moritheil]

From what I understand, a level 10 Fighter would be a CR10 Mob. How does the CR change when he has equipment worth up to the total amount of gold a level 10 character would have?

It doesn't. He's already supposed to have equipment. That's part of his CR.

(Do note that NPC wealth values and PC values are a little different, though.)

 

[Arkhandus]

Aye. He should be equipped as per an NPC of his level, as shown in the DMG. That means much lower wealth than a PC. Except for the first 3 levels, oddly enough, where NPCs get a lot more wealth than PCs. It boggles the mind.

 

[moritheil]

One of the fun things I used to do was give Balors orange ioun stones in any situation where they would reasonably have access to them (i.e. ones that actually stuck around on Prime for a while would have them.) It made Blasphemy actually do something against level 20 characters.

 

[eamon]

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=219323

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

One thing to keep in mind is that when you're picking all your magic items, they tend to be very focused on exactly what you want. Contrast that with most PCs who pick up stuff here and there, which isn't as "efficient."

To be honest, I wouldn't give any CR increase although one probably is justified as an ad hoc increase of +1 or maybe +2. I'd rather give more in some encounters and less in others so everything balances out in the end. Also, the PCs are probably going to end up with that extra treasure so the greater risk is balanced by the greater reward.

 

[mvincent]

How does the CR change when he has equipment worth up to the total amount of gold a level 10 character would have?

As mentioned: equipping him as an *NPC* is expected. You can increase the CR (or provide an ad-hoc bonus) if he has substantially more gear than that (same with any creature or situation).

Mind you, it the PC's get this gear afterwards, then they are already getting a major bonus, so I often seldom bother.

 

[Doug McCrae]

NPCs have gear according to the table on page 127 of the DMG. A level 10 NPC has 16000gp worth, for example.

That's supposedly included in the CR. However it should be noted that even fully geared NPCs are under CRed compared to monsters, but have more treasure. Screwy, I know. Smart players should never set foot in a dungeon. Just kill everyone in town and take their stuff

A reasonable approach would instead be to give NPCs powers equivalent to a PC's magic items, but most of it is an 'inherent' bonus rather than an actual magic item. They should just have the treasure of an equal CR monster, whether in the form of cash or items doesn't matter.

<- Killer DM.