D&D 5E Creating a Wealth Score in 5e D&D

[MarkB]

That would drive me crazy. Put $100 in the bank, but can only get $50 back out again. Heck, with that kind of money making scheme available I'd just get together with the other players and start a bank.

Well, the idea is that it's wealth you're actively using in your everyday life. It's less like getting money back out of the bank and more like trading in your car for a cheaper model - you never get back the original value.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Even last game I played a PC in my DM said that'll be "x" gp, I said yeah OK sure whatever and didnt even bother to check if I had any money on my character sheet.

That's why when that happens, I stop talking and stare expectantly at my player, eyebrows raised, until I see them getting these copper pieces out of their sheet. I also take pictures of their character sheet when they go to the bathroom and do the maths in an excel to make sure they're not cheating. And one of my player is an inside agent that reports anything suspicious to me.

 

[R_J_K75]

That's why when that happens, I stop talking and stare expectantly at my player, eyebrows raised, until I see them getting these copper pieces out of their sheet. I also take pictures of their character sheet when they go to the bathroom and do the maths in an excel to make sure they're not cheating. And one of my player is an inside agent that reports anything suspicious to me.

I also steal all the rations and torches when no ones looking.

 

[BookTenTiger]

That's why when that happens, I stop talking and stare expectantly at my player, eyebrows raised, until I see them getting these copper pieces out of their sheet. I also take pictures of their character sheet when they go to the bathroom and do the maths in an excel to make sure they're not cheating. And one of my player is an inside agent that reports anything suspicious to me.

That's far too much work for me.

I hire a PI to hack their computers, take photos of their character sheets through the dining room tables, and put together reports for me on if my players are being honest with their gold.

 

[MarkB]

That's far too much work for me.

I hire a PI to hack their computers, take photos of their character sheets through the dining room tables, and put together reports for me on if my players are being honest with their gold.

Did you make sure to require them to use the custom character sheets, with the Terms & Conditions in small print on the back?

 

[BookTenTiger]

Did you make sure to require them to use the custom character sheets, with the Terms & Conditions in small print on the back?

I actually create and memorize their character sheets, then keep the originals locked in a DNA-triggered safe that will self destruct when I die. The players must submit forms requesting necessary information, such as Attack Bonuses and current Hit Points.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I have no idea how much money is in my wallet right now. Well, that's not exactly true; I have a rough idea. But, even when I open it up to purchase things I don't count it; I just look for something I can trade for the thing I want and put it back in my pocket. My wife on the other hand probably has a better idea how much money she has in her purse; but even then, I doubt she knows down to the last copper piece.

HOWEVER, when it comes to my character, I love counting beans; as well as arrows, spell slots, hit points, and copper pieces. I recognize that I have problem. But there are a lot of players like me. So, any alternate system needs to be compatible with the bean counting system. I mean it is satisfying to find a hoard* and add it up baby! It would be a bit of a downer if it was only felt in a score that ranges from 1-20.

* Hoards. It gets kind of silly when putting together a dragon's hoard. I mean the beast is supposed to be sleeping on this thing, but coins don't take up much volume.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

The True20 system did away with hit points back in the aughts. You rolled constitution checks instead, and gained levels of exhaustion, basically. I like the idea of a wealth system. Always have. But, BEANS!

I'm like a witch who must count the matchsticks.

 

[jgsugden]

This is how I handle wealth, generally.

At low levels (1 and 2) - every copper matters. You're just getting started. You are trying to outfit yourself with some basic equipment. I'll ask about rations, cold weather gear, etc...

At journeyman levels (3 and 4) - You've had your first big haul. You're setting your sights on obtaining some magical items. We're wasting time if you tell me about how many iron spikes you are buying. I tell PCs when they can buy mundane equipment, but do not check on it at all. It is handled privately by the player (unless I want to drop a story hook at the shop). We only talk about whether you have gear if it is unusual gear.

At heroic levels (5 to 10) - You're well known heroes. If you want a stapler, you can be assumed to get one. It isn't worth discussing at all. if a player is on a journey and says, "I wish I had ball bearings" I'll tell them to give me a wisdom check. If I like the result (low DC), I'll tell them that they had the foresight to buy them and that they can add them to their inventory. PCs should have wealth sufficient to buy a few uncommon or a singular rare magic item in addition to what they've found, and although I might make them work for it a bit, anything they want to buy in their price range is going to pop up somewhere, somehow. At worst, there will be someone that can make it for them. Mundane gear is assumed to be there - you've been around the block and know how to prepare.

At super heroic levels (11 to 16) - PCs will have access to one or more sellers that produce potions, scrolls, etc... on a regular basis. They'll be able to buy these things whenever they want. If they want something off the list on a regular basis, the NPC will add it to their lists. They'll be able to travel to the great markets of my universe (the Cities of Brass, Iron and Gold; as well as my Planescape/Sigil equivalent). There they can find anything - for the right price.

Legends (17+) - I tend to move the game to more abstract patterns. There may be several years of game time between sessions (at times). PCs can get almost anything outside of legendary items if they focus their downtime efforts on doing so. The PCs wealth will likely be very vast at this point, with access to revenue generating features (mines, magic shops, etc...) potentially in their possession.

 

[Malmuria]

Macchiato Monsters uses a usage die for money. A usage die is a resource tracking mechanic, where you have a resource of a certain die size that you roll each time you use that resource, and on a roll of 1 or 2 the die ticks down to the next lower size. So maybe you have d6 arrows, you roll a 1, now you have d4 arrows. If you roll a 1 again, you are out of arrows. Anyway, MM extends this to money. The system they use is a bit overly fiddly for my tastes, but the basic idea is that you could have a d8 bag of gp or sp, and roll on that every time you want to try to buy something.