Greedy player, what should we do?

[Elf Witch]

Guys, I appreciate the replys but they are not very helpful.

Try reading the initial post again, we are all aware of the problem, so punishing him is not a good idea, and neither is "change the campaign", because everyone likes our style of play.

Anyway, I was looking for similar experiences, not different situations entirely.

We have had something like this in our game with XP. Some how this one player even though he missed sessions did not write as many journals and changed characters ended up with more XP than most of the other players. the solution was simple the DM now keeps our XP and tells us what it is.

Maybe you could keep track of his gold take it out of his hands so he does not have the amount in front of him. He plays a fighter right? Well then does he have to know what every magic item does. He is not a wizard. Take the scroll for example instead of the wizard telling him its a scroll of miracle he could say its a scroll to save our butts that way he can only guess how much it is worth.

Ask the player if he would be willing to do this maybe it will take his mind of his greed.

 

[alsih2o]

Cursed Codpiece of Wealth.

 

[azmodean]

I like Elf Witch's idea, mostly because that's what I do anyway, if you don't have the appropriate skills, you don't even know what these items are.

I think you should see about the party drawing up a contract, clearly stating how the treasure is divided, including perhaps a vote on wether or not to sell a given item that the party as a whole may need.

Alternately or in addition to the above, you could have the party hire an accountant that keeps track of all of this stuff, but actually just hands things out as you see fit. (but fairly of course)

 

[maddman75]

Since the player knows that its a problem and wants to change, all he should need is a little encouragement. It sounds like he's getting lost in the resource management angle of it. I also think Elf Witch's idea is a sound one. Have someone else keep track of his gold for awhile. There's nothing you can do to *make* him stop being so greedy. The good news is that he sees how it is interfering with his fun, and wants to change. A little encouragement and support from your end should make it easier for him.

 

[Andre]

Any chance you can focus his obsession on the party's wealth, as opposed to his character's?

Examples:
*The party is trying to collect the money needed to refurbish a keep for their own
*The party is raising money to pay to resurrect a kindly priest who helped them out once (or is needed by her community).
*The party is raising funds to recruit some mercenaries to protect a community the characters care about, or to get rid of some orcs while they do other things.
*The party needs money to buy a decanter of endless water for a town whose well has dried up.

Not sure if this would work, but it's a thought.

 

[Mallus]

Punch him.

Then buy him a drink.

If he accepts, and then refuses to buy the next round, punch him again. Harder.

 

[Funeris]

Have him audited
Or...if they're traveling and have to stop in a city, have the city charge entrance fees for access to goods etc. Have it be 10-15% of what an individual is carrying. Everyone then has their gear appraised...makes the proper payment to keep the city running and moves along. He's going to be losing more and more of his gear/funds if he keeps being greedy. Not that it's right to punish your players, but hey it'll cut down the tax amount on the already overly-poor peasants. And maybe (although doubtful) he'll decide to carry less and less.

 

[BlackMoria]

... In fact, every character he has ever had in any game has been greedy, and somewhere deep down it is a reflection of his own personality.

Bingo. His behavior can be explained. It is a self image thing. Acquistion of wealth and material things = better or improved self image. To him, he has to have the best and the most to feel equal or better than his peers. The proverbial 'keeping up with the Jones' syndrome.

He needs to discover that self worth is more than material gain. Until then, he will most likely continue to act the way he is.

 

[JesterPoet]

You know...let him sell the scroll. They when the players figure out they need it, HE has to be the one to go back and buy it. With out the scoll, the game is lost, tell the players. Or better yet, slap a cursed item, such as "The Bracers of the Pious", on him that makes him give away gold if he fails a will save. He has to make the roll everytime he acts greedy.
"Ooooo....that relic would fetch a handsome price on the open market!"
"Make a will save."
"Uh....14"
"You failed. You feel the need to give away X # of gold pieces."
"Thats cool.....I'll get fours times that amount back after we sell this."
"Make a will save...."
and so on and so......... He'll get the hint.
PS I made those Bracers up....feel free to stat them out as you see fit.....

The Bracers of the Pious will be making an appearance in my game.

I love that item!

 

[Turanil]

The problem arises whenever the party finds some item of power, he just can't help but need to get involved with the "gold that can be earned from selling it" or something similar.

I don't see a problem there. The only problem is to believe that another D&D rule is that every player must get a perfectly equal share of the treasure the party got. But in-character, there could be arguing and bickering over how the treasure is spent, how money is distributed, etc. This player's PC could try to impose his views, but it doesn't imply that other PCs must agree, and if they do, it's their problem not that of the player's PC.

In fact there could be liars and thieves in the party. When the treasure consist in gems, how do you deal with it? Do you say "you find 4 gems valued at 500 gp each?". Me I say: "you find 4 nice gems, that look like you could get a lot of money from them". However, you need Appraise rolls to determine their potential value. Thereafter, you need to effectively finding some people willing to buy them, and price offered may vary according to various circumstances. Lastly, if only one character (say the rogue) takes the burden of selling them while the others aren't there, he could lie to the other PCs and not give them a fair share. All in all, it's but a matter of roleplaying. So, no problem with a PC being greedy.

BTW: if you don't want this item being sold, just tell there is nobody around willing to buy them, or having enough money for that.