How closely do you track daily expenses for your players?

[Chupacabra]

Do you require your PC's to account for every last meal and mug of ale? Do you simply charge them a weekly or monthly "upkeep" fee? Or do you just let it ride?

I have always simply let the players hold on to their coins and I never bothered subtracting for anything short of "I buy a round of drinks for the entire tavern" or some kind of truly epic pub crawl. I never bothered with charging for mudane clothing or things like that either.

Although I do like the Conan RPG rule that goes something like this: an adventurer is going to blow through 50% of his ready cash in a month. In two months, he or she is flat broke (again). Provides a good motivation to go out and risk your neck and adventure some more. This is based on the fact that in the Conan stories Conan frequently started each new adventure with nothing but the armor on his back, a sword at his side and a flat coin purse (despite the fact that in the previous adventure he stole a fat sack full of gems or some other rich haul).

So, do you make your players break out the Excel spreadsheet and track each day's expenses, or do you let them sit on their untouched piles of gold?

 

[Crothian]

Depends on the tone of the game. IF it is a bit mnore high epic then no. But if I'm keeping them poor and penniless then yes.

 

[Psion]

Pretty much, don't.

Been tempted to just make a monthly average or other simplified method.

 

[2WS-Steve]

We'll track it in the first levels when the players are poor and enjoy being able to eat something besides iron rations every once in a while. At higher levels we ignore it.

 

[Gilladian]

I always start out the game having them track each copper, but as the game goes by and they become more wealthy, it goes by the wayside. If they want to spend a significant amount, for example by buying a banquet, then they always have to mark it off. But otherwise, I'll say something like "if you decide to stay at the Copper Cup Inn, you'll spend about 3 silvers a day for food, stabling, etc... but if you decide to go to the Gold Dragon, it'll cost you 10 silvers a day, and you can easily spend another 5 or more for extras."

It's up to them to keep track of it - if they "cheat" and don't mark it off, it won't really affect the game in the long run. At higher levels they almost always establish some kind of residence and blow through their cash furbishing it up and maintaining it.

In fact, in my current (limping along) game, one PC has some legal claim to a piece of property in a village and is going to have to spend some as-yet-undisclosed amount clearing the title/paying bribes to take possession of it.

 

[buzz]

We exert enough effort just tracking equipment and treasure that, were a DM of mine to suggest we track day-to-day expenses, I would impale him with a rusty tire iron.

 

[Arnwyn]

So, do you make your players break out the Excel spreadsheet and track each day's expenses, or do you let them sit on their untouched piles of gold?

Very rigorously.

It's not surprising to any of my group, though, since I'm an accountant in real life.

 

[Kid Socrates]

Hardly at all; by the time I thought of it they'd secured their own island. They do have to keep track of major expenses for the island, but if they plan on getting a dinner out, I don't have them subtract 35 gil from their character sheet.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I like the optional upkeep rules - spend X amount of gold to live a common lifestyle, etc.

 

[delericho]

I used to use the monthly upkeep rules from the DMG. Now, I just ignore all expenses below 1gp in value. Characters are assumed to carry arrows, bolts, food, and other such things, and to replenish their supplies at likely opportunities. (If they were suddenly lost in the desert, we would assume they were carrying a week's rations, assuming they were carrying their 'adventuring gear'.)

Once characters have hundreds of gold pieces of equipment (2nd level), quibbling over a few silver coins seems rather pointless.

For the Conan-flavoured game, I think you really require a system were characters aren't so reliant on their gear, so they can start adventures penniless (above 1st level, that is). So, for that type of game, I would probably use Iron Heroes, or a non-d20 game. Rebalancing D&D to work without the gear is too much hassle for me to consider it worthwhile, and so I just don't do it. Which is not to say it's not a valid thing to do - it's just not for me.