How do you handle starting equipment for a non-1st level character?

[shilsen]

Oh, wow. I have never been "yoinked" before. Neat!

I've done lots and lots of yoinking myself, though.

Those two tend to go together. When someone else isn't yoinking you on a regular basis, you have to yoink yourself. IYKWIMAITYD.

 

[Darkwolf71]

Tend to stick close to recommended for level, with all magic item purchases subject to aprooval. (Just because it's a new character doesn't mean that you can come in with things I consider overpowered and have kept out of game for a reason.)

OTOH, I play in three campaigns where starting gold is restricted. Ironically, our highest level campaign is restricted to max 1st level starting gold... obviously, you DO NOT WANT TO DIE in this game. >.< Grrrrr...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I simply use the Wealth by Level guidelines. The rest of my group does the same in their campaigns.

I think the hardest part might be to decide how Wizards learn their spells - do you require them to buy a scroll for each additional spell they want to know, or do just use the copying cost?
(Our group doesn't have a general rule, but I'd go by the cheaper "transcribing cost".)

 

[FunkBGR]

I always have gamers who forget to buy essentials, and instead buy "exactly what they want".

Since at any given time in my campaigns, roughly 50% of a an adventurer's gear is "what they want", I cut the wealth by level in half, and give that to them flat out. The rest of the 50% is what I spend on stuff and give to them - healing potions, sometimes scrolls, wands, wondrous items that are useful. I sometimes use this as a handout also, if they've been having trouble with something. Werewolves coming up and no silver weapons? Oh, you have 2 vials of Silversheen. That kind of stuff

This isn't a crapshoot - I always pay attention to what they want, their class, their archetype, etc.

 

[Switchblade]

...

No way does the party absorb the dead PC's items, though. That goes back to the temple or to the family, or may be sucked into some DM void or some other plane of existance. If the dead PC had been carrying an item of importance to the campaign or an item that was considered shared, I make sure the party gets said item. Otherwise, though, when your character bites it his gear is not available for the pilfering. I have trouble maintaining balance as it is and don't need to have things get too far out of whack by letting the group get a hold of the dead PC's stuff.

In a game where you are playing tomb robbing, body looting scu… uh, adventurers how do you reasonably stop PC’s scavenging from the corpse?

Just look at the name. Dungeons and Dragons. Looting tombs/vaults in dungeons, stealing dragons treasure, it’s barely justified robbery. The entire mentality of the game seems set around killing things and nicking what they find. Why would any non Lawful Good character not take advantage and pilfer an item or two rather than chuck it into a shallow grave or hand it on to a stranger who hasn’t had to work for it?

To maintain game balance I can see a reason to ease up on the loot given out until balance is restored after Johnny the Fighter got slotted and his still cooling body was striped for everything but his underwear but making the stuff vanish? A little unrealistic in most settings surely?

Let the PC’s do what they will and leave it to their choice to pass on the stuff to the church, next of kin etc or not as applicable to their alignment, personal code and morality. (Or, all too frequently, lack of )

 

[kigmatzomat]

I give the player 75% of the wealth listed in the DMG for their level to spend at their discretion. I then roll 2 random treasures that have a "typical value" of half the PCs remaining wealth, reflecting their most recent acquisitions. It usually winds up giving the PC some things they wouldn't have bought for themselves, as well as spending cash and loot.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I generally go with wealth by level stuff.

My only regular limit is on the powers of one shot items. Nothing too far above the current party level.

And it's all subject to an eyeballing before in play.

On dead PCs, I came to a metagame agreement with the players: They don't keep their dead friends items. I don't introduce new PCs as peniless prisoners awaiting release. They can justify this as stuff being sent home, buried with them, given to their temple or whatever. It came about after we suffered item inflation in a high bodycount module.

It's not a rigid rule, but the general priniciple we use.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

In a game where you are playing tomb robbing, body looting scu… uh, adventurers how do you reasonably stop PC’s scavenging from the corpse?

Just look at the name. Dungeons and Dragons. Looting tombs/vaults in dungeons, stealing dragons treasure, it’s barely justified robbery. The entire mentality of the game seems set around killing things and nicking what they find. Why would any non Lawful Good character not take advantage and pilfer an item or two rather than chuck it into a shallow grave or hand it on to a stranger who hasn’t had to work for it?

To maintain game balance I can see a reason to ease up on the loot given out until balance is restored after Johnny the Fighter got slotted and his still cooling body was striped for everything but his underwear but making the stuff vanish? A little unrealistic in most settings surely?

Let the PC’s do what they will and leave it to their choice to pass on the stuff to the church, next of kin etc or not as applicable to their alignment, personal code and morality. (Or, all too frequently, lack of )

Easy peasy nice and cheesy! We simply don't play that kind of game. Our group gravitates toward other styles.

 

[Oryan77]

I always tell myself that I will choose magic items for new PCs, but then I never have the heart to do it.

I end up letting them pick what they want as long as no item is more than 1/4 of their total character wealth. If I'm going to allow something expensive in the game, then I want to be the one that decides what it will be...I don't like to be influenced on letting the player decide what 1-trick pony item he will have. Other than that though, I'm pretty lenient on what they have.

The only new rule I've come up with was that they can't choose anything from the Magic Item Compendium and I also ask them not to look in that book (if they already haven't) so that they will be more surprised when I give them items from it in game.

Only once have I had to ask a player to choose different items and that was because he picked 2 skill boosting items that allowed his class to roll skill checks in place of save checks. That gave him a huge advantage and therefore those items were way more powerful than what they were meant to be...especially for their cost.

 

[Henry]

Easy peasy nice and cheesy! We simply don't play that kind of game. Our group gravitates toward other styles.

That's pretty much our take - when an old character dies or retires, we have a sort of unspoken "group agreement" that his stuff either goes back to the family of the character - or is buried with him, as a sign of great honor and respect to his spirit or for afterlife-use, you know, like it happened in real life quite often. We have the unspoken agreement that the new PC starts with an equivalent amount of wealth as what's being given up -- or he starts with nothing but basic 1st level gear, having fallen on hard times.