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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wlmartin" data-source="post: 5842172" data-attributes="member: 6679380">How am I doing this?Not reallyFirstly this would only be true if each party member was given a magical item of the same value at the same time.Once time is taken for the next person, and the next and the next to receive an item, over this time the person(s) who do not receive their item arent granted the option to progress further because they have limited funds with to buy new magical items or upgrade their existing ones.Secondly since its often levels between each character getting a choice item (where there would be some filler ones but a DECENT piece of armor or a weapon is what I am talking about) the distribution would be unfair because it would be spread over numerous levels : if you look below :Level 1 : Wizadore, the Mage gets a Magic item of level 2 (520gp) and the rest of the group get their share of various loot and treasure that is sold equivilant to that level.Level 2 : Dalamore, the Fighter gets a Magic item of level 3 (680gp) and again the rest of the group gets various loot as normal.Level 3 : Perseus, the Cleric gets a Magic item of level 4 (840gp) and the rest get normal lootLevel 4 : Dalat, the Rogue gets a Magic item of level 5 (1000gp) and the rest get normal lootSince the Mage's magical choice item was worth just about half of the Rogue's, how is this fair?Wouldn't it make more sense that he would have gotten the item but owed the group his share of the item (1/5 its value, minus his share) than for him to have been at a disadvantage for the next few levels.Yes, typically this does balance out but what if no-one wanted to keep the item? Since it would be sold, why does someone wanting it for themselves give over the parties right to want to sell it and surely paying the party for keeping it solves that.It wouldnt need to get complicated.One person, the treasurer, when an item is found that someone wants to claim... we simply look a the item value, divide by 5 and then divide this number by the members of the group.This is the value each party member gets when split and if the person in question wants to buy it, he simply owes the party its value - his share.That is written down and taken into account down the lineThis is the idea.If the group gets a massively unbalanced item, just because one player can really use it... why does it mean the rest of the group dont get to sell it? To be honest, since the resale value of the item is 1/5th, any Magic Shop selling the item would charge him 5x what he has to contribute back to the group.Also, considering that non-common items arent sold in Magic Shops, its not as if he/she could get it from a store anyways.What if for some reason the party has 6 magic items, none of which can be used by players 1, 2 & 3 but players 4 & 5 split them up between them. Is this fair? I wasnt going there and am seriously unsure how you could have thought I was... it was more, considering I will be no doubt called on to do shop runs and save the group some money (more for the pot) and am willing to take time out of my game to coordinate the ledger side of things, I am willing to do so... Wish lists are useful but ultimately if the DM is giving out items from a shopping list on EVERY loot drop, it becomes less a game of adventure and more some kind of fight-to-earn system.I agree a DM should customize some items to fit in with the goals of some players but these items should be rarer than other magical items you find. A +2 history amulet or a +2 to hit goblins scabard... all fun items but pretty much useless to the majority of players, should these be used by the next person in the queue for an item? or the person who hasnt had an item for awhile? or the person who has the least money in the group?All of these ideas are good per situation I suppose but ultimately lead to an unbalanced system where large ticket items get claimed by certain players and perhaps less valuable items get claimed by others, everyone perceives there to be a fair distribution since everyone got a magical item in that adventure, forgetting that the Mage got a +3 level staff... Whilst things seem balanced, what if 3 loot drops in a row, the fighter gets the item... plus he gets any loot they find as well, he will end up being richer than the other players and whilst they may/may not catch up later down the line, why should they?If every item is treated as sellable that means everyone gets a fair distribution of the wealth.If an item is deemed claimed, then all they need to do is buy it from the group.Anything other than this, regardless of how fair a DM feels he will end up being will end up involving swings in how rich certain players are over others just because they piped up and asked for certain items</blockquote>

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