New Characters and Wealth Tables

[Skaros]

Speaking of the wealth tables in the DMG...

When you have a new character come into play (as a DM), how do you handle their starting wealth?

Do you:

1. Let them buy thei DMG character wealth worth of magic items and keep the change?

2. Spend the time to pick out their items for them based on the wealth table?

3. Something else....?

Thanks...Using the DMG as a shopping list to pick out the perfect combo of items for a new character annoys me, but I'm not sure what alternative would be better. I'd rather not spend the hour or two making up their starting items myself every time a character dies....particularly not while running RTTOEE

-Skaros

 

[mikebr99]

1. Let them buy thei DMG character wealth worth of magic items and keep the change?
-Skaros

Set an max price that they can spend on one item and let them have at it!

Mike

 

[fl8m]

i usually let my players just pick out whatever equipment they'd like from the dmg, i always hope that given a chance to hand pick each item they have their chances of survival will go up

although i do agree it's a little annoying seeing the new guy with a nice set of perfectly matched items while the heroes that survived all have 8 rings but only 1 magic sword. so i usually try to give the players a wide variety of items available when they do actually make it back to town.

 

[Murrdox]

When characters start out at higher levels than 1 (which we ALWAYS do, pretty much) we do indeed use the wealth tables as "starting money" and anything the character can afford, he can buy. He gets to keep the change.

Just like you - as a DM I don't want to "pick out" the starting equipment for all my characters, and I figure that if they've leveled a few times, they've been traveling enough and been to enough stores and shops over the course of their carreer to pick out the eqiupment that they want.

Of course, the higher level you start out as... you're going to have more and more min-maxing as the characters can start with more powerful equipement. We usually start a campaign around level 4 or 5 - and that usually leaves you enough money for a couple of +1 items and maybe a minor wondrous item. Nothing too huge.

 

[hong]

although i do agree it's a little annoying seeing the new guy with a nice set of perfectly matched items while the heroes that survived all have 8 rings but only 1 magic sword.

That's what the infamous "magic shops" are for....


Hong "fungible treasure DM" Ooi

 

[Pax]

I let them buy what they want -- but typically, no one item over 40% value,a nd ONLY one item over 20% value, compared to the whole -- rounded UP to the next thousand, unless the starting money is under 1,000. The one itemup to 40% can represent that characters personal "greatest treasure".

IOW, if you start with 9,000gp (8thlevel), one item can be worth up to 3,600 and the rest up to 1,800. I round those to 4,000 and 2,000; I'm then willing to "bend" when it comes to magic weaponry and armor, so if someone wants a +2 longsword (4,315gp) and a +1 suit fo full plate (2,650gp), I can accept that.

IOW, general guidelines, and a willingness to bend them if it's not a terribly great amount of bending -- the +1 fullplate is at about the limit for bending, btw.

I just don't think a charactes ENTIRE wealth should (normally) be sunk into ONE item. If character background suits doing so, then I (again) might bend, but it's got to be a GOOD background ... and original too.

 

[the_mighty_agrippa]

just let me buy what i want, ya dink.

 

[LokiDR]

I let them go shopping, then I ask them about the choices. If I see a player trying to use this to abuse this for item combos/smackdowns, I might ask them to pick again.

This is another reason to allow players in game to buy magic items they want (by some means), so the new character isn't better than the veterns.

 

[Murrdox]

IOW, if you start with 9,000gp (8thlevel), one item can be worth up to 3,600 and the rest up to 1,800. I round those to 4,000 and 2,000; I'm then willing to "bend" when it comes to magic weaponry and armor, so if someone wants a +2 longsword (4,315gp) and a +1 suit fo full plate (2,650gp), I can accept that.

I sorta simplify the system that you use. Whatever level they start at, I tell them the maximum enchantment or caster level any of their equipement can have... for example, starting at level 5 - I'd say no equipment over a +2 enhancement bonus, or over a 6th caster level (for wonderous items, rings, etc...)

 

[cptg1481]

I love this.......

I let them buy what they want -- but typically, no one item over 40% value, and ONLY one item over 20% value, compared to the whole -- rounded UP to the next thousand, unless the starting money is under 1,000. The one item-up to 40% can represent that characters personal "greatest treasure".
original too.

This makes my head hurt dude.....seriously though it's about what we do but not as.....well, numerical. I think smart people rock, that's why I love my group. I'd be lost without thier math prowess.