PC Gear table

[Matthias]

I would like to know how to create a table like 14-9 (core rulebook 454) but using the values on table 12-4 (page 399) for total gp value.

The reason for this is sometimes I like to have "GMPCs" follow the party along for various reasons: to help me give clues to the players about what is going on, to watch their backs when they collectively decide to do something dumb, to occasionally play the role of foil against another NPC, etc.

Anyway, I would like to give such NPCs PC-equivalent equipment but keep to the general percentages of each class of item (weapons, protection, magic, etc.)

Any suggestions of how to engineer these percentages?

 

[Salthorae]

Well, you could do the math on that table for %'s and apply it to the PC Wealth by Level table, or you could just use this paragraph from pg. 400, just below Table 12-4

Table 12–4 can also be used to budget gear for characters starting above 1st level, such as a new character created to replace a dead one. Characters should spend no more than half their total wealth on any single item. For a balanced approach, PCs that are built after 1st level should spend no more than 25% of their wealth on weapons, 25% on armor and protective devices, 25% on other magic items, 15% on disposable items like potions, scrolls, and wands, and 10% on ordinary gear and coins. Different character types might spend their wealth differently than these percentages suggest; for example, arcane casters might spend very little on weapons but a great deal more on other magic items and disposable items.

Or you can use this (can't figure out how to maintain the tabbed spaces on the top two rows...)

[sblock]

PC	Total gp	 Weapons 	W%	 Protection 	P%	 Magic 	M%	 Ltd use 	LU%	 Gear 	G%	Total
—	260	 50.0 	19%	 130.0 	50%	 — 		 40.0 	15%	 40.0 	15%	100%
2	1000	 256.5 	26%	 384.7 	38%	 — 		 102.6 	10%	 256.5 	26%	100%
3	3000	 1,346.2 	45%	 769.3 	26%	 — 		 307.7 	10%	 577.0 	19%	100%
4	6,000	 2,363.7 	39%	 2,909.1 	48%	 — 		 363.7 	6%	 727.3 	12%	106%
5	10,500	 3,937.5 	38%	 4,375.0 	42%	 — 		 1,312.5 	13%	 875.0 	8%	100%
6	16,000	 6,492.8 	41%	 6,492.8 	41%	 — 		 2,087.0 	13%	 927.6 	6%	100%
7	23,500	 11,876.4 	51%	 8,338.8 	35%	 — 		 2,274.2 	10%	 1,010.8 	4%	100%
8	33,000	 14,850.0 	45%	 11,000.0 	33%	 2,750.0 	8%	 3,300.0 	10%	 1,100.0 	3%	100%
9	46,000	 17,692.4 	38%	 14,743.6 	32%	 5,897.5 	13%	 4,718.0 	10%	 2,948.8 	6%	100%
10	62,000	 21,592.1 	35%	 18,507.5 	30%	 12,338.4 	20%	 6,477.7 	10%	 3,084.6 	5%	100%
11	82,000	 25,725.5 	31%	 25,725.5 	31%	 19,294.2 	24%	 8,039.3 	10%	 3,215.7 	4%	100%
12	108,000	 39,633.1 	37%	 29,724.8 	28%	 26,422.1 	24%	 8,917.5 	8%	 3,302.8 	3%	100%
13	140,000	 56,666.7 	40%	 36,666.7 	26%	 33,333.4 	24%	 10,000.0 	7%	 3,333.4 	2%	100%
14	185,000	 61,666.7 	33%	 54,814.9 	30%	 47,963.0 	26%	 17,129.7 	9%	 3,426.0 	2%	100%
15	240,000	 82,758.7 	34%	 72,413.8 	30%	 62,069.0 	26%	 19,310.4 	8%	 3,448.3 	1%	100%
16	315,000	 119,000.0 	38%	 94,500.0 	30%	 77,000.0 	24%	 21,000.0 	7%	 3,500.0 	1%	100%
17	410,000	 133,162.4 	32%	 126,153.9 	31%	 112,136.8 	27%	 28,034.2 	7%	 10,512.9 	3%	100%
18	530,000	 169,600.0 	32%	 162,533.4 	31%	 141,333.4 	27%	 45,933.4 	9%	 10,600.0 	2%	100%
19	685,000	 214,062.5 	31%	 199,791.7 	29%	 199,791.7 	29%	 57,083.4 	8%	 14,270.9 	2%	100%
20	880,000	 286,178.9 	33%	 250,406.6 	28%	 250,406.6 	28%	 78,699.2 	9%	 14,309.0 	2%	100%

[/sblock]

 

[Matthias]

Well, you could do the math on that table for %'s and apply it to the PC Wealth by Level table, or you could just use this paragraph from pg. 400, just below Table 12-4

Table 12–4 can also be used to budget gear for characters starting above 1st level, such as a new character created to replace a dead one. Characters should spend no more than half their total wealth on any single item. For a balanced approach, PCs that are built after 1st level should spend no more than 25% of their wealth on weapons, 25% on armor and protective devices, 25% on other magic items, 15% on disposable items like potions, scrolls, and wands, and 10% on ordinary gear and coins. Different character types might spend their wealth differently than these percentages suggest; for example, arcane casters might spend very little on weapons but a great deal more on other magic items and disposable items.

I've been doing similar math juggling such as what you present in the second table, but I never really liked the results of the different methods I used. But perhaps the quoted text above holds the key to what I need, particularly in light of the last sentence of it.

So what do you think of this--here is a breakdown of gp per PC level into five categories: 30, 25, 20, 15, and 10 percent. Each category should be assigned to one of the five equipment types: weapons, protection, magic, limited use, and other gear. A melee character will want to spend much of his money on weapons and protection while a caster would have the bulk of his gp invested in magic & limited-use items. A GM may use this table to have PCs start with magic items, but if they are lower-level (6th or less), the GM may want to replace "magic" as a category with "alchemical items" or something similar.

Level	Total		30%	25%	20%	15%	10%

1	500		150	125	100	75	50
2	1000		300	250	200	150	100
3	3000		900	750	600	450	300
4	6000		1800	1500	1200	900	600
5	10500		3150	2625	2100	1575	1050
6	16000		4800	4000	3200	2400	1600
7	23500		7050	5875	4700	3525	2350
8	33000		9900	8250	6600	4950	3300
9	46000		13800	11500	9200	6900	4600
10	62000		18600	15500	12400	9300	6200
11	82000		24600	20500	16400	12300	8200
12	108000		32400	27000	21600	16200	10800
13	140000		42000	35000	28000	21000	14000
14	185000		55500	46250	37000	27750	18500
15	240000		72000	60000	48000	36000	24000
16	315000		94500	78750	63000	47250	31500
17	410000		123000	102500	82000	61500	41000
18	530000		159000	132500	106000	79500	53000
19	685000		205500	171250	137000	102750	68500
20	880000		264000	220000	176000	132000	88000

 

[Salthorae]

I like that idea and breakdown.

Though keep in mind that it also says if you are in a low magic setting or a high magic setting you might want to halve or double the total WBL appropriately.

They are also rough guidelines, if you have a fighter who wields two weapons, you might want to let him spend more like 35-40% on his weapons rather than 30...