D&D 5E Starting Equipment

[BoldItalic]

Here's what I do: use the default equipment by class and background, but make substitutions or additions if the character has feats or fighting styles that make it appropriate. Then tally up the value of all of it, subtract that from what you would get by rolling for starting allowance and take that much as your remaining gold unless it is less than the default gold by background, in which case you take that.

It sounds complicated when written out like that, but it's quick and easy to do in practice and gives you the best of both methods.

 

[S'mon]

I would have thunk the laborious option, the one where the player spends time and care picking out exactly her gear, should be rewarded with a higher shopping budget.

Why would I want to incentivise players doing something most people find unfun? If they are making
PCs at table they are sucking up adventuring time from the entire group, too, inflicting unfun on everyone.

In pre-3e editions, choosing equipment often took far more time than all other chargen elements combined. I'm glad this has been got rid of by default, while still leaving an option for players who need their
PCs to be equipment special snowflakes.

 

[CapnZapp]

Why would I want to incentivise players doing something most people find unfun?

I would have thought your players couldn't be "forced" into doing unfun things for a few piddly gold pieces, that are not even real money, and as soon as they loot their first goblin becomes entirely inconsequential. And that players finding equipping themselves unfun would pick the simple and quick option, even though they lose out on a few coppers in the process.

Guess I was wrong

 

[CapnZapp]

In pre-3e editions, choosing equipment often took far more time than all other chargen elements combined. I'm glad this has been got rid of by default, while still leaving an option for players who need their PCs to be equipment special snowflakes.

Nobody is suggesting we remove class and background packages.

Nobody is suggesting we remove that option's default status.

All we're doing is having a healthy discussion about whether that default, and fast, and simple, option should render slightly less value, not more

 

[Imaro]

As to the most common argument:

I would have thunk the laborious option, the one where the player spends time and care picking out exactly her gear, should be rewarded with a higher shopping budget.

Why? You're getting to pick exactly what you want... so you get greater versatility, why on top of that would you assume a player should also get more value gp wise?

Interestingly, you think the reverse. But since everything about this pales in comparison to the loot you get once you actually start your adventures, I'm thinking players need to be incentivized in order to pick out individual pieces of gear.

The incentive is greater customization...

If you both save time and money on the prefab packages, that just brings you to adventure and loot that much faster!

But you aren't getting to play with exactly what you may have wanted.

This is why it feels odd to me to realize WotCs "hidden" secret - that by picking class and background gear you not only get away with less work, you're actually rewarded financially for it!

Again... you're being "rewarded" in one way (cost) because you're being penalized in another (customization). Universally claiming one is less work than the other isn't necessarily true. For a new player even the limited choices given in the pre-packaged gear could be more work than an experienced player who buys his stuff ad-hoc.


EDIT: Personally I do a combination of using the pre-packaged choices as guidelines but allowing swap outs on a case by case basis. Seems to be pretty quick while allowing some limited customization beyond the choices in the book.

 

[Tony Vargas]

As to the most common argument:

I would have thunk the laborious option, the one where the player spends time and care picking out exactly her gear, should be rewarded with a higher shopping budget.

Traditionally, customization is usually more expensive than off-the-rack.

 

[Satyrn]

That's true, but as a DM I would tell such player that he is in fact making a mistake. If he's not going to use the shield, carrying it around is a nuisance, and leaving it at home is the same as not having it*. And the commercial value of the shield is practically zero with relation to the treasure they'll soon amass after the first adventure or two.

Aye. My suggested change was indeed meant to just save the effort of pointing that out to players over and over again.

 

[Caliban]

Nope, no problem.

 

[CapnZapp]

There's really no problem here. Thanks.

 

[Yunru]

Of course such way of thinking is pretty much the result of having been fed all our lives with the culture of "free/cheap stuff" and overestimation of property in general, so when they offer you something useless for free the vast majority of the people would take it anyway.

On the contrary. They have to think they're getting it cheaper than it's worth. Put a sofa on a roadside with a sign saying "free sofa" and no-one will take it. Put a sign saying "£5 sofa" and it'll be nicked by the end of the day.