Treasure Division - Book value or Sale Value?

[Peter Gibbons]

Exactly. Like one of the PCs. If you find a pair of Gloves of Dexterity +2, and you were going to buy them for 4k once you got back into town, those Gloves are worth 4k. So why do you get them for 2k? Yeah, you were lucky, but what about the other PCs who have to sell that +2 Monkey Bane Halberd in order to buy more spells, a pearl of power, armour, etc.? You get the break, they don't.

So what if I wasn't going to buy the gloves for 4k in town, but I am willing to buy them for 2k? I can just see how this would play out...

Blastum the Wizard: Okay, everybody, it's time to divide up the treasure. Let's see...we've got a pair of Gloves of Dexterity +2. We can sell them to Greedo Magicmerchant for 2,000 gp when we get back to town. Also, there's a ruby...

Cutty the Fighter: Hey, I wouldn't mind buying those Gloves from the party. Another +1 to my AC couldn't hurt.

Blastum: Great! Since you're such a good friend and all, we'll only charge you 4,000 gp.

Cutty: Huh? You just said we were going to sell them to that grifter Greedo for 2,000!

Blastum: Well, yeah...but that's the "stranger price." You get the "friend rate."

Cutty: What the...?

Yeah. That makes sense.

 

[Peter Gibbons]

I wasn't addressing any particular percentage, but it seems reasonable that in certain campaigns there would be different valuations.

You're missing the point. It doesn't matter which "particular percentage" we choose, if the item can be bought at any price, it's a commodity. 75% or 75,000% -- it's "worth" whatever the market will pay for it.

 

[Garboshnik]

My last group treated them as full book value with the result that no one ever wanted to claim any items since they lost so much money on it. That results in a lot of wasted money overall so I would reccomend using the sale price.

 

[fafhrd]

You're missing the point. It doesn't matter which "particular percentage" we choose, if the item can be bought at any price, it's a commodity. 75% or 75,000% -- it's "worth" whatever the market will pay for it.

Right, if it can be bought and sold. There's a sizable minority of gamers on this board though who don't have magic merchants in their games. There is no market to speak of outside of the party itself and peers. Barter is the mainstay of those games. In such a world a "good item" might be given more value than otherwise.

 

[Crothian]

During treasure divisions, in determining equal shares of the total share - do you use the book value of magic items (etc) or the sale value (typically half in D&D)?

Neither, they hand out to who needs what and pretty much just sale the rest and use that money to make items that someone needs or to replace wands, potions, and the like.

 

[danzig138]

Equal shares?
Hmm.
That not how it works in my groups (I'm the DM BTW). Whenever the group gains treasure, they spend X minutes bickering, haggling, and complaining, and then people tend to end up with what they want, regardless of value. They are very strong on just giving things to whoever can probably get the most use of them. Some people end up with thr cast offs of the others.

 

[LostSoul]

So what if I wasn't going to buy the gloves for 4k in town, but I am willing to buy them for 2k? I can just see how this would play out...

I might be missing something here.

We buy items from the party pool for 75% of market value. We only buy items that we want.

The party members who don't get the item sell it for more than they would have.

The party member who wanted that item buys it for less than he would have.

It seems fair... but like I said, I could be missing something.

 

[cthulhu_duck]

Neither, they hand out to who needs what and pretty much just sale the rest and use that money to make items that someone needs or to replace wands, potions, and the like.

At times I wish the group I'm playing D&D with would go in that direction. Any suggestions on how to do that?

 

[Peter Gibbons]

I might be missing something here.

We buy items from the party pool for 75% of market value. We only buy items that we want.

The party members who don't get the item sell it for more than they would have.

The party member who wanted that item buys it for less than he would have.

It seems fair... but like I said, I could be missing something.

Okay, let's take a concrete example: a pair of Gloves of Dexterity +2.

Market Value: 4,000 gp.
Sale Value: 2,000 gp.

You're saying that a party member who wants to buy this item from the party pool would pay 75% of market value: that's 3,000 gp.

The party members who don't get the item sell it for more than they would have.

If no party member gets the item, you sell it to a complete stranger...for 2,000 gp.

The party member who wanted that item buys it for less than he would have.

It seems fair...

But if a party member -- a friend who has shed blood for all of you, risked his life to save yours, probably at some time made a personal sacrifice for your well-being -- if he wants to buy the item, he has to pay you 3,000 gp?

How in the is that fair?

Put it in real-world terms. Your friend has a used car. He tells you he's going to put an ad in the paper, offering to sell it for $2000. You say: hold on a minute. I'd be happy to buy your car for $2000. He says: okay, but for you the price is $3000. You say: why? He says: well, if you had to go to a dealer, you'd probably pay $4000 for a car like this. You're still getting a bargain.

Is that guy going to remain your "friend" for very long?

 

[Peter Gibbons]

Neither, they hand out to who needs what and pretty much just sale the rest and use that money to make items that someone needs or to replace wands, potions, and the like.

At times I wish the group I'm playing D&D with would go in that direction. Any suggestions on how to do that?

Give them all copies of the Communist Manifesto for Christmas?