D&D 5E Wealth by level

[Li Shenron]

I found a chart a while back that gives you the "average" wealth by level chart. Really wish I could give credit where credit is due, but I don't remember where I found it. As a bonus it also gives average treasure per level.

This is based on using standard encounters, average treasure results, etc and is by no means an official guideline and I only use it as a general rule of thumb.

I think this is the only way to answer the original question: given that the game doesn't explicitly specify wealth-per-level values, just take all random treasure tables and figure out the average treasure value accrued by the number of (average) encounters expected before each level. Since there is both a range of possible encounter difficulties and a fairly wide range in treasure results themselves, it's likely that you'll end up with a large variance on the final result, but nevertheless you'll have an average to work with.

However, that would tell the total earned treasure, not the total owned, to figure out which you might have to deduct the expenses during previous levels, and here things get more murky... how much gp are you going to assume that the characters have spent on healing potions and other consumable items? How about expensive spells components? How about money spent on living (a rule that is not even so commonly applied but rather ignored), or invested in other ways during the adventures (mercenaries, favors, bribes, building, transportation, services, information...)? Everyone can have their own expectations for those, but really they are all pretty much made up numbers, and for some gaming groups they may even be 0.

And of course finally what really matters is how the DM is going to allow the PCs to spend the treasure. Thus, I wouldn't really recommend to sweat much over these calculations/estimations. Even just granting as many GP as XP yields usable values!

 

[delericho]

And of course finally what really matters is how the DM is going to allow the PCs to spend the treasure.

Yep, this is a massively-important consideration (and, again, something that wasn't really considered when 3e's table was put in place) - not all gold pieces are created equal.

 

[CapnZapp]

Just to clarify - even though the previous posts appear to problematize the issue, they really aren't.

What they're saying is that you can hand out ANY amounts of gold.

What matters is what things cost, relative to what the PCs have.

Now, the equipment lists of the PHB do set some boundaries. For example, you can't give out 1 gp per level, since nobody will ever be able to afford any armor. (Expect every fighter to go DEX!)

But as long as your "walth budget" is enough to afford full plate somewhere down the line (whether this is 3rd level or 7th doesn't matter too much).

For example, I had reason to look at the suggested tournament rules of XGE (since it appears likely these will be used for AL come fall).

Now, this is a "low gold" campaign (if not "very low"), but that's much less of a problem since you can't buy any permanent magic items and don't even have to pay for maintenance/upkeep/lifestyle.

In XGE, you gain a fixed amount of gold per level (not per scenario). 75 gp during tier I, then 150 gp, then 550 gp and finally 5,500 gp during tier IV.

In other words, a level 6 character that has saved all her money purchasing nothing will have 75+75+75+150+150=525 gp (not including starting money).

And yes, this is at least a factor ten lower than what you would have if you used the DMG treasure tables unmodified.

But as I said, the amount is in itself less interesting, compared to what purchasing power it brings. For 500 gp you can buy ten potions of healing (or any combo of PHB equipment) or a single potion of supreme healing or a single 4th level scroll.

Acquiring permanent (and more consumable) magic items are handled on a wholly separate track of "treasure points". As a newly levelled-up 6th level character, you will have played for 4+4+4+8+8=28 hours (or "checkpoints"), and will have gained one treasure point for every two hours played = 14 TPs.

Ignoring how you could have spent your last TPs on tier II stuff, 14 TPs is enough to get either three consumables (from tables A, B or C) or a single permanent item (from table F).

If we add this up, and do calculations in reverse, this amounts to somewhere around 1000-2000 gp in a "traditional" campaign (around 6000 gp if the character focuses on getting a table G item).

 

[CapnZapp]

In contrast, you could use the d20 wealth by level numbers and the Sane price list (which I guess is roughly compatible). A 6th level character would then expect to have amassed 13,000 gp (but probably spent much of it already). Most "table F items" costs 1000-2000 gp so this character would definitely be able to afford both his preferred armor and weapon, even if that's full plate and a greatsword +1.

A big bonus by using something resembling a real (functional, logical, utility-based or simply "sane) pricing structure is that you would automatically avoid the BS crap abuse of the stupid rarity-based implementation WotC still insists on is even close to functional and workable.

For example, on table F you can pick a Doss Lute (an Instrument of the Bards) since it is only uncommon.

In contrast, Sane prices this item at 28,500 gp!

(So unless the AL admins do what WotC refuses to do, expect utter garbage when every Bard AL player breaks the balance by immediately getting a HUGE boost to their character for an insanely cheap deal... :-/ )

 

[CapnZapp]

And... to get back to what we discussed previously, instead of using a table meant for a different edition, you could just use the XP table in the 5E PHB to mean "gold" too.

In other words, an XP = GP campaign.

A 6th level character would then have 14,000 gp, not 13,000 gp. While this might be an inconsequential difference, the numbers do diverge at higher levels. A d20 character would max out at 760,000 gp; a 5E character gains 360,000 xp or gp over her career.

If nothing else, that's half as ridiculous! (But still a wee bit ridiculous)

Now then, the big question. What changes, if any, do you need to make to the standard DMG guidelines for awarding treasure?

The good news is: not too much!

As you know, the hoard table you use to generate a treasure is based on the monster's Challenge Rating (and not the level of the party). What you would want to do is double the monetary amount for any CR in the upper half of its respective tier.

Sounded complicated? It's really not. It means that hoards have twice the gold (jewels, artwork etc) if the monster is CR 8, 9, or 10 for the tier II table. The first half of that tier is CR 5, 6, 7. The second half is CR 8, 9, 10.

Example. Googling "5e treasure generator" Donjon is the first hit. Generating a CR 8 hoard randomly I get this:

700 cp, 6000 sp, 2200 gp, 110 pp, Rabbit Fur Belt (25 gp), Ceramic Urn (25 gp), Polished Stone Jar (25 gp), Iron Ewer (25 gp), +1 Shield (uncommon, dmg 200), Boots of Elvenkind (uncommon, dmg 155)
​

What I need to do is simply double the monetary rewards (but not the magical ones):

1400 cp, 12000 sp, 4400 gp, 220 pp, Rabbit Fur Belt (25 gp), Ceramic Urn (25 gp), Polished Stone Jar (25 gp), Iron Ewer (25 gp), +1 Shield (uncommon, dmg 200), Boots of Elvenkind (uncommon, dmg 155)
​

Note how I don't even bother with art objects. This isn't an exact science, the point is merely that to keep up with the XP/GP table, the DMG tables need the occassional "topping up".

And oh, one more thing. Never use the tier IV hoard table. At least not for gold.

That's it. This way you don't have to do anything special. You can keep using the DMG tables you've spent money to buy. The casino effect of random loot is fun. And by using Sane Magic Prices you offer something WotC should have provided, namely a way to spend gold even if you're running a hardcover adventure with no downtime!



Full credit:

All this, and the full explanations, are taken from Blog of Holding:
http://blogofholding.com/?p=6760

 

[BoldItalic]

Hello,
what amount of gold will a PC have by the time they are level 6?

...

So considering you play over a course of campaign and reach level 6, what gold should one PC have?

Ideally, none. A hungry PC is motivated to go out adventuring.

 

[Coroc]

[MENTION=6777052]BoldItalic[/MENTION] #34 that was one of the reasons i made my own economic System, if you can not motivate your Party with idealistic or whatever reasons, they still have to "work" for their living.

 

[darkrose50]

There are baseline rules for trading magical items on p.130 of the DMG. They're not great rules, but they do exist.

The rules are not even close to what I would want to see as a baseline.

Anyway, baseline prices emerge from what people are willing to pay for a given item (in a free market society). The prices for any particular magical item can (and in my setting, do) fluctuate based on a number of factors exclusive of their mechanical effects. Consider:

materials: a rather plain looking +1 longsword is worth less than a +1 longsword with gold filigree and gems embedded in the hilt.
history: a +1 longsword wielded by the future king of Antaros in his adventuring days is worth more than a +1 longsword newly produced at Ye Olde Arcane Forge.
vendor personality: is he willing to negotiate on the price?

Briefly, I think the price for each magic item should be unique and based on setting, not some figure invented out of concern for game balance. I don't fault anyone who wants that, but I regard the absence of a 'better' system in official sources as a conscientious decision to respect the design space in my game, not developer laziness.

Yes one gold coin should sometimes be worth more than one gold coin.

The base rules should have the price of a horse in it. Some horses would be worth crazy amounts of gold, and others valuable only to a butcher.

I can buy a t-shirt for $2 at my wholesale hookup, $5 at WalMart or $100+ for some rare exceptions. If someone came over from China, and asked how much a t-shirt was I would tell them ~$5.

Even a poorly constructed magical sword (likely the enchantment) that was the early work of a famous grandmaster would be valuable.

A child-size Stradivarius violin, for example, would likely be worth significantly more than a child's violin . . . even if it was an early work.

 

[darkrose50]

Then make up rules for running a magic mart. The task is only as difficult as you make it. Take 20 seconds out of your day and google "sane magic item prices".

I have. I moved off of the gold standard, and onto the silver. There are 260 (or whatnot) coins to a pond. Enchanted steel is valuable by the pound so that the heavier magical arms and armor are more valuable than the lighter. Dwarves can produce and field more suits of armor (being shorter), and this is part of why they are seen as masters. Mana spirits seek to unlock magic trapped in items and return it to the ecosystem. Possession, attunement, wards, and ledged keep an item from being deconstructed. Wards can drive the spirits into rage or madness. Wealthy families or powerful organizations often need to hire powerful souls to attune a magical item, if they lack the capacity. Trade, danger, intrigue.

Just because there's nothing official doesn't mean that it can't exist in your world. Being able to buy/sell magic items won't make sense in some campaigns and will in others.

I pay them to write rules. I half-expect some-sort of economic magical rules at some point. Not having them was likely a combination of marketing, putting it off or perhaps being lazy. Magical items interacting with the economy should be a baseline expectation especially as The Forgotten Realms is the assumed base-line setting.

It is a very commonly held belief that paradoxically magical treasure should not be valued or that somehow its value is priced so high that it does not make economic sense with the simple idea of supply and demand.

For me for a world to feel immersive it needs to have people acting like people. People would figure out a way to sell magical items (auction houses, agents, mages guilds, merchants, collectors, the royalty, the nobility . . . basically people). People not bartering things of value is un-people-like. Magic should be valued. Treasure should be valued. If anything the demand should outpace the supply for it to be considered treasure.

 

[darkrose50]

Magic items are both very rare and essentially unique.

It's a bit like saying there should be an MSRP on the Mona Lisa.

Sure magic items will be bought, sold, traded, and offered. 5e assumes that each case is unique. Trading in magic items is fraught with danger. As well, local authorities may get involved. Maybe they want to lay claim to the items or maybe they don't want to deal with the consequences and danger that selling them can bring to their land.

If you wanted to sell the Mona Lisa, then you would be able to do so at an auction house. This is how things are done in the economy. Their is an entire industry built around buying and selling art that includes crazy expensive famous items.