Houserules for lvl 11 starting gold and rules on use.

[ixnay]

Hi there. I'm starting a lvl 11 campaign based around HoH and LM and generally evil characters. However, I want it to be a low-magic setting, and the DMG's suggested amount of 66000 starting gold seems a bit... steep, so I am considering doing a few rules on starting gold.

This is what I got so far, and if anyone got any input or constructive criticism I'd appreciate it.

You're allowed to buy magical armor/shield worth no more than 6500 gold (all prices included)
You're allowed to buy magical weapon with a total combination of no more than 11000
You're allowed to have three miscellaneous items; one must have a price of 8000 or less, one priced at 5000 or less, and the last priced at 3000 or less.

you are not allowed to transfer unspent gold between items. If you cant spend it all, thats money you cant spend on additional magic items.

Potions: as many as you want to carry
wands: as many as you deem fit (no infinite uses, maximum lvl 3)


or if this is just too damn silly, possibly this:

Starting money: 25000 gold
no magic items cost more than 1/2 starting gold.

and be done with it.

Thanks in advance for all your loveable input!

- Ixnay

[Douglas]

With the first option, everyone will be loaded down with enormous quantities of potions and wands, and they'll probably be using them at the drop of a hat because they have so many. I doubt that's what you're going for here.

With the second, you'll probably get closer to what you want, but keep in mind that the game generally assumes a certain amount of numerical bonuses from gear that your players won't have.

Either way, if full caster classes are allowed without restrictions they will make a mockery of your "low magic" choice just through their own spellcasting ability, and they will be substantially less affected by the reduced gear than everyone else.

[onemorelurker]

If you're going for a low-magic campaign, banning full casters is probably a good idea (because, as douglas said, most of them'll wipe the floor with a low-magic world), but then, I wouldn't allow unlimited numbers of any sort of magical gear in such a world, either. If you want to go with your first option, I'd say give each character X gp to spend on wands 'n' potions but not a limit on how many they can get within their budget.

[Eldest]

A simpler houserule would be to just have the magical swords and stuff not be magic...
For example, a +2 Keen Longsword is just a really, really fantastically made sword. You would have to go through enhancements one by one to see what you could explain, and what you couldn't. A Flaming sword might be explained as the fighter coverig it in oil and lighting it on fire. That would just be fluff, wouldn't take any action, but would keep the mechanics and balance intact. Potions and wands could be some of the magical items that regular casters can make, so they still exist. And you can put a story behind every wonderous item that the party has, or (even better) make them write the story and limit them to only a few wonderous items.
Finally, have you considered lower level games? D&D basically forces most things to rely on magic at higher levels.

[Ernir]

Hi there. I'm starting a lvl 11 campaign based around HoH and LM and generally evil characters. However, I want it to be a low-magic setting, and the DMG's suggested amount of 66000 starting gold seems a bit... steep, so I am considering doing a few rules on starting gold.

This is what I got so far, and if anyone got any input or constructive criticism I'd appreciate it.

You're allowed to buy magical armor/shield worth no more than 6500 gold (all prices included)
You're allowed to buy magical weapon with a total combination of no more than 11000
You're allowed to have three miscellaneous items; one must have a price of 8000 or less, one priced at 5000 or less, and the last priced at 3000 or less.

you are not allowed to transfer unspent gold between items. If you cant spend it all, thats money you cant spend on additional magic items.

Potions: as many as you want to carry
wands: as many as you deem fit (no infinite uses, maximum lvl 3)


or if this is just too damn silly, possibly this:

Starting money: 25000 gold
no magic items cost more than 1/2 starting gold.

and be done with it.

Thanks in advance for all your loveable input!

- Ixnay

Don't reduce the WBL. 66k GP isn't a huge pile of gold, it's a statistic required for most classes to function. Also, expensive magical items aren't some kind of luxury, they are a requirement at higher levels if you don't want the next monster of the week to splatter the group. Really, the rules assume the characters aren't piss-poor, and things go to hell fast if you ignore it.

If you really must go for some kind of high-level, low-magic setting, at least consider something like Ericgrau's Balanced low magic item system. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134805)