Same WBL, but concetrated into a few items

[Mystify]

Has anyone tried running a game where proper Wealth by level was maintained, but it was given to the players as a few, expensive items? It would give the general feeling that magic items are scarce, much like a low-treasure campaign, whilst making the items the players do have seem very important. I realize this will be a large power dip from normal, since a lot of small bonuses are worth more than a few large bonuses, but how badly do you think it will shift the balance? Does this concept sound appealing to anyone else? Has anyone tried this?

[Diarmuid]

Starting from level 1, this would be very difficult to implement. Do you make your players wait for a few levels at almost no WBL and then hit them with a nice big item? Do you preplan and give them the nice big item ahead of time and then plan encounters taking that into account?

It would work for a game starting at a specific level....but only for a short period of time. Once the PC's start adventuring again, you're in the same boat. Do you starve them until their WBL would be able to account for the new item you want to give them?

The only way I see something like this working is some kind of bastardized version of WoL where each PC maybe has 1 item that accounts for 1/2 or maybe even 2/3 of their WBL and continues to grow as they do. Could be some good openings for story/fluff doing something like that.

[Psyren]

The only way I see something like this working is some kind of bastardized version of WoL where each PC maybe has 1 item that accounts for 1/2 or maybe even 2/3 of their WBL and continues to grow as they do. Could be some good openings for story/fluff doing something like that.

This was going to be my suggestion - a Relic or Legacy item of some kind. Maybe your PCs are the reincarnations of legendary warriors that each had a specific weapon or item, and they have to remind themselves (or their weapon) who they once were to unlock its powers and defeat the resurrected Big Bad.

Instead of treasure in the traditional sense, they would have to sacrifice an equivalent amount of their WBL to their item to unlock its true power.

[Mystify]

WBL is explicitly meant to be an average thing. You can give them more than they should have briefly, and let them coast along with it for a while. One wya to handle it would be to cycle who gets a magic item, and have that item be worth all of the level's wealth for everybody. Throw in some general party items in the mix.

[Quietus]

One thing I would suggest is drawing from the Book of Exalted Deeds' "Voluntary poverty" list. Give the players - for free! - the Resistance bonus to saves, and the natural/deflection bonuses to AC, at the levels they'd gain them according to that list. This will help with the game-math, removing a few small items here and there and reducing the overall "christmas tree" effect without altering the balance much or at all. The cost of these items is fairly small at the levels each is granted, but the game does assume that you have them when figuring the DCs that your players will face.

[Flickerdart]

From my experience, players tend to shell out for the best +X items as soon as they can anyway, and then spend their loose change on whatever they can afford. An +5 armour that is also +5 to saves and +6 to Strength might very well be most of the character's wealth (assuming that a belt and a vest can be considered part of a suit of armour which I think is reasonable). Call it a Suit of the Mighty Warrior or something. Maybe throw in a magical helmet that gives 'em true seeing or whatever, and haste boots, and say it's all part of the same suit, because having epic legendary heroes wear piecemeal suits of armour is silly. So fluff-wise it fits your concept, but very little changes crunch-wise.