E6: A question about character wealth.

[Tanngrisnir]

Hi there.

I'm thinking of running an E6 game in a little while but I cannot seem to find the proposed rules for handling character wealth. I assume that wealth per level from 1 to 6 is the same as in the DMG, but after that, how is appropriate character wealth calculated?

Presumably you don't just follow the wealth progression using the 'gain a feat for every 5000xp' as an indicator of reaching a new level, because that would give the players incredibly vast amounts of money to use in a setting where magic items are not very expensive.

It would be great if anyone who has run an E6 game could let me know if I have just missed the wealth rules somewhere, or how they handled wealth after attaining level 6 in their game. Also, just general advice on running an E6 game would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

[hymer]

From my (limited) E6 experience, just put in wealth and items according to CRs defeated. At some point, players should realize that they've got about as good equipment as they can hope for (with the lmitations on the E6 campaign). They should then start spending a lot of that wealth on expendables like potions, wands, etc. if they want some real bang for the buck. Otherwise their wealth is going to start piling up. Which can be a goal in itself, mind.
Say 'hi' to Tanngnjorstr from me.

[Zombimode]

In my experience, E6 works very well with non-magic mart settings, ie. settings where standard D&D wealth and equipment is simply not present. One could argue that one of the main points of going E6 is to break the standard WBL/racing-through-levels/high magic mold of D&D.
Just hand out the treasure you're comfortable with and remember one trivial fact: the better the equipment the more capable the party is to handle challanges.

But there are different reasons for why using E6.

My general advice for running an E6 campaign is to be aware to exactly why you want to use this variant. Don't run E6 just because. Be clear on what you want to achieve. And then act accordingly in every regard.

[Lonely Tylenol]

And if your setting is magic-mart...

My campaign setting actually does tend more towards the "magic-mart" environment, with widespread availability of items; however, I do impose the houserule in E6 that caster level and spell level availability creates a hard cap on what can be created, and further, that caster level cannot exceed Hit Dice (or Hit Dice +2 for Artificers) for the purpose of item creation (so your bog-standard Wizard cannot create items above CL 6, and your Artificer cannot create items above CL 8), with a list of what's left in my signature below. I've decided to handle wealth basically as you would expect: just because the group no longer levels past 6th does not mean they suddenly stop accumulating wealth; it just means that, if the adventures do not scale past this point, their acquisitions should not scale up so drastically as a result (however, for a more difficult adventure, they should). Basically, wealth-by-CR as opposed to wealth-by-level, although more or less wealth should be appropriated as a matter of necessity and where it fits. My group has had a few major acquisitions interspersed between several smaller ones, where appropriate, and as such, averages about 30,000gp in wealth per character (6 + 3 to 4 feats in). As such, they are absurdly wealthy compared to adventurers that are only just reaching 6th, as per the WBL guidelines--but they've also done a lot more, so that's to be expected.

[Tanngrisnir]

Thanks so much for the advice guys.


From my (limited) E6 experience, just put in wealth and items according to CRs defeated.


Basically, wealth-by-CR as opposed to wealth-by-level

I think this is the solution that will work best for me. It would mean they have enough money to equip themselves correctly to deal with challenges and then will also have left over money with which to possibly invest in the world itself, with taverns or businesses etc.


But there are different reasons for why using E6.

My general advice for running an E6 campaign is to be aware to exactly why you want to use this variant. Don't run E6 just because. Be clear on what you want to achieve. And then act accordingly in every regard.

The reason I'm thinking of running an E6 game is because I'm not really a huge fan of high fantasy. It is fun and has it's advantages, but I prefer the grittier stories like Beowulf, where magic items are very rare and special, and it's more about what the character can physically do rather than what their items can do for them. So you're right, getting away from the 'standard WBL/racing-through-levels/high magic mold of D&D' is a good thing for me.


. . . with a list of what's left in my signature below

That list is going to be immeasurably handy, thank you so much for creating it. It will give me a great idea of the power level of what items are like at 6th level, without me having to do a whole lot of reading and checking through the books. Very very much appreciated.

In summation, I'm going to run a 'gritty fantasy' style campaign, where magic items are rare and powerful artefacts, and try to encourage spending excess wealth in investing in the world of the campaign.

Thanks again for the advice, it has been very helpful indeed.


Say 'hi' to Tanngnjorstr from me.

He just sort of grunted. But in a nice way.

[SowZ]

People also may spend vast wealth on things like land, castles, serfs, soldiers, etc. if they can't reasonably improve their individual power with money. You know, things that conquerors actually spend wealth on. It can add nice flavor.

[Tanngrisnir]

People also may spend vast wealth on things like land, castles, serfs, soldiers, etc. if they can't reasonably improve their individual power with money. You know, things that conquerors actually spend wealth on. It can add nice flavor.

Yeah, that's what I mean by using their wealth to invest in the campaign world. I'm hoping this is the direction at least one of them will decide to go, because it has the potential to be very interesting.