Letting your PC's buy good items and loot

[bendking]

So I've started DM'ing a new campaign, and I have 2 questions:
1. Should I let my PC's buy whatever items they can afford (They are in a big city), or should I restrict them to mainly earning those items through loot? (ie: letting them buy a Compound Bow +3 or a minor magic item because the book says they could afford or making them "earn it".)
2. How should I handle dispensing loot to my PC's? I'm not too sure how to handle the treasure system and when\how to give my PC's magic items and such.
Also, if I'm running a pre-made adventure, should I just stick to the loot it say to provide the PC's and trust that it's balanced for it's EL's?

Every help would be appreciated, thanks ahead!

[HammeredWharf]

Unfortunatly, basic magic items are pretty much required for many builds to work. Low-power characters need them the most, so denying them the right to buy those items doesn't end well.

I always allow my players to buy Core/SRD items from large settlements and give more obscure stuff from Magic Item Compendium and other books as loot.

[bendking]

Unfortunatly, basic magic items are pretty much required for many builds to work. Low-power characters need them the most, so denying them the right to buy those items doesn't end well.

I always allow my players to buy Core/SRD items from large settlements and give more obscure stuff from Magic Item Compendium and other books as loot.

So would you say letting them buy a Compound Bow +3 would be reasonable at level 2?

[ryu]

So would you say letting them buy a Compound Bow +3 would be reasonable at level 2?

It's generally sub-optimal to spend all your loots on one item when you could get more effect out of buying multiple items. There are also several staples to keep track of as you level known as the list of necessary magic items. Basically think magical effects that prevent Bad Things from happening for various reasons.

[hymer]

1: Yes, you probably should. Be sure to monitor what they get, so you're not suddenly taken aback by them having magic you didn't know they had (and so you can say no if you have to).

2: There's something called Wealth by Level on page 54 of the 3.5 DMG (not sure whether that's what you're playing). This gives a general indication how much worth the PCs' equipment ought to be at any given level. If they are well below this line, put more treasure in your adventures until it's evened out. If they're ahead, rein it in until you get closer to what it's supposed to be.

[ryu]

1: Yes, you probably should. Be sure to monitor what they get, so you're not suddenly taken aback by them having magic you didn't know they had (and so you can say no if you have to).

2: There's something called Wealth by Level on page 54 of the 3.5 DMG (not sure whether that's what you're playing). This gives a general indication how much worth the PCs' equipment ought to be at any given level. If they are well below this line, put more treasure in your adventures until it's evened out. If they're ahead, rein it in until you get closer to what it's supposed to be.

Also wealth by level doesn't count consumables like wands or scrolls. The treasure tables give out slightly more than you'd get by WBL and those are what the extra money is expected to be used for.

[HammeredWharf]

So would you say letting them buy a Compound Bow +3 would be reasonable at level 2?

A composite longbow with a str bonus of 3? Sure. It costs 400 gp and the lvl 2 WBL is 900 gp. According to the rules, you can't start with an item worth more than half of your WBL, so a composite longbow +3 is barely within the limits. Generally, I'd say a big city in a typical setting like Forgotten Realms would have any items worth up to 30K gp available for purchase. In a different setting, such as Ravenloft, powerful magical items may be more rare.

[bendking]

Thanks for the tips guys :)
Now, how do I handle which magic items to give the PC's and how do I know to which level they fit? Is there a table for this?

[ryu]

Thanks for the tips guys :)
Now, how do I handle which magic items to give the PC's and how do I know to which level they fit? Is there a table for this?

Any amount of total items worth less than the given amount of WBL with no one item worth more than half the total.

[HammeredWharf]

Here are the tables for Core items. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/treasure.htm) I know Magic Item Compendium has updated random loot tables, too. Or you can pick an appropriately-priced item and give it to them. Keep in mind that WBL is a guideline, so PCs being under or over it is fine. Just adjust the challenges based on their wealth and given them enough shinies to keep them happy.

[molten_dragon]

So I've started DM'ing a new campaign, and I have 2 questions:
1. Should I let my PC's buy whatever items they can afford (They are in a big city), or should I restrict them to mainly earning those items through loot? (ie: letting them buy a Compound Bow +3 or a minor magic item because the book says they could afford or making them "earn it".)
2. How should I handle dispensing loot to my PC's? I'm not too sure how to handle the treasure system and when\how to give my PC's magic items and such.
Also, if I'm running a pre-made adventure, should I just stick to the loot it say to provide the PC's and trust that it's balanced for it's EL's?

Every help would be appreciated, thanks ahead!

1. This is more of a game style question. If you prefer not to run the "Magic mart" style of game, then that's fine, but you will need to make sure you give out treasure the PCs can use, meaning if you're running a module you might have to change some things. Or you can just give out whatever treasure you want, and let them buy what they need if they don't like that treasure. I prefer letting the PCs buy whatever they want because it's less work for me.

2. If you're running a pre-made module, just stick to the loot it provides. If you aren't letting the PCs buy things, you'll need to make some changes to the treasure so that the PCs can make use of it. For example if your fighter uses a greatsword, and the module has them finding a powerful magic battleaxe as part of a treasure horde, switch it to a greatsword so the fighter can use it. If you're not running a pregen module, each monster in the monster manual includes a notation for the type and amount of treasure it has. For example, and ethereal filcher lists no coins, standard goods, double items. You would use these entries, along with the rules starting on pg 51 of the DMG to determine what treasure each monster has.

[Coidzor]

So would you say letting them buy a Compound Bow +3 would be reasonable at level 2?

Yeah, that's not even a magical item, it's just a bow that allows them to make full use of their strength if they have a 16 or 17(and, IIRC, gives them penalties if their strength is reduced). Masterwork items should be acquirable, given a settlement of sufficient size.

[Subaru Kujo]

It obviously depends on the circumstances of the game for me.

If it's a pregen, just stick with the loot it gives, and swap out (some) things that won't be used in their current form (ie: that battleaxe that should be a greatsword to be used).

In my homebrew campaigns, I prefer to have utility magic/sidegrade weapons/mundane items available in stores (this'd be stuff like the Composite Bow in your example, Boots of Striding and Springing, and masterwork tools), while weapons/armor that are a significant upgrade are gained by questing, or frankly, pulling it out of a monster's dead hand.

But each DM is different, and you'll find your preferred style in time, I'm sure.

[bendking]

I've decided to run Savage Tide, are there any tweaks or tips anyone could give me? Otherwise I thank everyone for the very helpful tips.

[nedz]

A composite longbow with a str bonus of 3? Sure. It costs 400 gp and the lvl 2 WBL is 900 gp. According to the rules, you can't start with an item worth more than half of your WBL, so a composite longbow +3 is barely within the limits. Generally, I'd say a big city in a typical setting like Forgotten Realms would have any items worth up to 30K gp available for purchase. In a different setting, such as Ravenloft, powerful magical items may be more rare.

Yes, unless he meant a Composite Bow with a +3 enchantment bonus — which would be 18,000 gp plus the cost of a masterworked bow ?
Assuming they just want the cheap one, then they just need to find a Bowyer — which should be easy enough: DC 5 Gather Information role in most villages.