How do you handle WBL and related concerns?

[aleucard]

Basically, I'm wondering how exactly you do WBL, the game economy, magic items, and how you operate with money-generation engines like Wall of Salt. Anything you've seen done of this nature that you feel willing to share would also be appreciated.

Personally, I think a lot of concerns could be solved with 2 things. First, anything enchanted (which almost always is the bulk of any loot pile's total price) comes with anti-theft enchantments built into it so that if someone not registered as the owner, someone the owner lends the item to, someone the owner specifies as willing to pass it down to, or someone the owner sells/gives the item to (transfers ownership) were to try and use the weapon it does exactly nothing (the weapon bounces off anything it hits uselessly), or something comparably non-useful. Most such enchantments CAN be "hacked", but the process is costly (usually about 70% the cost of the total enchantments on it) and can destroy the item if botched. This is a large part of the mark-down for vendors buying old equipment. Several types of equipment item (they are noted as such, if you can see the user you can tell) actually self-destruct upon the death of their wielder, so they don't fall into enemy hands.

Second (and this one is more metagame-y), the player or the DM is to keep track of the total value of all their equipment (weapons, consumables, armor, etc.; some may be discounted at the DM's discretion, like mundane ammo). If the PC's equipment cost exceeds their WBL (coinage does NOT count, nor do hirelings and the like), the DM has free reign to use equipment-destroying tactics such as Sundering until they are under WBL again. If the party can defend their stuff against such things, great. Going too far may be enough to get the DM to send an enemy party of murderhoboes after you, though, in which case you may just be stripped to your skivvies and left out in the woods, and that WILL suck. Having such things codified into the game would help DMs deal with over-reaching PCs in a more professional manner, and gives them a good idea of just where their party is. It also gives enterprising parties more free reign to use their wealth on more than just their gear, since those added items don't count against them. Kinda hard to be an adventurer if all your cash is sunk into a keep and you can't find any more because the keep puts you over WBL with a hardass for a DM.

What do you think?

[Red Fel]

What do you think?

Well, it depends, I think, on what you feel WBL is actually for. That is, what, if anything, was it designed to accomplish?

In my mind, WBL isn't so much a hard-and-fast restriction (e.g. no PC is allowed to have wealth beyond his WBL), and more a guideline of how to measure challenges.

To put it differently, the CR system (which is admittedly broken) considers, among other things, the power of the PCs at a given level, the number of participating PCs, and their WBL. In other words, the WBL system, in my mind, says that if the PCs have the prescribed WBL, an appropriate-CR encounter will be appropriate; if less, it will be challenging, and if more, it will be easy. Thus, WBL does not (again, in my mind) serve as a limit on PC power, but as a measure of their actual power relative to their expected power for their level.

Having PC wealth in excess of WBL is not a problem if the campaign is more challenging than most, or if the PCs fail to make efficient use of their money. It really only becomes a problem if you plan challenges based on the PCs' level, and they use their wealth wisely to invest in the right tools for every encounter.

If the players have wealth above their WBL, and it has become a problem, I see several options that do not require an alteration of wealth rules or the employment of highly despised and loathsome gear-destroying encounters. (I emphasized that because it's one of the easiest ways to infuriate your players. Never threaten their shinies.) On to the options: If they exceed WBL, increase their challenges. Have enemy encounters involve better tactics and harder hits. They have the money, they should learn to compensate. Buy items that give them the edge. Being rich doesn't make you omnipotent unless you learn how to use your money wisely - force them to learn. Don't destroy their shinies, but turn their excessive wealth into a plot hook. Let's face it, if you're rich, you'll find yourself surrounded by people who want your money. Thieves, con artists, bandits, beggars, churches, charities, militaries, kingdoms. The more famous your PCs are, the more people will want a piece of them. Put them in encounters where wealth is not a reward. Not every battle is against a dragon with a hoard of loot. Some are against zombies and skeletons, whose only swag is the tattered rags they wear. Some are against Outsiders, who have little use for mortal goods. Some are against people whose only items of value are monstrous grafts, which are powerful but can't be taken from a corpse. Give them a plague of undead or an infernal invasion to deal with for a few levels; they'll be too busy fighting to notice that their levels are catching up with their WBL.See? No house rules or rust monsters needed.

[Phelix-Mu]

WBL is total metagame. But, good news! The DM is free to metagame.

In practice, I do whatever I normally would, but keep money from winning the game. If we wanted to play Bankers & Brokers, we could do just that. But, in D&D, there is a story and deeds of heroism/villainy, and I want that to matter more.

That being said, equipment management is part of the game, and a part some people like. I personally detest the Christmas Tree effect and Magic Mart, so I tend to restrict availability of items once the game begins, and I pull no punches regarding theft, item breakage, or equipment loss. The stakes of a heroic/villainous storyline are big, and if your gear is somehow sacrosanct, the whole drama of the matter suffers tangibly, in my mind. If the characters want security for their gear, they can spend resources and effort on it. No plot armour for free for items.

That being said, I am also quite generous. Getting treasure is awesome. Iconic items attached to your character's deeds and history are awesome. And I want awesome. So there are quest items that are cool. There are crafters to befriend that have special resources and can provide custom gear. There are ways to make such gear yourself (if the player expresses an interest in that kind of thing).

Basically, I want WBL to be the garnish on an awesome story, not the meat and bones of how the day was won. Part of the trick is making it matter the same for mundanes as for casters (as spellcasting basically = money, at some level). But it's not impossible, and keeping the abstraction of WBL abstract and less relevant than the deeds of the characters is, I believe, an important part of being DM.