Massive wealth update for the party...any tips on handling it?

[Milodiah]

So, the campaign I'm running right now is about to see the end of its first true dungeon, and therefore its first true huge piles of loot scenario. The players are all level 9 and should all hit 10 at the end...however, due to the thematics and plot of the game (the PCs are really really ambitious city watchmen) the PCs are highly starved in terms of WBL, I think they have about 4,000GP worth of stuff between them, simply because there's hardly a chance to get tons of money as a city watchman turned adventurer.

So, we're going from severely under-funded to a little bit over the recommended WBL, all in one sitting, and I'm worried that might be a bit overwhelming for my players. It's a very low-op group, I'm not even sure there's 100% masterwork-level gear, let alone magic items, so suddenly tossing them tens of thousands of gold might be a bit jarring player-side even if it makes sense storywise. Any tips on making this easier for both them and me?

Just as clarification, the loot is primarily the opulent furnishings of a live-in tomb for an undead necromancer, along with a fair amount of both magical and mundane items. Therefore a good chunk of the value here is actually difficult/impossible for a 4-man (about to be 5-man) party to feasibly transport, for example a wine cellar whose total value comes out to 1,800GP. Even as I write this I realize it might be a nice gesture to throw them a Bag of Holding or two in the loot pile.

[Crake]

So, the campaign I'm running right now is about to see the end of its first true dungeon, and therefore its first true huge piles of loot scenario. The players are all level 9 and should all hit 10 at the end...however, due to the thematics and plot of the game (the PCs are really really ambitious city watchmen) the PCs are highly starved in terms of WBL, I think they have about 4,000GP worth of stuff between them, simply because there's hardly a chance to get tons of money as a city watchman turned adventurer.

So, we're going from severely under-funded to a little bit over the recommended WBL, all in one sitting, and I'm worried that might be a bit overwhelming for my players. It's a very low-op group, I'm not even sure there's 100% masterwork-level gear, let alone magic items, so suddenly tossing them tens of thousands of gold might be a bit jarring player-side even if it makes sense storywise. Any tips on making this easier for both them and me?

Just as clarification, the loot is primarily the opulent furnishings of a live-in tomb for an undead necromancer, along with a fair amount of both magical and mundane items. Therefore a good chunk of the value here is actually difficult/impossible for a 4-man (about to be 5-man) party to feasibly transport, for example a wine cellar whose total value comes out to 1,800GP. Even as I write this I realize it might be a nice gesture to throw them a Bag of Holding or two in the loot pile.

Unless it's a rather expensive bag of holding, it's likely not going to help them very much with transporting goods of that quantity, remember bags of holding are also limited in volume, not just weight. If much of the place's value is in trade goods, then let them come up with a plan to have it transported out. Perhaps they can make an arrangement with some local merchants to come collect it with carts and whatnot, for a fee, or perhaps a percentage. You don't need to make a big deal about the little things, just let them come up with a plan and just say "yes that works", it'll let them appreciate the magnitude of the loot haul.

Could you elaborate more on what the party is made up of and what sort of loot is going to be in the haul? And also on what you mean by tips to make it easier? Are you giving them just raw money and trade goods and expecting them to go shopping for magic items? If so, make a list of magic items that are available in the city so they don't have to go digging around in books and whatnot, saving everyone some time. If the haul itself is going to have magic items in it, then it's easy, just give them a printout of what all the stuff does, let them spend some time reading it over and then move on, unless they want to go sell it and instead try to buy more tailored loot, in which case refer back to the first suggestion.

[Nibbens]

So, the campaign I'm running right now is about to see the end of its first true dungeon, and therefore its first true huge piles of loot scenario. The players are all level 9 and should all hit 10 at the end...however, due to the thematics and plot of the game (the PCs are really really ambitious city watchmen) the PCs are highly starved in terms of WBL, I think they have about 4,000GP worth of stuff between them, simply because there's hardly a chance to get tons of money as a city watchman turned adventurer.

So, we're going from severely under-funded to a little bit over the recommended WBL, all in one sitting, and I'm worried that might be a bit overwhelming for my players. It's a very low-op group, I'm not even sure there's 100% masterwork-level gear, let alone magic items, so suddenly tossing them tens of thousands of gold might be a bit jarring player-side even if it makes sense storywise. Any tips on making this easier for both them and me?

Just as clarification, the loot is primarily the opulent furnishings of a live-in tomb for an undead necromancer, along with a fair amount of both magical and mundane items. Therefore a good chunk of the value here is actually difficult/impossible for a 4-man (about to be 5-man) party to feasibly transport, for example a wine cellar whose total value comes out to 1,800GP. Even as I write this I realize it might be a nice gesture to throw them a Bag of Holding or two in the loot pile.

Why not try asking your players what they would want to make their characters better and populating the majority of that treasure with some of those items, then add in a few items that you think they "could or could not want" then decorating the rest of the treasure with art objects, gems and coins?

Example:
DM: Jim, what would make your character better?
Jim: A magic sword!
*The Dm then adds a +2 shocking longsword into the loot*

--Wash rinse repeat for every PC. :D

[Flickerdart]

If they have a lot of money to "spend" then just leave a whole bunch of singular powerful magic items lying around. If they've been surviving fine so far then they don't need to plug any glaring weaknesses, so toss two or three 10-15k items per character into the pile and let them figure out who wants what. "Cloak of resistance +1 for everybody" is not only boring and annoying to keep track of, but also pointless, since you would have to raise the monster's attack bonus by that much to keep up with the party. Instead let each one have some special things - if the party's fighter has a +4 shield and a +3 sword, he's suddenly rocking out compared to the cleric, who might instead enjoy a +4 periapt of wisdom.

[Oddman80]

if you are able to take the time and custom craft specific items that complement each of the players - something that enhances the way they have been playing these past 9 levels... They will be thrilled, and it won't be too difficult to make the adjustment.

Signature weapons, are one aspect of things, but there are also thing that can just help them shore up their weaknesses.
Do you have a Barbarian with an embarrassingly low will save? How about a Crystal Mask of Mindarmor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#crystalMaskofMindarmor) (10k gold, and adds +4 insight bonus to Will Saves. so it stacks with cloaks of resistance)

Have a archery ranger that is scared to go into combat due to low AC? +1 Mithral Breastplate. Even though he isn't proficient in Medium Armor, the ACP is 0, and therefore has no penalty to wear.

What about a metamagic rod for a caster?

these are very specific items, that can take up a decent chunk of the WBL, allowing them to focus on that one thing they can now do that they couldn't before...

[Kelb_Panthera]

Toss 'em the magic item compendium and the DMG and say "go nuts." It's their treasure that they earned, let 'em spend it how they will. Maybe a friendly tip that sinking all your resources on only one item is usually a bad plan but otherwise the only way to gain experience is to try things and see what happens. If you can DM in such a way that optimization isn't a major factor, and it looks like you probably can if they're as far behind as all that, then it won't matter if their choices are the most optimal ones they can make.

[Psyren]

Big windfall? You can start by having the "tax collector" pay them a visit if you think you gave them too much gamewise but not plotwise.

You can also (as Kelb suggested) hand them an item book, but then point out that most items are rare or unavailable in this area. Use the latter for anything you simply don't want them to have. For things you might be okay with, require them to go through the black market, which applies an ad-hoc markup over what is listed in the books.

[LoyalPaladin]

For things you might be okay with, require them to go through the black market, which applies an ad-hoc markup over what is listed in the books.
The way my DM handles us buying magic items in our current campaign is through the "Multiverse Trading Company", which can attain any item we want. The thing is, he rolls a percentage dice to see if it is "in stock". Then we pay the standard price for it. If it isn't in stock, they can get it, it will just cost more depending on how far away it is and may take in game time for it to arrive. I think this has balanced us out really well while also allowing us to get what we need/want.

[Flickerdart]

The way my DM handles us buying magic items in our current campaign is through the "Multiverse Trading Company", which can attain any item we want. The thing is, he rolls a percentage dice to see if it is "in stock". Then we pay the standard price for it. If it isn't in stock, they can get it, it will just cost more depending on how far away it is and may take in game time for it to arrive. I think this has balanced us out really well while also allowing us to get what we need/want.
Ah yes, screwing the weakest, magic-item dependent, classes out of options and WBL. Balance.

[Psyren]

I think whether it is "in stock" should depend on impact to the campaign rather than being random. So things the melee need to function like magic weapons/armor and stat-boosting items would be readily available, while things that are nice for the group to have but not necessary like metamagic rods and powerful staves/scrolls would get the markup. But that's just my 2 copper.

[LoyalPaladin]

Ah yes, screwing the weakest, magic-item dependent, classes out of options and WBL. Balance.
We still get magic items from standard adventuring, but as far as spending our own gold it is a little more random. They carry all the standard equipment +X we could need, but they may not have Flametongue just sitting behind the counter.