DM's Advice on Merchant Wealth

[Water Bob]

My new campaign features a bunch of thieves, bandits, and ne'er do wells. They're starting the game low on cash, and I know one of 'em will come up with the great idea of breaking into the homes, at night, of the city's dwellers.

Question for you: Do you have a quickie method for determining the wealth of a merchant or craftsman? For example, if the PCs break into the Smith's abode, how can I estimate his savings? What does he have stashed under the floor boards?

Sure, I can just guestimate. That's what I'll probably do, unless I see a great idea.

Do any of you DM's out there have a method for estimating the wealth of an NPC merchant/craftsman?

[PersonMan]

I'd base it on how well-guarded it is. Have a set of encounters / obstacles to bypass (guards, walls, locks, maybe a trap or two that gets set up by the night watch in unused areas) and have easily liquefied or looted wealth equal to normal treasure for their CRs spread around the estate, or in a single vault.

Basically, rather than having monsters carrying loot or hoarding it, you have a merchant's home filled with their valuables, guarded by appropriate (for the amount of wealth, not necessarily to fight the PCs toe-to-toe) CR defenses.

[Fizban]

Indeed that is exactly how Arms and Equipment Guide says to do it, which is about the only sensible way really. If the characters overcome a challenge that would reasonably have treasure, they get treasure appropriate to that challenge. Note however that the vast majority of NPC wealth is going to be in hard assets just like the PC's, except less useful to PCs: homes (even a hovel is cool 1,000gp), tools, and livestock. A craftsman may have samples of their work and pieces in progress, or a merchant may have a few adventurer grade goods in back, but it's not going to be much. AeG has a table with some values based on town size and guard contingents.

Also note that the CRs of classed NPCs are bogus, level-1 hah. A Warrior with full NPC gear doesn't compare offensively with standard animals and has to rely on AC and ranged weapons to be relevant, being effectively CR 1/2 his Warrior level. Adept spell progression is obviously inferior, landing at maybe half speed. And Aristocrats/Experts don't have full BAB, casting, or any class features. Even PC classed NPCs are of dubious quality since like PCs, they're strong but fragile-and the PCs will either outnumber or outgun them significantly.

The point being, even if they murder a 4th level blacksmith there's no way that's worth a 4th level treasure, only part of which would be cash. They should be finding fractional results: a sleeping expert 1 can't be more than CR 1/4, so that'll be 1/4 of 2d8*10gp, call it 1d4*10gp (from the coins part of the DMG treasure table). And to pull that off without a murder or at least mugging they're gonna need to make all their move silently checks while ransacking the place-but sleeping is only a -10 penalty on listen checks, which are an opposed roll. Too many wrong guesses and eventually they'll roll low when the sleeper rolls high and then it's on. Or you know, he's got a dog. Or a cat, those are more lethal.