What do I spend gold on?

[hamiltond465]

I recently rolled up a 3rd level dragon blood sorcerer/druid of the land, and am sortof mystified as to what to spend my ~500 starting gold on.

I have ac 13+dex while not wearing armor.
I have firebolt and shocking grasp.
I have goodberry and healing spells.
and I can't(?) afford/buy any magic equipment.

So, what do I use gold for?

[Mjolnirbear]

A good horse.
A backup weapon.
Gear. All the gear. Caltrops. Ball bearings. Rope. Clothes. Backpack. Chalk. Rations. Healing potions.

[War_lord]

Health potions, items you think might be flavorful/useful, healing kits. And yeah, a horse is a good one.

[hymer]

There's always healing potions, after all the basic stuff.

Edit: Shadowmonk'ed.

[Malifice]

Gear. All the gear. Caltrops. Ball bearings. Rope. Clothes. Backpack. Chalk. Rations. Healing potions.

He probably dumped Strength.

Doesn't take long to hit 40lbs for that Strength of 8.

[hamiltond465]

Why would I buy Healing potions? As a druid I can attune healing spells and just make healing potions with Herbalism. (Although this still costs 50gp somehow?)

I can turn into a horse. Wildshape recharges after short rests, so for traveling I'm set.

'All the gear' is really not all that expensive. I run into carry weight issues before money becomes a problem.


He probably dumped Strength.

I totally dumped str xD.

[mephnick]

He probably dumped Strength.

Doesn't take long to hit 40lbs for that Strength of 8.

If you use the ridiculous x15 base encumberence it's 120lbs before any issues. Hopefully most people use the variant though.

[War_lord]

He probably dumped Strength.

Doesn't take long to hit 40lbs for that Strength of 8.

That's why you have Saddlebags on your new horse, and any non-essential gear specified as in your backpack is you can drop it at the start of combat.

[coredump]

Same thing you spend money on IRL
A horse so you don't have to walk(even in horse form)
Stay at nicer inns
Get your rapier from a master weapon smith
Better quality gear and clothes
Drink good wine, not the common swill
Etc

[War_lord]

Why would I buy Healing potions? As a druid I can attune healing spells and just make healing potions with Herbalism. (Although this still costs 50gp somehow?)

You have limited healing spells, you can't cast healing spells if you're unconscious, Herbalism needs time and resources. Potions are canned health.


I can turn into a horse. Wildshape recharges after short rests, so for traveling I'm set.

Or you could buy a horse, which can lug your gear around while you reserve your Wildshape for combat and emergencies. This is a roleplaying game, just like in real life you can and should spend Gold on luxuries as well as "needs".

[hymer]

Why would I buy Healing potions? As a druid I can attune healing spells and just make healing potions with Herbalism. (Although this still costs 50gp somehow?)

It costs 25gp to brew a healing potion, but it takes ten days. If you know you'll get plenty of downtime you could save the gold forsuch use, but it would have to be a lot of downtime.
You want those potions for emergencies, or for when you want to spend your spell slots on something other than healing.


I can turn into a horse. Wildshape recharges after short rests, so for traveling I'm set.

It's nice to have the horse get tired rather than you, and you may want to use your wild shapes for other things. But in general I agree, horses are not always the best option. But if the other party members have a horse, you'd do well to get a mount, too.


'All the gear' is really not all that expensive. I run into carry weight issues before money becomes a problem.

A mount can help you with carrying extra stuff.

Edit: Shadowmonks abound!

[EvilAnagram]

Spell components.

All those high level spells with jewels for components are calling your name. Don't forget that Chromatic Orb requires a 50gp diamond.

[Unoriginal]

You can probably buy a house, with that kind of money.

Or buy a farm, a few sheep, and hire a shepherd to guard them, shave them and sell the wool. You can make a pretty nice profit.

[hymer]

Or buy a farm, a few sheep, and hire a shepherd to guard them, shave them and sell the wool. You can make a pretty nice profit.

Wouldn't that just lead to even more money he wouldn't know what to do with? :smalltongue:

[Unoriginal]

Wouldn't that just lead to even more money he wouldn't know what to do with? :smalltongue:

He can use that money to buy more farms, more sheep, and hire more shepherds.

[DragonSorcererX]

I recently rolled up a 3rd level dragon blood sorcerer/druid of the land, and am sortof mystified as to what to spend my ~500 starting gold on.

I have ac 13+dex while not wearing armor.
I have firebolt and shocking grasp.
I have goodberry and healing spells.
and I can't(?) afford/buy any magic equipment.

So, what do I use gold for?

You are draconic character, so hoard it! :smallamused:

[Arkhios]

Or, if your DM utilises the optional rule that leveling up takes training, instead of instant learning once you gain enough exp. That training costs money. If used, saving up some of that gold might be good idea.

Our DM uses it, and to be honest, I like it that way.

[hymer]

He can use that money to buy more farms, more sheep, and hire more shepherds.

I think I see a way to make this thread very long indeed. :smallwink:

[Socratov]

1: caltrops are absolutely awesome. Like, especially awesome...

2: Health potions are a great idea. Not just in general for you, but for your meatshields as well.

3: you can never have enough money to buy resurrections.

[MBControl]

Sure you could buy a horse, but you could also buy a camel. I'm just saying.

[mgshamster]

Hire a guy to carry all the crap you find and/or buy.

[EvilAnagram]

Clearly you should spend the gold on a portrait of yourself and a servant to carry it around.

[hymer]

Sure you could buy a horse, but you could also buy a camel. I'm just saying.

Or think big. Buy two elephants and start breeding for a herd. :smallbiggrin:

[RickAllison]

Hirelings can be a godsend. When you are trying find out something in town, what better way than to pay what is a pittance for you to have urchins or scholars (depending on type of information) scouring the city. Remember that 1 gold piece gets you five unskilled labourers for a day.

[TrinculoLives]

Hire a group of minstrels to organize tours of all your previous adventures. Kind of a greatest hits for your swiftly-growing fan club.

[MeeposFire]

It is long term but you can invest in yourself by paying to get yourself trained in more tool proficiencies and/or languages. Not a huge deal but having those can be useful and fun. Only issue is that it takes a while to do it.

[Tauguy628]

Or think big. Buy two elephants and start breeding for a herd. :smallbiggrin:

You should really start with at least 4. Even then there is a lot of inbreeding.:smallsmile:

[Unoriginal]

Elephants breed too slowly to be worthwhile like that

[Unoriginal]

Honestly, though, consider buying a cool place where to live. Maybe an old tower in a forest?


Could be used as base by the group

[RumoCrytuf]

I recently rolled up a 3rd level dragon blood sorcerer/druid of the land, and am sortof mystified as to what to spend my ~500 starting gold on.

I have ac 13+dex while not wearing armor.
I have firebolt and shocking grasp.
I have goodberry and healing spells.
and I can't(?) afford/buy any magic equipment.

So, what do I use gold for?

Potions. Lots and lots of potions. You'll never have enough.

[EvilAnagram]

Elephants breed too slowly to be worthwhile like that

This brings up an interesting question, though: would a long-lived species like elves or gnomes be able to fully domesticate elephants?

[Unoriginal]

This brings up an interesting question, though: would a long-lived species like elves or gnomes be able to fully domesticate elephants?

Dunno. It's a fantasy game, maybe there is a species of fully domesticated elephants that a people or another managed to create.

I mean, managing to make the elephants breed faster, be more dociles, produce more milk, that kind of thing.

Maybe there is domesticated mammoths, too, for the wool.

[Mjolnirbear]

Domestication comes from animals that are
A) useful
B) have a family structure you can exploit
C) have less time between generations
D) you have the means to keep them in one place

Horses were able to be domesticated because one you have the lead stallion, you have the herd. Then, in essence, you *are* the lead stallion. For zebras, they just move together; there is no lead stallion, so zebras have never been domesticated.

C and D are the relevant ones here. Are elephants worth domestication? Yes. Do they have a family structure? Yes. Two years pregnancy and who knows how many until adulthood... Well, maybe the elves can handle the generation thing. So can they keep them from running? Arguably depending one the situation

[Honest Tiefling]

C and D are the relevant ones here. Are elephants worth domestication? Yes. Do they have a family structure? Yes. Two years pregnancy and who knows how many until adulthood... Well, maybe the elves can handle the generation thing. So can they keep them from running? Arguably depending one the situation

I'm not sure this is the best way to approach this. Elephants are often left to wander, and will come back of their own accord, so keeping them in one place is probably less cooping them up and giving them bananas and attention when they do show up. So I would say in the case of elephants (and possibly other magical intelligent animals), it is less keeping them from running, and keeping them running back to you. And probably trying to avoid impromptu games of tag...

Feeding an elephant is going to be an issue.

I suggest getting some nice rope, a way to sleep, and some good clothes. With the more lack rules, you should be able to do this, no problem. With the stricter ones...Well, that might be an issue, but not impossible. Extra bags and empty waterskins are always a good idea! Healing potions are a must, you can use them to save spells or hand them out even with the druid spell list.

Also, ask your party if they need anything. If you can weave your backstories together, there's no reason your guy wouldn't have bought a thing or three for your friend. Remember, a happy, armored meat shield is an effective meat shield.