Starting at higher levels - gold and equipment

[Wasp]

Hi everyone!

Simple question: How do your groups handle starting equipment/gold at higher levels? Are you going by DMG tier rules or are you handling it differently? For example to distinguish between levels within a tier? What about magic items?

I have a feeling that people may be handling this quite differently...

Cheers

Wasp

[ad_hoc]

Hi everyone!

Simple question: How do your groups handle starting equipment/gold at higher levels? Are you going by DMG tier rules or are you handling it differently? For example to distinguish between levels within a tier? What about magic items?

I have a feeling that people may be handling this quite differently...

Cheers

Wasp

For level 3-4 I just say anything short of half-plate & plate.

If I were to start a game at higher level I'd have players roll on appropriate treasure hoards (after character creation).

I think choosing/buying magic items is a huge mistake as it turns magic items into a "character building" exercise. Something that 5e thankfully got away from after 3e.

[Bjarkmundur]

Starting at 1st level
- One armor you're proficient with (leather, chain shirt, chain mail)
- Two simple weapons and one martial weapon, if proficient
- A focus or material bag if a spellcaster
- A shield if proficient
- 6gp

Starting at 5th level
- One armor you're proficient with (Studded leather, breastplate, splint mail)
- Two simple weapons and one martial weapon, if proficient
- A focus or material bag if a spellcaster
- A shield if proficient
- 6gp


Quest rewards or other loot comes in at least every other session. Meaning money comes in quick, 5000gp per hoard at level 5-10, although I only use gems and art objects personally. No matter what you had at the start of the session, you'll be able to buy whatever you need after your first reward.

I agree with ad_hoc regarding buying magic items at character creation.

[RickAllison]

I’ve generally played in very high magic games, so keep that in mind. In this one, we started at level 3 and got a free common and uncommon magic item. In a past campaign, we got about 500 gp per level and could spend it at an approximate rate of 500 per uncommon, 2000 per rare, 5000 per very rare (but it’s been a while so I’m not exactly sure, it might have been five and ten thousand), as well as a signature item that was Legendary or lower artifact at higher levels. However, this was a game where we were expecting to fight against severe odds to stop an apocalypse, so this was not your ordinary dungeon crawl.

In another game, we used the magic mart but with the adjusted item prices that make the game-changing items locked behind high prices.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with letting players choose magic items as long as they are discussed with the DM. It’s fenerally a bad choice for everyone to tank a primary score to wear the stat changing items, and the flying broom is very notable for allowing air will flying for low rarity, but sometimes having a guaranteed Immovable Rod really helps a character (not a build, a character) flourish. You can do the same with random magic items, but it’s not always the story or gameplay they want. Especially since that first magic item IME tends to have a bit of an attachment to the player.

[Nhorianscum]

I just take the average of loot from hoards by the worlds degree of wealth/magic at that level per-player and then roll expected magic items randomly in a pot.

It works *shrug*

[J-H]

I would either roll randomly, adjust to make sure the item distribution is good for everyone, and then let the party distribute, or I'd assign 1-2 items per player based on what they plan to do.

[Bjarkmundur]

I would roll randomly, and then let the party distribute

"And over your years of adventuring you have accumulated Ring of the Ram, Tentacle Rod, Staff of Withering and Frost Brand, along with a healthy chest of consumables: Potion of Speed, Horn of Blasting, Elemental Gem , and Oil of Taggit."

This feels like a reasonable approach, to just roll for random stuff they've acquired.

[J-H]

"Now tell us what challenges and foes you overcame to get these items."

Boom, instant backstory expansion, plot-hooks, and past enemies to use!