How much gold do you give out per level?

[Tvtyrant]

What is says on the tin. I'm working on a class for fun and it uses gold as part of its rituals, I'm trying to get a baseline for how much gold it should have.

[Wizard_Lizard]

Depends on what tier, obviously, I've only really dmed tier one, early tier two, so uh like hm hard question actually, it depends how long it takes to get to the levels, but by maybe the first few levels slowly increasing from like 20gold at level 1 to maybe 100 at level 5?? I dunno.

[Elbeyon]

There is no baseline or wbl. Some dms will hand out a couple hundred gold by level 5. Some will hand out 10's of thousands.

Someone took a shot at average wealth here (https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/9lewra/5e_wealth_by_level_hoard_tables/). If the value of magic items is included in the below, pcs could literally be worth millions at higher levels.



Level
PC Wealth upon reaching level


1
Starting Gear*


2
94g


3
188g


4
376g


5
658g


6
2930g


7
5404g


8
8610g


9
12,019g


10
16,563g


11
21,108g


12
30,161g


13
39,214g


14
57,320g


15
75,427g


16
102,586g


17
129,745g


18
214,204g


19
383,123g


20
552,042g


20+
805,420g

[Tvtyrant]

I know there is no rules WBL in 5E, I'm just surveying to get a rough idea what people do in practice.

[Kyutaru]

Don't hand out any. Just use the random treasure tables to approximate loot. Make them earn their own gold. If they want to steal everything that isn't nailed down (like my players always do) then come up with a rough value for the wealth of the owner. Ruins and crypts don't have fancy things to sell usually. A manor might have a few thousand gold worth. But then there's the matter of fencing stolen items.

[Lunali]

The amount of gold is much less important than how much you give out in terms of magical items. Gold is only really relevant if you let your players buy magic items and then it only matters in terms of what they can buy.

[Zhorn]

Gold is only really relevant if you let your players buy magic items and then it only matters in terms of what they can buy.
Playing as a wizard, access to gold for the purposes of scribing spells has become a major focus for me. And then there's the gold cost expenses for casting certain spells for some casters.
There also paying for hirelings, replacing stolen gear, purchasing wagons, horses, a ship.
Our lv7 party has spent over 14,000 gp without any of that being on magic items.

[Dork_Forge]

The amount of gold is much less important than how much you give out in terms of magical items. Gold is only really relevant if you let your players buy magic items and then it only matters in terms of what they can buy.

This isn't true in tier 1 and probably half of tier 2 if you enforce the living expenses rules and make your PCs pay for things. Something as simple as making healing potions somewhat available to buy seriously eats into gold, especially since half the PCs are saving for better armor and the other half are saving for spell components.

You PCs are going to notice (and ime start to panic) if there gold reserves drop to double digits.

[Arkhios]

More they can spend and much more they can carry! (just kidding)

[Unoriginal]

What is says on the tin. I'm working on a class for fun and it uses gold as part of its rituals, I'm trying to get a baseline for how much gold it should have.

Doesn't depend on level for me, it depends on circumstances. Doing freelance zombie killing in a jungle doesn't pay much, for example.

[HoboKnight]

Tons. Sadly, my party is always roaming in some backwater, where a decently forged sword is a rarity and health potion even rarer. #RuralLife

[x3n0n]

There is no baseline or wbl. Some dms will hand out a couple hundred gold by level 5. Some will hand out 10's of thousands.

Someone took a shot at average wealth here (https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/9lewra/5e_wealth_by_level_hoard_tables/). If the value of magic items is included in the below, pcs could literally be worth millions at higher levels.



Level
PC Wealth upon reaching level


1
Starting Gear*


2
94g


3
188g


4
376g


5
658g


6
2930g


7
5404g


8
8610g


9
12,019g


10
16,563g


11
21,108g


12
30,161g


13
39,214g


14
57,320g


15
75,427g


16
102,586g


17
129,745g


18
214,204g


19
383,123g


20
552,042g


20+
805,420g



Xanathar's Guide to Everything has rough estimates for expected wealth gain per character in "shared campaigns", which AL basically adopted.
+75 gp gained during each level 1-3
+150 in 4-9
+550 in 10-15
+5500 in 16-19

(The endpoints will appear to be off by one because the XGtE table is labeled as wealth gained "at level up".)

That's also intended to be exclusive of lifestyle cost.

Of course, you can make it more or less depending on your goals as the DM.

[Elbeyon]

The guide is stingy though. It gives the characters far less gold and magic items than normal (in my experience) if those levels were played out. The amount characters would normally get (in my experience) and the amount they get on that chart are different. Random loot gives a lot of gold for some reason.

[Willie the Duck]

I actually play a variant (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/13311/O5R-Games)of 5e called Into the Unknown by O5R games which uses a TSR-era GP=XP method which allows me to use old modules (and the treasure levels they distribute).

[Vogie]

It really depends on the campaign. What I normally do to start a campaign, the PCs start with 50 gp per starting level.

If you're making a gambler/"coin shot" style class, it should also have ways of generating funds, if the class regularly consumes them. It's already baked into normal 5e (with Plate Armor costing the same as 30-ish spell levels transcribed).

[Dr. Cliché]

I'm probably quite stingy with gold.

However, this is because I don't generally go in for magic item shops (there are a few very basic items that can be bought, but most items have to be acquired from enemies or earned/traded for with more than just gold).

With this in mind, I try to keep it that players have to think about any significant mundane purchases. As in, they can't just look at expensive spell components and think to themselves 'oh, sure, I'll take 10. Just knock off some coins from the 56,000gp in our communal stash.'

[Naanomi]

Totally depends on the adventure. We were all still pretty poor at level 6 or so in Out of the Abyss. We are absolutely loaded at level 3 in Dragonheist

As a rule, I try to make sure Full Plate can be collectively afforded by the people who need it by level... 8 or so?... even in the poorest adventures

[micahaphone]

Totally depends on the adventure. We were all still pretty poor at level 6 or so in Out of the Abyss. We are absolutely loaded at level 3 in Dragonheist

As a rule, I try to make sure Full Plate can be collectively afforded by the people who need it by level... 8 or so?... even in the poorest adventures

This is why I like to give out magic full plate as a quest reward/loot sometimes, in case players are greedy and won't pool resources to help the fighter or if you're in a low-loot campaign.
A minor magic effect, like Mariner's armor, smouldering, cast-off, or something befitting the character. No actual + AC stuff at level 5! Like one very regal paladin loved elven microweave armor, it was equivalent to full plate (still had stealth disadvantage) but could be worn under clothes. Later they got it further enchanted to allow them to choose their clothing looks.

[Naanomi]

This is why I like to give out magic full plate as a quest reward/loot sometimes, in case players are greedy and won't pool resources to help the fighter or if you're in a low-loot campaign.
A minor magic effect, like Mariner's armor, smouldering, cast-off, or something befitting the character. No actual + AC stuff at level 5! Like one very regal paladin loved elven microweave armor, it was equivalent to full plate (still had stealth disadvantage) but could be worn under clothes. Later they got it further enchanted to allow them to choose their clothing looks.
+1 Splint Mail or even +2 Chain Mail can also be good; I gave one of my players +1 Splint when their adventures took them into the wilderness for a long time and... even though they had the wealth there was just nowhere to buy full plate

[Waterdeep Merch]

I used to be an insanely stingy DM back in 3.x. I remember a player getting excited because I finally gave them a magic weapon around level 7 or something. They were dirt broke.

But these days I run hyper monty haul games where clever players can break the thousand gp mark before level 3 and frugal, savvy ones can hit millions somewhere in tier 3. My longest running game right now has a player that owns real estate across half a continent including two castles and a manse in the middle of fantasy Las Vegas, as well as a very successful 'thieves' guild' that hasn't run a non-legitimate job in a good year since the income is too good. He commissioned a 10,000 gp magical painting to put on his favorite airship (one of three he owns). Between cash, valuables, real estate, and gobs of magic items, I'd guess he's sitting in the high tens of millions of gp, if not hundreds of millions by now. He's retired two different characters on this wealth already, and his new characters basically get to begin their careers as filthy rich mega millionaires.

Another lost hundreds of thousands in a bad attempt at a ponzi scheme (note: don't do ponzi schemes in demon-infested swamps with penniless ex-bandits), and hasn't entirely recuperated from it. The third major player has definitely broken the million mark in overall goods, but hasn't physically held a million in cold cash yet like the first player. He's only been playing since the beginning of this year, though, so his progress has been impressive.

I think it's safe to say my answer here is "probably too much".

[Kyutaru]

I try not to do Monty haul campaigns anymore because my players are quite well to do. Their ideas when they have a million gold don't involve collecting magical items. They involve market control and the acquisition of the means of production.

[micahaphone]

I try not to do Monty haul campaigns anymore because my players are quite well to do. Their ideas when they have a million gold don't involve collecting magical items. They involve market control and the acquisition of the means of production.

That's weird, my players don't get too much gold, yet they frequently try to acquire the means of production too...

[Sigreid]

I do sandbox mostly so it really depends on what the party decides they want to do.