NPCs and NPC wealth

[InaVegt]

I've always found the rules for NPC wealth a bit silly, not only does it give low level NPCs more wealth than low level PCs but the only way to actually improve the wealth of an NPC is to give it more levels. As such if I intend someone to be very wealthy I'll gladly give hom a couple of millions more than the rules say, same for NPCs who are supposed to be poor for their level.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

I do wish to point out that PCs get assigned gold according to a "Wealth by Level" table (DMG, pg. 135), whereas NPCs are assigned equipment according to a "Gear Value" table (DMG, pg. 127). The second table isn't meant to measure the NPC's total wealth, just how much gear the NPC should be carrying when the PCs encounter the NPC for the encounter to be balanced according to the PCs' and NPC's level. It accounts for things like the effect such equipment would have on the encounter's challenge and the amount of that gear that would end up in the hands of the PCs for the purposes of maintaining PC Wealth by Level.

(Of course, in the case of poor NPCs, Gear carried on person and Total Wealth could very well be the same thing...)

As to NPC gear value being greater than PC total Wealth—that only applies at 1st level. A second level PC's wealth should already be 700 gp more than a second level NPC's gear value.

And remember: NPC gear is just a balancing guideline, not a strict rule that measures how wealthy every NPC is.

[Matthew]

Exactly. Those tables are guidelines for balanced encounters, nothing more, nothing less.