Wealth
v0.1 by /u/Andrenator, original idea by /u/MirthDrake
Your DM tells you you need to get across the sea to meet your mentor who you thought was dead. Fine and dandy. Well, that’s gonna cost you 100gp for boat fare. You squint at your coinage box on your character sheet. Jeez, it’s been months. Is that 513gp before or after I commissioned a magic sword? What’re these 7 onyx precious stones, where did we get them, and what’re they worth?
This Wealth System is designed to take the grittiness out of tracking loot. Instead of possibly tens of thousands of coins, you have a wealth level, with 5 slots for currency at each level. Each level is roughly 5x the value of the last, and ranges from beggar to ancient dragon.
This system is a simplification. It means that a mule (8gp) costs as much as a rapier (25gp), or plate mail (1500gp) costs as much as a cottage (2500gp). In a strange way though, these rules serve to make cost more meaningful, unless your group goes balls to the wall with coin counting, and then why are you reading this?
Wealth Levels
| Level | Example Individuals | Level Equivalent | Currency | GP range | Standard of Living (indefinitely) | Purchases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Beggars, Slaves |
1 | Copper Piece | 0-1 | Sleep on the street, accepting what scraps people might give you | Simple clothes, a club, one chicken |
| 1 | Peasants, Manual Laborers |
Silver Piece | 2-7 | Bread or stew, thatched roof and a dirt floor | Nice clothes, padded armor, a handaxe | |
| 2 | Craftsmen, Blacksmiths |
Gold Piece | 8-25 | Cheap ale, meat, and cheese The roof might leak a bit and there might be bugs or mice, but it's comfy enough |
Leather or hide armor, a rapier, or a pony, mule, or mastiff | |
| 3 | Shop Owners, Traders |
2-3 | Gold Bar | 26-90 | Great homecooked meal with dessert. Feather pillows, decent accomodations with a warm hearth |
Studded leather armor, chainmail, a hand crossbow, a shack to live in, a horse, a rowboat, a common magic item |
| 4 | Merchants, Knights, Educated Professionals |
4-5 | Platinum Bar | 91-500 | A meal with several courses, quality drink with pies and pastries. Comfortable, dry private room with its own bath |
Splint or breastplate armor, an uncommon magic item, a permanent room at an inn or apartment, a carriage or elephant |
| 5 | City Councilmen, Caravan Leaders, High Nobles |
6-7 | Gem | 501-3500 | The table is piled high with food and a pig with an apple in its mouth, a bard plays music in the corner, later a maid draws you a warm bath and lays out clean clothes | Full plate mail, a lower-end rare magic item, a cottage, a keelboat |
| 6 | Kings, Heads of State |
8-12 | Coffer | 3501-20000 | Grand chambers with a couple dozen servants, from cooks to masseuses to personal shoppers. You're the guest of honor at the ball and everyone loves you | Upper rare to lower very rare magic items, a large house, a guildhall, a sailing ship |
| 7 | Emperors | 13-17 | Hoard | 20001-49000 | A traveling band of playwrights puts on a show for you while you're hand-fed your food if you want. You could get drunk and walk around naked if you want and people will be like 'meh whatever'. | Upper very rare magic items, a Noble estate or manor, a galley |
| 8 | Ancient Dragons | 18-19 | Vault | 49001-250000 | People fight for your entertainment, occasionally to the death. Visitors from distant lands and the most exotic delicacies for an immaculate pallate | Palace or large castle |
| 9 | Deities | 20 | Bank | 250001-1000000 | You could literally ask for a person as tribute and someone would make it happen. Go take a bath in your tub made of diamonds you beautiful tragedy | Legendary magic items, a small keep or fort |
Mechanics
Wealth vs. Liquid Assets (Coin)
While you might have coin on hand, it takes effort and a bit of forethought to make the transition to wealth. Wealth represents investments, accounts, and perhaps a pedigree from a bank so people take you for your word when it comes to making purchases. With a high enough wealth, your assets will pay dividends which will allow you to make small purchases or live modestly indefinitely, within reason.
Conversion
In general, 5 of one level is equal to 1 of the next level up. For example, 5 silver pieces is equal to 1 gold piece.
Accumulating
During adventuring, you will presumably gain treasure. The DM will tell you what level of treasure it is (e.g. “You find a stash worth three gold bars”), which the party may need to split amongst themselves.
Investing in Wealth
Being in town for a reasonable amount of time, you’re able to make land purchases, deposits, and investments to gain purchasing power in your name. To reach a wealth level, you must pay 1 of the equal currency (or 5 of the level directly below it)
Refreshing Coin
Being in town for a reasonable amount of time, usually a week, your money becomes more mobile- your dividends might pay off, you might collect rent/taxes, or word of your wealth lets you keep open tabs to some extent. All coin below your wealth level is replenished. Coin in your current wealth level is unchanged.
Earning Wages
Depending on the level of work your character does (e.g. blacksmith, noble, etc) you may be able to earn a wage if your DM agrees. By spending a week working, you gain 1 currency of the appropriate wealth level. Your DM may identify obstacles your character has to overcome over this time. If you spend months or years working a career, you may gain currency of higher levels.
Standard of Living
A character may live at the standard of living denoted on the Wealth Levels chart indefinitely. This represents connections with equally wealthy NPCs, buying food in bulk, paying a small but manageable percentage of total wealth as rent, etc.
A player may wish to temporarily live at a standard above this indefinite level, perhaps to entertain guests or throw a party. In that case, use the Cost Levels chart, but the "purchase" of a night at this standard of living has a modifier of -2.
Spending
As noted above, you may invest in wealth. However, if you wish to make a purchase, note which cost level the good is that you’re buying. Depending on the difference between your wealth and the cost, check if the purchase is possible.If the cost is more than your wealth, you may either save up or attempt a spending roll by rolling a DC 15 Persuade, Insight, or Intimidate check. Use the table below:
Cost Levels
| Relative Wealth to Cost comparison | How major is the purchase while making a normal income for your wealth level? | Effect of the purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Cost = Wealth-2 |
You could make this purchase without batting an eye | You purchase it without any issue, within reason. Pocket change. |
| Cost = Wealth-1 |
Would take a couple days to earn the cash to make the purchase. An NPC would be able to house a guest for the night at this standard of living with no issue. | You purchase it with little issue, within reason. If you buy more than 3 in this category at once, it counts as a cost = wealth purchase. |
| Cost = Wealth |
Around a weekly wage’s savings. You can live at this standard of living indefinitely. | Costs 1 unit of treasure of this level. |
| Cost = Wealth+1 |
Around a month’s savings. An NPC might throw a party at this level. | Make a DC 15 Persuade, Insight, or Intimidation check. If you succeed, lose all currency of your current level and your wealth goes down by 1. If you fail, you just cannot make the purchase. Perhaps you could do a favor to make it work? |
| Cost = Wealth+2 |
Around a year’s savings. An NPC might throw a magnificent celebration at this level, like for a wedding. | Impossible, except by major debt, or extreme errand. |
| Cost = Wealth+3 |
A decade or two’s savings | Impossible, except maybe by major quest or herculean effort. |
Notes to DMs
Deflation
As you may notice, 1 gold piece is equal to roughly 8-25gp. This had to be done to make the denominations work. In order to make the other currencies meaningful, the “gold piece” had to represent a relatively narrow window of value.
Wealth vs. Cost
What is a gold piece to a blacksmith? What’s a platinum bar to a trader or knight? Consult the table above. This implies “normal” income, so working a job or getting taxes as royalty. A character can gain one currency of their wealth level per week of working on par with that wealth level, but it’s up to you. It could break the game pretty quickly if your party chills out in the city for a few months just minmaxing their wealth to ridiculous levels.
Within Reason
Yeah technically your player can buy infinite torches if their wealth is above 2, but a shopkeeper wouldn’t have more than what, a dozen at a time? How many could a character realistically carry? Are you gonna let this minmaxer disrupt the entire economy? If common sense clashes with these rules, tell ‘em no.
My Players are Too Rich!
Could be my system, could be you gave out too much, could be those dang minmaxers. Give them something to spend it on, stage an economic coup, some sort of heist to steal their money, or withhold treasure for a bit.
All that glitters is not gold- perhaps some purchases require the party to do other things. A party might have to gain renown with a builder’s guild in order to have a keep built, or deal with a tyrannical duke who doesn’t want to give up the land to build it on.
Magic Items
The buying of magical items is not simple! Seeking out a buyer or seller might involve an agent to seek it out, seeker’s fees, waiting time, shady midnight dealings, double-crosses, etc. It almost never goes as smoothly as purchasing at face value. Magic items in 5e are notoriously hard to value. Just try to estimate a cost and compare it to the values of the currency is my best guess.
Starting Gold
When you make a character, that character has a certain wealth value. This is in addition to the starting equipment granted to a character. After a first real adventure, each character will probably have similar wealths anyways. Combine the background and starting wealth. If on different levels, ignore the lesser. If it results in 5 or more of one currency, instead take 1 of the next currency up.
| Background | Cookie Type |
|---|---|
| Acolyte | 2 silver pieces |
| Charlatan | 1 gold piece |
| Criminal | 1 silver piece |
| Entertainer | 2 gold pieces |
| Folk Hero | 2 silver pieces |
| Guild Artisan | 2 gold pieces |
| Hermit | 1 copper piece |
| Noble | 1 gold bar |
| Outlander | 3 copper pieces |
| Sage | 1 gold piece |
| Sailor | 3 silver pieces |
| Soldier | 3 silver pieces |
| Urchin | 1 copper piece |
| Class | Starting Wealth |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | 3 copper pieces |
| Bard | 3 gold pieces |
| Cleric | 3 gold pieces |
| Druid | 3 copper pieces |
| Fighter | 4 silver pieces |
| Monk | 1 copper piece |
| Paladin | 1 gold piece |
| Ranger | 4 silver pieces |
| Rogue | 4 silver pieces |
| Sorcerer | 1 silver piece |
| Warlock | 4 silver pieces |
| Wizard | 1 gold piece |