102
votes
Accepted
How to handle loot disputes as the DM?
“When you agree who gets it they can use it. Meanwhile back in the dungeon ...”
Let the players sort it out however they like away from the table and when they have, the person who gets it can use it.
...
- 216k
72
votes
Accepted
What do primitive NPCs do with treasure and gold?
Treasure isn’t just money, it has inherent value on its own. No one will take you seriously as a goblin king without a proper jewel-encrusted crown and an evil-looking magic sword to beat up your foes ...
- 3,703
72
votes
Bounty Boards: How to make them fair and make sense
Don´t make it fair.
No, really. If you balance everything to be fair and equal, you take away the entire challenge of figuring out which contract is most lucrative, or which is the easiest money, or ...
- 82.2k
69
votes
Accepted
How can a party move 10,000 pounds of gold?
Assuming casting Dispel Magic on the Alarm is infeasible (perhaps the makers of the Vault were so meticulous that they cast Alarm on each individual piece of gold), this seems like an ideal use case ...
- 896
67
votes
How do I deal with a loot hungry PC?
You're solving the wrong problem
In your question you didn't say what the very problem is. The only details were:
The problem is that he is the barbarian, so when he wakes an enemy by pick ...
- 70.8k
64
votes
Accepted
How to deal with incredibly rich PCs messing with combat balance
First of all, don't let people turn money into magic items.
If you let people turn gold pieces into planet destroying superweapons, then you get these sorts of problems. This is something 5e ...
- 30.6k
63
votes
Accepted
How should I deal with a player who wants to dictate loot distribution?
This is evidence of a dysfunctional gaming group, if these actions and arguments are typical.
Hi, Fincam. I recognize you're new here, and I am aiming for 'stringent' rather than 'harsh.' I ...
- 45.7k
59
votes
Accepted
How can I take a powerful plot item away from players without frustrating them?
In general, the best way is for greedy PCs not to get the loot in the first place thus side stepping the whole problem.
Despite the terrible pun (or nettle Eggcorn?):
However, in this case, it is a ...
59
votes
Accepted
Where do PCs store treasure & gold that they are not carrying with them?
D&D is a rules set, not a setting. Therefore details like this are never RAW, but they may be described in a setting. For example, if you play in the Forgotten Realms, there may be some canon as ...
- 176k
59
votes
How might a character transport hundreds of thousands of gold inconspicuously?
The only way to do this inconspicuously is to convert all that money into gems. A mundane backpack could easily carry 500,000 gp worth of gems with room left over for camping gear. Upon arrival, gems ...
- 27.8k
56
votes
How should I deal with a player who wants to dictate loot distribution?
I kind of feel you're in the wrong here.
You've written that your character found a really good magic sword, and you've written that four other members of the party had proficiency in it and your ...
- 90.6k
51
votes
Accepted
Where does the idea of selling dragon parts come from?
Way, way back.
As to where it first appeared in the rules, the first edition to include rules for selling dragons was... the original game! "Subduing Dragons" was a special rules section ...
- 1,389
50
votes
How to handle inventory and story of a player leaving
To me the problem seems to be that the other players think that they gained treasure as a team and divided it up according to some measure of 'fairness' and 'need.' So when one player leaves, they ...
- 1,136
47
votes
Accepted
How might a character transport hundreds of thousands of gold inconspicuously?
A Portable Hole
10,000 lbs of gold is about a 24-inch cube (0.235 m^3) and a Portable Hole doesn't have a weight limit. Since the interior of a portable hole is 6ft by 10ft, it can easily hold 500,...
- 1,449
46
votes
Accepted
I created a magic item for one character and another character took it
Your Rogue Has a Case of My Guy Syndrome
Assuming the standard party of good-aligned murderhobos, that is. If you have a bunch of evil backstabbers, everyone should pretty much be expecting this ...
- 913
40
votes
How to handle loot disputes as the DM?
Make them realize time is running
When you feel that their discussion is taking too long, make them realize the game time was running all the time.
PC1: ... I still want these Earclippers of Elven ...
- 649
40
votes
Accepted
Does a wizard need to find and copy spells into spellbook to remain relevant?
The following analysis focuses on spell scrolls in particular, but the same logic applies to spellbooks. In terms of their effect on the number of spells in your spellbook, the two are interchangeable....
- 26.7k
39
votes
Accepted
How to balance spellbooks looted from enemy wizards?
I find this a really interesting question, but not an easy one to answer.
My best educated guess is that the value of additional spells depends on how your wizard player picks their existing spells, ...
- 30.3k
38
votes
Accepted
How will this much GP impact our game?
Be not afraid; pursue fun
You need to discuss this with your group first.
I'm quite concerned that this may impact our game very negatively.
Personally, my character shuns gold and does not ...
- 144k
38
votes
Accepted
How to determine treasure for characters who aren't materialistic?
Non Treasure Rewards
The 5e DMG (Chapter 7) has a substantial section about rewards other than treasure. Examples include Blessings of various kinds, meaningful and magical Charms handed to the ...
- 12.7k
38
votes
Seeking a maths formula to determine the number of coins in a treasure hoard, given hoard value
You can come up with the formula by figuring out the average value of adding one coin to the hoard. You know the percentage and value of each type of coin, so for each type of coin, multiply that ...
- 889
37
votes
How can we determine the cost of ruby dust?
It's up to the DM.
Having said that, D&D pricing doesn't make economic sense, so the answer I prefer1 when I DM is that is you get 500gp worth of dust out of 500gp worth of rubies.
The game also ...
- 3,161
36
votes
Accepted
How do I calculate the volume of a given quantity of coins?
Reverse engineer it from known metal densities (and marvel at how tiny and dense the currency is)
Given we know the standard weight of all currency as described in 5e D&D (0.32 oz or 9.07 grams, ...
- 66.5k
36
votes
How to balance spellbooks looted from enemy wizards?
There is no need to balance, but you may want to control it anyways
The wizard class description is designed for wizards to be balanced, even if they eventually have access to their entire spell list. ...
- 135k
35
votes
How rare are magic items and how many should I be handing out?
About a year and a half ago there was a thread on EN World about Analysis of "Typical" Magic Item Distribution, looking at the treasure generation tables in the DMG.
The rough result is as ...
- 23.4k
35
votes
Accepted
Are there rules for disassembling a slain creature, especially dragon?
There are no specific rules for disassembling a dragon or other creature to sell its meat or make armor from its scales.
Your mention of Thundertree leads me to guess that you're playing The Lost ...
- 37.1k
33
votes
Accepted
How do I make treasure stashes rewarding in a very small party?
Give more 'Consumable' and 'Utility' magic items than 'Combat' magic items.
If you want to routinely pass out magic items, but don't want to give 'junk' or make your party OP...This is purely my ...
- 66.3k
33
votes
How to help my players track gold in multiple currencies?
Why is this really a problem?
Assuming the number of factions is reasonable (4 or so) the party just needs to keep track of how many coins of each currency they have.
It is blindingly obvious that ...
- 216k
32
votes
How rare are magic items and how many should I be handing out?
The recently released supplement, Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGtE), includes a section on Awarding Magic Items. It's quite detailed, and obviously I can't reproduce it here, but it can be ...
- 145k
32
votes
What do primitive NPCs do with treasure and gold?
All that is necessary for gold coins to function among goblins as they do among humans is:
Gold is rare
The gold content of coins is verifiable
Goblin tribes are social and intelligent enough to ...
- 45.7k
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