I have been GMing for several parties past 1st level by this point, and I have been guiding many players through starting wealth, since page 348 explicitly says that "You and the player should work together to decide which items the new character has. Allow the player to make suggestions, and if they know what items they want their character to have, respect their choices unless you have reason to believe they are trying to abuse the system." Since I try to support character optimization, this means I have become intimately familiar with the jankier side of starting wealth. The book says to not let players abuse the system, but who is to say what is abuse and what is simply trying to make the best of shoddy mechanics?
For one, a character starting from 2nd through 5th level is entitled to one or two permanent 1st-level items. However, there are no permanent 1st-level items, so a character must settle for a 0th-level item (i.e. mundane equipment) instead.
For two, since starting wealth is based on item levels and not permanent items, it feels bad to select a permanent item that is significantly lower-value than the maximum-value items of the level. It does not feel too good to select a 200 gp choker of eloquence or a traveler's any-tool over, say, 250 gp eyes of the eagle (+2 Perception when Perception is the default initiative skill), when all of them are 6th-level items.
For three, it is a little too easy to game the system by selling at 50% price the items you do not care for, in order to purchase higher-level items you do want and/or packs of consumable items. This is something I have seen done across multiple characters, and it is really quite irksome.
For four, it is a little too easy to game the system by selling at 50% price the items you do not care for, in order to purchase higher-level items you do want and/or packs of consumable items. This is something I have seen done across multiple characters, and it is really quite irksome.
For five, page 348 says, "In the case of items made from special materials, items should be selected based on the table in which they appear, not their item level." This applies only to items made of (vastly overpriced) special materials. But while there are specific examples in page 356, the tables in pages 354 to 355 give no item levels. So how does this work?
For six, page 370 says, "The level of an item with runes etched on it is equal to the highest level among the base item and all runes etched on it; therefore, a +1 mace (4th level) with a disrupting rune (5th level) would be a 5th-level item." Let us put this above into practice. A master-quality weapon is a 7th-level item, and can accommodate two property runes. A +1 weapon potency rune is a 4th-level item, a +2 weapon potency rune is an 8th-level item, and frost and shock runes are 9th-level items. That means that a master-quality weapon with a +1 weapon potency rune, a +2 weapon potency rune, and frost and shock runes is a 9th-level item. That is a value of 360 gp master-quality weapon + 65 gp first potency rune + 400 gp second potency rune + 700 gp frost + 700 gp shock = 2,225 gp! That is crazy. Is a PC starting at 10th-level really entitled to start with such a 9th-level item?
All of the above silliness could be averted simply by implementing a flat wealth pool and instating Starfinder-style item level maximums that allow PCs to purchase only items up to a certain level.
