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My group basically was quite altruistic, and gave each person who could use something first say in keep or sell. Then they would sell anything they didn't want. Example:
Wizard: Hey, fighter, do you want this +3 Halberd?
Fighter: Nah, I use longsword. Just sell it. Do you want these scrolls?
Wizard: I'll copy the ones that help me and then we'll sell the one's I can't, unless the rogue wants them.
Rogue: Yeah, I may be able to make them work with Use Magic Device.
(some math later)
Wizard: We all get 2287 gp and 5 sp.
That's about it. It worked quite well, and the most arguments that ever came up were over AC boasting items, and if the Wizard or Fighter should get them first (the Fighter would argue the Wizard needed it because of his low AC, and the Wizard would argue that the Fighter needed all the AC he could get, because Swords tend to fly at his head).
My group basically was quite altruistic, and gave each person who could use something first say in keep or sell. Then they would sell anything they didn't want.
That's usually what my groups do as well. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," so to speak.
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Our group tends to be pretty barter-based: Useable items we divy up by whoever needs them most. If more than one person wants it, then we talk it over and usually come to some sort of agreement (usually "okay, you can have the Belt of Giant Strength, but I get first pick of the next batch"). Anything that no one wants, we sell, and then divy up everything left. Sometimes a PC will ask for a little boost to help them get something enchanted, and my theif usually calls first pick on any jewelry, magical or not, but so far the system seems to work.
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In our group, if you want something that the group found, you basically have to buy everyone else out of it. You determine how much the group would get if the item were sold, then pay everyone else their share of that total. Everyone wins, since those not taking items still get paid and those taking them essentially get the items at half price.
In a lot of groups that I have played with, loot is divided up on the ability/need of the players.
If someone can use the item, they have a chance to get it -if they are the only one and want it, they get it - if several want it, it is talked out, or a die roll is made.
Items that no one wants, are often used as rewards/prizes/bribes/etc.. NPCs tend to remember the PCs more, in a fonder light, if they get magical items from them.
Items that are used by the group, like curing wands, are purchased from the group kitty. Often, so are scrolls for spells for the mage, as the more "ammo" they have, often the better the group survives.
Gold is kept in the group kitty and used to pay for group items (lodging, mounts, etc..) and divided up when needed.
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so do all 3e groups div treasure with an accountant standing next to them? i am not sure...
i am interesting in hearing IF your group div loot in a different way that is what the topic is about, the rest is me just ranting :P
Yes actually, we need an accountant in party loot division. But in a good way.
Our group actually has a charter and its followed. Loot division is the done with accordance to the charter:
In our party of six, all liquid loot is divided by 8 and given out. One share to each member that participated, 2 shares back to the party treasury for various expenses- healing for things that the cleric cant handle yet, buying spells for the qizard for the party good-invisiblity 10' radius for a recon mission for example, or supplies for a long mission, etc.....
Thats the cash part. Magic items are handled by 'need before greed', teh items that will benefit the party member the most to make the group better go to said memeber. If multiple people want it, we have a ledger that charts memeber item totals and worth, those that have the least amount the item goes to them. Ties go to party vote. All excess items no one wants get sold and divided equally.
All magic items that are non-consumable- potions,scrolls, wands, etc... are Company property, on semi-permanant loan to said member. If that member leaves, the items return back to the company. You can buy the item permanently if you pay for it in coin at any time.
Its worked incredibly well. Some days you get nothing. Other days you get very cool items. My cleric two sessions ago only got a potion of expidious retreat. Last session I got a magic sheild that has some cool and unique powers.....I was willing to give it to teh fighter cleric and get the hand-me-down magic shield he had, but the party insisted I get it since it keep me up and active. As they put it, if they go down I can get them up and active, I go down and its a problem....
For a number of years now my playing group has divided loot as follows:
1) Can someone use item X? (X being an item useful to their class or the survivability of the party -- weapons, spells, etc.) Then they get it. Sometimes they then hand back in another item that they got before for new divvying or selling, sometimes not.
2) Anything that is not in the above, jewelry, pretties, regular gear that no one wants (if they're replacing something, that falls under step one), is valued up. If someone wants a particular pretty, then that is deducted from their share of the potential sales as their cut.
3) Everything else is sold for the best price possible and the cash divvied up, so all get cash loot and purties that balance out.
We trust the GM to balance out the gear we get, or make available someplace we can trade in that magical halberd that no one can use for something more appropriate to whoever needs a new toy :)
All are happy, no one gripes.
The groups I have gone with have tended towards the following approach:
q1: Who needs X:
*fighter and cleric raise their hands*
q1: Who needs it more?
*group compares relevant stat, combined with the use that person gets out of it*
Group decides who gets it- or one person decides to back out. (usually someone backs out in favor of the other but we have occasionally had to do the informal "group vote" type of thing).
if the answer to q2 is "No one" then it gets sold, and the proceeds divided up equally among the players.
if a PC wants to buy something he/she generally has to use his or her own funds to do so but is free to sell/exchange his or her current gear to do so as long as it isn't a very very powerful item that someone else in the group can use.
Generally speaking, it can be as fluid or as "accountant like" as your group can stand.
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Not adding anything to the conversation other than to say my group(s) use the same method as above: need and then equal shares.
If the items cannot be sold immediately we usually do the following:
1) If it would be at all useful in a pinch, give it to the character that could use it (for example, a wand of detect magic goes to the mage.
2) If the item is unusable or redundant, then it goes to the designated party pack-mules (very rarely is this actually a pack mule).
For a number of years now my playing group has divided loot as follows:
1) Can someone use item X? (X being an item useful to their class or the survivability of the party -- weapons, spells, etc.) Then they get it. Sometimes they then hand back in another item that they got before for new divvying or selling, sometimes not.
2) Anything that is not in the above, jewelry, pretties, regular gear that no one wants (if they're replacing something, that falls under step one), is valued up. If someone wants a particular pretty, then that is deducted from their share of the potential sales as their cut.
3) Everything else is sold for the best price possible and the cash divvied up, so all get cash loot and purties that balance out.
We trust the GM to balance out the gear we get, or make available someplace we can trade in that magical halberd that no one can use for something more appropriate to whoever needs a new toy :)
All are happy, no one gripes.
yep thats how it works in are games
My groups have always considered healing items and a select few other things "for the party good," and thus taken out of a communal pool. However, there was a time in the past when the players at the table weren't as harmonious with each other as my current batch, and the Old Ways have transferred out of tradition: The total value of everything is calculated, then shares of liquid assets. You buy items from the party, perhaps going into debt to be paid off in the future.
I didn't institute the policy; the players did. I give them treasure and then wash my hands of the alloting and selling process; that's their job to do as they please; I like to use the downtime as a breather and to review my notes.
Here's a question which I know has been discussed before, but it continues to vex me: what happens when you take into account that most items sell for half price?
Example: A party of five finds 1,000gp. That's 200 each, right? Now let's say they find a +1 sword, which is worth ~2,300gp, and another 700gp in coin. That comes to 3,000gp total, or 600gp per PC. The way my groups have always calculated it is that if someone wants to take the sword out of the stash, they have to pay it's full value. But if it gets sold, it sells for half value.
???
I really don't care how they split up the treasure; as said, I calculate how much they should have, more or less in the ballpark of the Wealth By Level charts in the DMG, and then it's up to them how they divvy it up. But it always seems to get weird and arguments about who did their math right and wrong, who is getting too much and who is getting screwed, abound. Even if they play nice and aren't trying to make sure everyone gets the exact same amount of treasure, it plays havoc with my math. So, I hand out a sword to the party, and if they keep it, it counts for X amount of gp. But if they sell it, it's only 1/2 of X? Which do I use in my calculations? Is this just an inherent flaw in the 3e game that no one caught during development? Or am I daft?
Note that I'm a whippersnapper that's never played anything but D&D 3e, so I've no experience of the "good ol' days" of 2e (I don't mean that sarcasitcally); but, whether one agrees with the way my group does things or not, that's the way they choose to play it, so I'd like to know about those Wealth By Level concerns for my own sanity.
...Yes actually, we need an accountant in party loot division. But in a good way....
There is a new tool that can make loot sharing much faster. It is called the Loot Divider, and you can check out the preview images and video, and get more information here:
http://LootDivider.comIt is specifically made to account for treasure, split it amongst players, and even keep track of who got what over the course of a campaign. This helps reduce the haggle in our group, as if more then one person wants an item, it goes to the one who has taken the least amount of loot thus far! No more arguing in the group over item ownership :)
For items that are considered 'group' items (like a wand of cure light wounds), it can be assigned as such without anyone being the 'owner' of this item. So the Cleric of the group isn't stuck at keeping those as his Loot items.
R
...Yes actually, we need an accountant in party loot division. But in a good way....There is a new tool that can make loot sharing much faster. It is called the Loot Divider, and you can check out the preview images and video, and get more information here:
http://www.LootDivider.com
Fixed that for you.