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I'm just curious since not every gaming group does it the same way.
When I run a game the players take the loot figure out how much they can get for the items (usually 50% but sometimes more) then if someone wants an item they buy the item from the treasure at the 50% price.
For Example: The party defeats 8 bandits wielding masterwork longswords. They can get 157 gp per sword. The fighter wants a masterwork longsword so he puts 157 gp into the "treasure fund" and the other swords are sold for 1099 gold. The party then slits up the 1256 gp (1099 + 157). After this the fighter then sells his old sword for 7 gold which he keeps for himself.
Everything gets sold, everyone gets the gold they need for their own gear or a piece of the treasure. The only way someone gets screwed is if you have a player who pockets a gem. My brother also uses this system in his games.
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That's kinda odd to me. The fighter who put his 157gp into the party treasure then gets a 1/4, 1/5, or 1/6 cut of that same 157 and gets to keep the proceeds from his other weapon's sale.
My group adds up the prices of all gear's salable price (say 8 masterwork longsword 1/2 price or 1260 gp) then they divide that by the number of party members (say 6 in this case for a total share for each character of 210gp). If someone wants to by one of those swords from the party he would toss his old weapon into the pot and reduce the salable price of it from the salable price of the Mwk Longsword (-7.5 gp from the 157.5 gp salable price of a Mwk LS for a total of 150 gp for him to buy one). Then you reduce that player's share of loot from 210gp to 60gp + a masterwork longsword. This leaves the entire party unaffected by the transaction and is 100% fair to all parties. If a player doesn't have enough in his share to buy an item he can of course add his own gold from before to his share to buy an item.
That's how my groups do it and we have never had a problem with it.
I have seen this question come up in many games, and in all honesty in my experience it comes up most often when you have either too many of the same people getting all of the loot or too many greedy people. In the former it is when all the loot is magical weapons and armor or nothing but scrolls and caster items and someone is getting left without items, and then a system of fairness is brought up. Otherwise most parties just shuffle found treasure where it benefits the most and splits the rest up, at least in my experience. However I have had people in my games or played in groups that had that one person who wanted all loot at all times and would try and connive as much treasure as possible causing endless arguments with the other treasure hungry players, and your system is pretty much the one they decided on fo fairness which meant in the low treasure game we played in, that no one really had many items and in the end since we couldnt afford most items we found from the group we had hardly any magic items. It was liking criplling ourselves. Thankfully I was a sorcerer and I felt the drain the least I'd wager...
It depends on who is playing in my games. I generally tend to stay out of loot division issues unless someone's being disruptive and stalling the game out trying to hog things.
I've seen people do the same thing Tamec posted. I've seen parties not care about value and just divide up gear based on who could make the best use, sell the remainder, then split the cash equally. I've seen contracts and actual "charters" drawn up that a new character has to "sign" in order to be allowed to adventure with the rest, that covers things like reduced loot shares for infractions against the party, until a certain amount of time has passed in game, etc. I've seen a "I saw it first, so I'm taking it" approach, too. I've even seen it swap between them all when one character died and a new one was brought it. It all depends on the party dynamic, and the game style of the players.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Cash gets split evenly amongst the Characters. Any leftovers (that can't be split evenly) just get left in the Group Treasure until we get more Cash.
Gems and Objects (Art, etc...) get sold and the Cash evenly distributed as above.
If a Character can use a Magic Item and noone else can, then they usually get that Item. In cases where more than one Character can use it, then discussions ensue until an agreement is reached.
Anything that noone can use goes into Group Treasure to be sold or used when the occasion arises. The Cash is then split as above.
If it's something that will benefit the entire Party (such as a Wand of Ressurrection) then it is counted as Group Treasure, but the charater who can use it gets to carry it if they want to.
Most stuff gets evened out, but occasionaly one will get more than the others.
As an example, this happened in our current game:
Two guys got items they could use (one got a Weapon, the other Armour). The casters got some Scrolls and Potions. Two of us couldn't use anything else from the Haul. When we got to Town, the two who had gotten anything went to a Blacksmith to see if he could enhance our current equipment. He said yes and we each took an item from the Group Treasure to pay for this enhancement. Everyone got something from the Encounter.
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Effectively the fighter is replacing the sword with cash, and the cash is split up, and once it's your gear you can sell upgrade or whatever you want with it.
Yeah except the fighter also gets a 1/4 or 1/5 share of the gold he put into the pot for the Mwk sword, so he makes out ahead of the others by 31.5 gp to 39.3 gp depending on how many party members there is. It doesn't end up fair to the rest of the party.
Unfortunately, I have some powergamers in my group and they want everything to be exactly even, so they have devised a totally fair treasure division method. It gets stifling but usually someone handles the math and stuff without letting it become ridiculous.
If your players are cool enough with other methods then don't worry about it, but if they want absolutely even treasure division then you probably need to look into our group's method.
We just give stuff to those that can use it. If we get something someone can't use, it goes into the Party Insurance Fund. This is an 'extra' party member, whose loot we use for ressurections and the like if/when they become needed.
In our groups, if someone can use an item, it is an upgrade or a seriously needed backup weapon (ie, the ranger that has all ranged goodies and needs something for when the mobs won't fall down and come and get personal), that person gets the item.
If multiple folks can use an item, whoever needs it more gets it.
Anything left over that no one specifically wants, but the group feels might come in handy, is divvied up as evenly as possible among the group.
Those that can't be used are converted to cash, and the cash is divvied evenly.
If we find someone hasn't gotten a good item, we'll pool group cash to acquire one.
Whole notion is, stronger each person is in their role of the group, the stronger the group is and the longer they all survive :)
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In every game I have ever played or DM'd the loot is divided out where it will do the most good. After that there is a give and take. Usually the players figure out who needs something worse than someone else. The Tanking characters get the first shot at Armor/weapons, then it moves down the group, the flanker/striker types, then the stand back and shooter's. On odd ball stuff someone either wants it or it gets sold. At the end anything no one wanted or tossed into the pile because the new and improved thing replaced it all get sold and the loot is as evenly as possible split, with remainders going into a sort of bank/loot bag to cover party expenses and/or to be added to the next loot division.
I'm just curious since not every gaming group does it the same way.
My group is pretty 'group centric' when it comes to loot sharing. Doesn't seem to matter who is playing or DMing. We try to split up what's there by who can get the best use of it. No cash buy-ins to get it. If two (or three) could use it equally, they'll usually come up with some kind of bargain for it, such as 'If I get this now, you'll get the next thing'. It usually works out for the best. Sometimes they trade what they've already got to help out in the mean time.
We'd played previously with a player who was quite obnoxious with how things were divied up and then again if the character died. So we usually roll pretty softly with the loot and it seems to work out pretty good for all.
We use these methods, in descending order:
1) Who needs it best. The group decides who actually needs the item more. If more than one person can qualify, then we look at their gear and see who it's a better upgrade for. (i.e. if the item is a cloak of resistance +4 and one guy has +2 and one has +3, the +2 guy would get the upgrade). Items traded out in this manner are either put in the pot to be sold, or given to someone else for whom it would be an upgrade. (hey, I have a cloak +1! can I have that +2? and so on)
2) If the item isn't a matter of "who needs it best" but its something the party wants, then usually someone "take possession" for the party. (decanter of endless water, or whatever).
3) If the item is something only one person can use (i.e. not really a "group" item), but only one person wants it, that person gets it. (hey, I've always wanted winged boots!)
Anything not covered in those categories is typically sold. Cash is split evenly and distributed. We don't usually keep a "group cache" of gold, but if the group needs something, folks will pitch in. (oops, bob died, everyone pitch in to res him, or whatever).
Of course- if two people really really want an item and both can use it equally well for the party, it'll either come down to a roll, or for one person to back out of it. In such cases, the "loser" will get the next such item to come around.
-S
my group generally does it like Selgard's
Cash gets split evenly amongst the Characters. Any leftovers (that can't be split evenly) just get left in the Group Treasure until we get more Cash.
Gems and Objects (Art, etc...) get sold and the Cash evenly distributed as above.If a Character can use a Magic Item and noone else can, then they usually get that Item. In cases where more than one Character can use it, then discussions ensue until an agreement is reached.
Anything that noone can use goes into Group Treasure to be sold or used when the occasion arises. The Cash is then split as above.If it's something that will benefit the entire Party (such as a Wand of Ressurrection) then it is counted as Group Treasure, but the charater who can use it gets to carry it if they want to.
Most stuff gets evened out, but occasionaly one will get more than the others.
As an example, this happened in our current game:
Two guys got items they could use (one got a Weapon, the other Armour). The casters got some Scrolls and Potions. Two of us couldn't use anything else from the Haul. When we got to Town, the two who had gotten anything went to a Blacksmith to see if he could enhance our current equipment. He said yes and we each took an item from the Group Treasure to pay for this enhancement. Everyone got something from the Encounter.
Ditto this for my group. The system kinda flows from the personality of the team.
Every group I have gamed with tends to divide gear up with who can use it. Money gets split equally. Most of the players will give money to another player if they need it and most of the players will repay that money as some as they can.
Here is our 4E system.
*DIBS 2.0*
Every time we get treasure, we divide up the magic items and the
gp-equivalents speratly.
*MAGIC ITEMS*
Everyone adds up the total levels of all the magic items they have acquired via picks (but excluding any bought items). We establish a 'dibs' order based on this, with the person with the least total levels in magic picking first and the the person with the most picking last. Ties are broken by a simple die roll.
We list pass around the list of magic items. The person who picks first can either pick one or pass. Same for the second person, and so on. We keep going around the order until either all the items are picked, or everyone passes on the pile without picking an item. If there are any items that get passed on by everyone, they get sold and their gp gets added to the gp-equivalent pile.
*GP AND EQUIVALENTS*
Divided evenly among everyone who participated in an adventure. People can spend their share on whatever they wish, and magic items bought this way don't count for establishing dibs order. An adventure, in this case is defined as a single module of the Scales of War AP. Any player that participates in any part of an adventure is entitled to a share of the loot. If you miss so many sessions that you don't make it to any session of an adventure you do not get a share of the loot. The DM has agreed to tell us when we begin a new adventure if its not clearly obvious.
*NOTES AND CORNER CASES*
If there are any utility items that don't directly benefit anyone but benefit everyone (many wondrous items appear to fall in this category) then these items are treated slightly differently. A Utility item is an item that everyone or almost everyone in the party can use. If an item is falls into this category and its passed over by everyone then it goes around again but is considered to have only half its value (players might balk at being the bearer of an item that really helps everyone in the party if its treated as having its full value)
If someone has an item that they are replacing or no longer using, then the old item should go back into the dibs pool, and be treated like any other found item (i.e. it goes around the dibs order until someone picks it or everyone passes on it, in which case it gets sold for cash and the cash is divided equally among everyone).
If an item comes up that would clearly be good for someone who is not present (a magical axe is acquired while the fighter player is away for example) and everyone passes on it we hold it aside until the next session that the missing player is present. If they want it, they can have it, otherwise it gets sold like any other item that everyone has passed on.
Potions and other charged items only count toward your dib total for one adventure.
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While this seems a little complex its actually really easy and fast. Most players know what their total magic 'value' is at any time and usually its pretty much known who the players are that 'top' the list and are going to get first, second and third try on any new magic found.
The goal of this system was to create a fast way to divy up the loot while still having individual possession of the goods. We've been using spread sheets and GP equivalents in our 3.5 game and, while that works, it feels like accounting. We have tried socialism but that literally led to hour long arguments about the treasure every second session. It was a big drain on game time and no one was really having fun during the arguing.
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Our group has come up with the idea of Treasure Credits. This has worked for us from 3.0 to 3.5 to Pathfinder.
Treasure Credits
1.
The total market value of all magic items must be calculated before the treasure is split up.
2.
All party members will receive an equal share of the total market price of the magic items in Treasure Credits (TC). One TC = 1 gold piece of the market value.
3.
Any party member with a negative TC balance must first apply all TC's to current debt.
4.
All players with a non-negative TC balance will have an opportunity to bid on any item of treasure using their TC's. The bidding must start at the market value of the item in TC's.
5.
A party member with a non-negative TC balance may borrow against future TC's to bid against the current item.
6.
The highest bid wins the item.
7.
A party member may not exchange gold pieces for TC debt.
8.
Any item not bid on may be used by the most suited party member but sold without notice at the party's discretion.
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My group of players does this:
(1) Tallies the gp of all gold, gems and the like.
(2) lists all the magic items
(3) Reaches an agreement on how the magic items should be distributed (based on need only).
(4) all un-needed items are sold and the value added to (1)
(5) the value of (1) is first used to buy wands of Cure xxx Wounds. Money is then spent on fabricating party healing items. Occasionally, money is given to the wizard to acquire and scribe new spells. These are seen as party-wide expenditures. Occasionally, a party member can make a request that a particular item be paid for by the group, explaining the group benefit it brings. If the group goes for it, this amount is given to the requesting player for the intended purpose.
(6) The remaining money is shared equally among the party members.
(7)Individual members restore their personal healing and defensive potion store with their share of the loot and then use the balance of the money for any purpose they desire.
It works great and the party is always overflowing with healing items, freeing the clerics to take a more aggressive stance in combat.
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Hmmmm where do I begin with how the group I DM split loot.
Some call it "accountants and a-holes", which doesnt bother me since I DM all the time.
I may butcher this so bear with me:
Each perm magic item is worth 60% of the listed cost in the DMG/MIC.
Each charged/one-use item is worth 10%
So based on those two items you add up your gp totals of the items you have and then you are placed in order lowest to largest gp value. When you find more magic you pick first if you are the lowest total. Loose coins are used to even up the gp value of each person.
Hence if you have 20,000gp worth of items and the other person has 10k, then you may not get any gold until the other member catches up to you in total gp value.
Lost?
Yeah me too.
Thats why I DM.
There is a tool that can make loot sharing faster and easier - it's called the Loot Divider, and you can check out the preview images and video, and get more information here:
http://LootDivider.com
R
Cash gets split evenly amongst the Characters. Any leftovers (that can't be split evenly) just get left in the Group Treasure until we get more Cash.
Gems and Objects (Art, etc...) get sold and the Cash evenly distributed as above.If a Character can use a Magic Item and noone else can, then they usually get that Item. In cases where more than one Character can use it, then discussions ensue until an agreement is reached.
Anything that noone can use goes into Group Treasure to be sold or used when the occasion arises. The Cash is then split as above.If it's something that will benefit the entire Party (such as a Wand of Ressurrection) then it is counted as Group Treasure, but the charater who can use it gets to carry it if they want to.
Most stuff gets evened out, but occasionaly one will get more than the others.
As an example, this happened in our current game:
Two guys got items they could use (one got a Weapon, the other Armour). The casters got some Scrolls and Potions. Two of us couldn't use anything else from the Haul. When we got to Town, the two who had gotten anything went to a Blacksmith to see if he could enhance our current equipment. He said yes and we each took an item from the Group Treasure to pay for this enhancement. Everyone got something from the Encounter.
+1 thats mostly how my group does it as well.
Most of the times its need before greed but once in a while when a really cool magic item that multiple people want we get out the old d20 and make a treasure roll and do a draft with the highest roller getting first pick
Tried this once got too long winded so here we try again.
I ran a halfling sorceror in a greyhawk campaign under 3.0 rules.
The dm believed sorcerors were dependant on scrolls or witness arcane spells cast to be able to learn new spells.
Being the only arcane spellcaster barring a bard I picked identify as my character's 3rd level spell and the only magical item my character had was a cloak of elvenkind nobody else wanted until the session I missed and it ended up in the hands of the party's rogue.
The only time a magical item was offered to my character it was a spellbook which I proceeded to pass onto the party's wizard (who had missed that session) as I was moving home and wouldn't be contiuing when they restarted.
The line they claimed was that any magical item should go to the person best able to use it, since most of the magic was swords, armours and even a shield what little was left ended up with the monk or the paladin which as i recall was a natural armour item and a couple of rings of protection.
There was a set of bracers of health or mighty con+6 which I picked up and after being hollered at by those of the party with most magical items for "stealing" they "graciously" let my character carry it and I promptly gave it to the wizard since he needed more than mine (and the reason my character picked it up was because she recognised the spell since it was one she knew, the first such item she had ever come across).
Ironically the paladin clad in full plate and armed with a masterwork greatsword initially grabbed the first ring of protection my character tried to offer to the monk and later claimed nobody wanted it, my character by the time the campaign ended last time I knew about it had multiclassed to rogue preparing to take the arcane trickster prestige class inspired by a certain cloak and knew Mage Armour and Shield to offset the fact she had no magical items unless you count having two holy symbols enchanted with a continual flame and a few scrolls intended for spell choices before the wizard player joined the game.
I better end it there, whilst I hope what I've typed makes sense!
When I ran a game the magical items tended to be found on their adversaries and the PCs eventually traded in some of their loot for specific items, since I wanted to see what they were interested in for their characters (about the biggest magical item was a wondrous item that turned it in to a dire flail which the druid player made a point of figuring out how to use and yes I ignored what was probably a weapon restriction but it was fun to run)
This had problems becuase that was under 3.0 and I used the dmg npc as a guide for the villain they fought meaning they ended up with a little too many potions, scrolls and even a wand.
Have to admit when I ran a pathfinder game I added some healing potions because the party got to the point where they didn't have time to rest thereby allowing the newly classed cleric of the party to pray for his spells.
So in the first game you've run how much treasure did you include?
By that I mean did you stick to masterwork stuff and perhaps a potion with money/gems or did you give them a quest to complete resulting in getting their reward for completing the mission whether as a lead in to another adventure say via a character back history subplot or what did they like?