Does NPC wealth table 14-9 in the core rulebook imply that's the wealth NPCs with NPC classes should have or is that for all NPCs? I'm asking because most of the major villans in my game are going to be regular characters with character levels, such as a lvl 12 evil cleric. Should I give that character wealth based on the PC wealth table or would that cause problems?
In general since so many of the antagonists on the game I plan on running are going to be characters how should I do their wealth and magic items? Obviously in most cases it's going to be expected that the PCs are going take the magic items from their fallen foes as the spoils of victory. I want to make their opponents challenging, but at the same time I don't want the amount of magic items the players acquire getting out of control.
What's the best way to do this?
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The SRD suggests to give class levels and PC wealth to a NPC to give him a CR equal to his level, and thus making him a "boss". If it's not an important character, NPC levels and wealth are enough, the CR of such a character is his level -2. For tough NPCs, heroic NPC stats and wealth + one magic item adapted to your characters for the loot is good. Keeping track of wealth shouldn't be a problem if the only way to loot useful magic items is the bosses/adventures. As a global rule, write somewhere EVERYTHING your players got and the total price of it. It will allow you to compare this list at any time to the WBL, and estimate if including a specific item will not break the game.
There is also a table of expected treasure/encounter/level, if your objective is to keep wealth under control, you can see if you made a lot of lootless encounters and just throw an especially lucrative one.
Personally (or what I taught my DM), I give important antagonists 15-to-20 point-buy stats, PC levels and PC wealth. Those aren't supposed to keep all their wealth on them, or taking them down brings a huge reward after a lot of suffering. Powerful underlings get heroic NPC stats, PC levels and NPC wealth with customized additional bonuses (like a chief assassin with an assassin's dagger, a fighter with gloves of dueling, a thug with a mythril +2 shadow chainmail...) especially designed for the kool, efficiency, RP reasons, possibilites of trading (the dagger is a proof that will get the players a reward or given to a museum for another old artifact, etc), or simply with a player in mind that will be happy to get this rare item in his inventory as a recompense for his RP - or just because it will keep him to his normal WBL. Unimportant NPCs get NPC normal stats, NPC levels and NPC wealth, they are here to be mauled to death until a player gives any interest in them other than put them down. Some henchmen NPCs only have the importance players will give them, these ones don't need anything other than the minimum to fight and live.
Young (or desperate) players tend to loot first and compulsively after the fight, more experimented will only put interest in important targets and in hidden, more interesting treasures that could give them future benefits. Getting masterwork daggers and silver pieces on each body isn't worth the time after some levels.
So, tl;dr => Keep track of wealth, and make wealth accessible depending on the NPC's importance, their RP and your players needs.
Hope this helps ! :)
NPC with PC class levels and PC wealth has a CR = to Level
NPC with PC class levels and NPC wealth has a CR = to level minus one
NPC with NPC class levels and NPC wealth has a CR = to level minus two.