
ValiantDrator |
Hello, I'm a fairly new GM and I was wondering if anyone had a few good tips for how to scale the amount of gold I reward my party? Most of the party is around level 7 or so and get most of their funds via hunting monsters for a guild. I know there is probably a simple answer to this, but I would really appreciate any advice or ideas.

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In the Bestiary monsters have an indication of reccommended treasure - none for animals, triple for greedy dragons etcetera.
Obviously if the PCs fight only animals, that would result in very little treasure. Therefore it's also recommended to alternate monsters a bit so the players fight both low and high loot monsters.
Also, while animals don't collect treasure, it's quite possible that there is scattered loot in the area anyway, from other people the animal killed and ate. Likewise, maybe this dragon lost a lot of loot in a fight a while back. So you don't have to treat the entry as an absolute rule, more as a "typical value" guideline.

Nearyn |

I'll just be the devils advocate here and say, that while the Wealth By Level table can be a good tool, I don't really use it outside of creating characters above level 1. If my players earn goodies, they earn goodies, and I don't attempt to reel in the amount of wealth they earn for their efforts or creativity. I'm the GM, it's not like I can't give my players a challenge, no matter how well equipped (or underequipeed) they might be.
Welcome to GMing BTW. When I see people who are new to GMing on these boards I tend to provide them with this link. Maybe you'll find it useful.
-Nearyn

therealthom |

As Nearyn said you can use the Wealth by Level Table.
Although I may be reviled for saying so, I personally like to keep the PCs below the WBL, maybe about 75% of full wealth. I find they're more likely to steamroll my encounters if they have full WBL. That said, if you do keep them below WBL you must be very careful to insure that they have adequate resources for the monsters you throw at them.

Guardianlord |
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WBL really depends on the PC's classes, I have 6 players and 5 are casters, this means they don't NEED much equipment, after expensive +mental stat items, scrolls are cheap, potions are plentiful, weapons are an afterthought, armors are a nice bonus mostly, usually they make everything themselves for 1/2 cost. They also tend to have a spell slot ready to fill in for gear.
If you have a mostly martial group, then armor enchantments are LIFE, weapons mean the difference between winning a fight, and dying/doing nothing. Martial's are gear hungry, WBL can be low for them if they need to "Golfbag" their weapons (acid, frost, fire, elec, pierce, slash, bludgeon, ranged, melee, nonlethal, cold iron, adamantine, etc). They also tend to have more "consumables", wands (full price cost), arrows/special material thrown daggers, potions (full price), alchemical weapons, (full price, wow, this is getting expensive), wondrous items like feather tokens (100gp for something a ranger can cast for FREE), heck even food and camping gear that many casters can replace with spells (they tend to share though).
That said, WBL seems like it is a bit high for most parties, I suggest replacing found gold with consumables (wands, potions alchemical weapons), "art" objects of subjective price (less gold now when they are rich, or more gold later when they are poor), gems, or wondrous items.
If they need more gear, nothing saying a band of bandits can't ambush them armed with "maguffin B" on their way to the ghost dragon fight.
And this is just good advice for any new GM Ten Tips for New GM's.

Scott Wilhelm |
It's really up to you how much gold and how fast to level your characters. You should create some NPC adventurers of different levels, and equip them in a way you think is appropriate for successful adventures in your campaign world operating within your economic environment. Then use that as a guideline.
Another guideline is to ask to see your characters' builds. In a lot of cases, players design their characters with respect to feats, spells, and skill points many levels in advance. In a lot of cases, they envision specific magic items to acquire at specific levels.
Reconcile and collaborate with your vision and your players', and your campaign will be comprehensively awesome.

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Keep an eye on your party's habits, too. For instance, one of my players can't seem to break himself of the habit of stripping leather armor and hand axes and other low-value loot from every body, even when he's carrying thousands in cash and magic items. (My own fault for not inflicting Encumbrance? Possibly.) And there are tales of groups that pinch coppers even harder than that. Sadly, the more stingy they get, the more closely you have to monitor the amount they make... and reduce future treasures accordingly.
I hate having to do accounting in Pathfinder. It's part of the gold = magic items = power pattern, though. If you're lucky, your PCs will ignore 'treasure I don't like' and pass it by in favor of 'just what I was looking for', so that their visits to town don't invariably resemble a swap meet/garage sale.

ValiantDrator |
so that their visits to town don't invariably resemble a swap meet/garage sale.
This is a big issue I'm having. Most of my players are fairly new to D&D with the exception of one of them, and they aren't really spending the gold that they DO have. Most of the magic items they have they've looted or have been gifted as part of their payment. I haven't dropped any big loot in a long time though hoping that that would kind of spur them to action.

Deadalready |

Chances are they're not aware of the options available, this is why I love referring them to the Ultimate Equipment book, Hero's Handbook or even chapters in the Core Rule book.
Something I do is use scenarios that force them to think about more than just hitting things to win. Another thing I often do is use spells/items that are annoying/strong/useful against the party and when they complain, tell them that they can purchase them as well.