Stronger-than-usual NPC CR adjustments?

[JiCi]

Ok... NPCs follow a "rule" based on their wealth, as in that a NPC has a specific amount of GPs to spend to be at the current CR listed.

What if I want to make them richer than usual, thus making them stronger than usual?

Is there a rule of thumb about that, like "+1 CR for every extra 10,000 GP" or something?

I do remember seeing NPcs with the following [paraphrased] note: "[This NPC] has stronger gear than usual, thus is considered 1 CR higher." However, they don't specify what items make that NPC better than usual.

[Bob Bob Bob]

Alright, so here's the breakdown. NPC classes are worth CR-2. PC classes are worth CR-1. PC wealth is worth +1 CR. No gear is worth -1 CR.

NPC Gear Adjustments wrote:

You can significantly increase or decrease the power level of an NPC with class levels by adjusting the NPC's gear. The combined value of an NPC's gear is given in Creating NPCs on Table: NPC Gear. A classed NPC encountered with no gear should have his CR reduced by 1 (provided that loss of gear actually hampers the NPC), while a classed NPC that instead has gear equivalent to that of a PC (as listed on Table: Character Wealth by Level) has a CR of 1 higher than his actual CR. Be careful awarding NPCs this extra gear, though—especially at high levels, where you can blow out your entire adventure's treasure budget in one fell swoop!

Adding NPCs wrote:

Creatures whose Hit Dice are solely a factor of their class levels and not a feature of their race, such as all of the PC races detailed in Races, are factored into combats a little differently than normal monsters or monsters with class levels. A creature that possesses class levels, but does not have any racial Hit Dice, is factored in as a creature with a CR equal to its class levels –1. A creature that only possesses non-player class levels (such as a warrior or adept) is factored in as a creature with a CR equal to its class levels –2. If this reduction would reduce a creature's CR to below 1, its CR drops one step on the following progression for each step below 1 this reduction would make: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8.

Bolding mine. The level thing is just for classed NPCs without racial hit dice though, there's different rules for adding levels to monsters with racial hit dice.

[dragonhunterq]

Yep, an NPC with PC wealth is +1CR. 10000gp of extra gear has a very different impact at 5th level to 15th level, so it can't be based on a flat gp value.

Once you equip an NPC with greater than PC wealth you are into the wonderful realm of eyeballing it and seeing at what point the extra gear makes a significant impact to put it up to +2CR. Probably turn out to be around +1CR for every doubling of PC wealth at that level (he says without doing any research whatsoever, so take that with a pinch of salt).

Don't forget that any gear you give an NPC could very well end up in PC hands, so that becomes it's own limit.