Hi there!
I seem to be having a bit of an issue in the realm of encounter design. Unfortunately, and to the detriment of some people, I am a very by-the-book Gm when it comes to designing NPC's and the like. To put it simply, I tend to formularize my games.
To put that into perspective, I take and find how much experience my players need to level, create a number of encounters to have them reach that level (and 25% more, if necessary) and then, taking those encounters, I check the wealth of them all.
Cr 10 encounter? 8,200*1.25 gets them 10,250. I have 5 players so I increase the wealth per combat... It also makes it easier to give geared NPC's weapons. Mooks, mind you. That, however, is where my problem begins.
The amount of wealth a Level 9 Heroic NPC Fighter gets is 7,800 gp. Problem with that, however, is that a Cr 8 encounter (and the Fighter is a Cr 8) under fast progression awards an ordinary 5000 gp. My original solution was to just do everything in my power to lower the amount of wealth each NPC had, but then I realized that that didn't work in the long run.
I had originally planned to throw a lot of geared NPC's at the players, but I'm running into walls, somewhat. Could anyone help me figure this out? The only other idea I've had is to lower the amount of wealth in other fights, and make the NPC fights cash cows. That seems like it would make life a bit difficult for the players as they inevitably wait for super-gold fights.
that is the plan, animals, demons, etc, all can work with little gear. Humans or dragons that have gear/hoards are the money places.
Also are you figuring in that selling loot gives you half the gold put into it? that helps because 8000 enemy gear is only 4000 gained.
I'm aware you can throw things like animals, demons and the like, though, honestly speaking demons usually have rather nice weapons, but am I to assume at all times that all gear is worth half it's price because it was crafted? I mean, I'm aware you can give people stuff like gold, and money-only items like gems, or artwork, or something.
So is it better to just assume that all NPC's give half their equipment price as wealth?
Also, don't forget that part of the wealth of an NPC can be consumable. A couple potions or scrolls, a wand with a few charges of a 4th level spell, these can be used up and reduce the NPCs wealth as well. If it happens too often, the PCs may get angry, but it's reasonable for an NPC to use their magic to get ready for a fight or recover from one.
So let me get this straight. As long as I follow the wealth per NPC, and throw them at the PC's, it'll equate out properly from the wealth standpoint? Or is that a horrible mistake?
Alshoodone, yes, it is generally assumed that most of the loot your players will receive will not be exactly what they want, so they'll sell most of it. For instance, how many +1 Studded Leather Armors can they wear? How many magic swords can they swing at any given time? Those items help the NPC's who are using them, but the party is probably going to sell them so they can buy something they actually want.
To avoid things getting stale, you can sprinkle in consumables and the occasional custom-made item that you know one of your players will want to use and replace their old equipment with.
So yes, it should all more or less work out in the end. If they're +/- 15% WBL, that's fine, and and more can be brought back in line by a few loot-lite or loot-heavy encounters. Or, if you don't mind risking your players' wrath, you can have an NPC nemesis who makes clever use of the sundering rules. Don't over-use it, but in moderation it can make for a very hated villain. The inverse is a friendly NPC who can craft or enchant the occasional item as a favor.