I'm in the process of planing for my next campaign and I've had this idea kicking around in my head for a while. It's a system that encourages PCs to split up and enjoy their status as wealthy heroes in their downtime.
I've noticed, at least in my group, that the players become a bit tight pursed during the course of the campaign. They end up trying not to interact with the world in ways that cost's them gold. Which I can understand. If you spend 50gp on fancy wine at the bar instead of picking up a couple of bottles of alchemists fire you might get some scowls from across the table when the party comes up against a swarm.
So here is my basic idea. First is to pick a percentage and add it to all the wealth the players get during a campaign. Then in order to level up the PC must squander that percentage of the WBL for his next lv before he can level up. So if the Gm picked 10%, to get to 2nd level, you'd have to blow 100gp. 3rd level 300, 4th level 600 ,ect..
Here's some examples of squandering money I had in mind.
Exotic Pets - pricey to buy and maintain. Plus you may need a pet sitter while on the road.
Charity - House and feed an ever increasing army of orphans. Maybe you are the one making them.
Fancy dinners and parties - Be the toast of the town then buy everyone another round.
Music and Art - Become a patron of the arts and leave a lasting cultural legacy.
Clothing - Dress as flashy as the random picture you found online to represent your character.
I feel like by not only encouraging but mandating that the PC spends some money on themselves it will help flesh out the character in interesting and unexpected ways.
The downside it does create a bit of extra paperwork. On the other hand I do story based leveling and this is more in the control of the players, so not too much record keeping going on.
Does anyone have any experience with a system similar to this, or any advice on how to run or expand on it? I'm still a few months out from my next campaign so I have plenty of time to fiddle around with this.
You'd also have to give out that much extra loot, of you'll get grumblings of "if I don't have to spend that 100gp I could have gotten a +1 rune."
Which I think is a horrible idea but for some parties it works better I suppose...
The squandering idea is interesting, it has a certain flavor similar to what I think was AD&D where your level affected your expected lifestyle costs per month.
Note, some methods of Squandering, might be choosing to not take treasure, or to return treasure to a 'rightful' owner. This might be a way to give some extra credit for characters who choose to do things like this.
@Draco18s: I think the OP was already planning on adding that amount of treasure to the base distribution. See emphasis that I added to their quote.
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So here is my basic idea. First is to pick a percentage and add it to all the wealth the players get during a campaign. Then in order to level up the PC must squander that percentage of the WBL for his next lv before he can level up. So if the Gm picked 10%, to get to 2nd level, you'd have to blow 100gp. 3rd level 300, 4th level 600 ,ect..
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@Draco18s: Yep. That’s a very important aspect of implementing a system like this. Make it clear out of character that you are giving the players extra, not taxing what they would otherwise earn.
@ Zapp: I have considered using gold for xp. I think it would be good for a super wealth motivated party, but not what I’m going for this time around. It looks like it would create a high motivation to do anything to make money but take the wind out of the sails for other kinds of adventures. If I end up running a pirate themed game I’ll probably go with some form of gold to xp.
@Loreguard: That is a good point. In many campaigns it feels like having an ethical character is a major drain on the party coffers.
Bury your fallen companions without looting their corpse. Give that grieving widow her late husband's wedding ring instead of pawning it. Refuse the promised gold reward form the peasants that can barely feed themselves.
I like this. There's a pretty strong incentive in games like this to min/max your gold use in a way that doesn't really line up with how people actually spend their money and this provides another way around it.
I'd probably change how you market it though. Less "you're forced to waste gold to level up" and more "Here's a system that lets you play into a character's vices and virtues or get them socially involved with the world without feeling like you're throwing away power to do it"
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I see what you are saying, but the way it is now I feel like there’s usually a large disconnect between what the player wants to spend the gold on vs what the character would. I get why it happens. I usually fall into that mindset as a player. You don’t want to sacrifice the survivability of the party for RP.
It’s strange to me nearly every adventuring party, no matter how poor impulse control in other situations, will sit on wealth that rivals kings in an inn for weeks at a time while the wizard finishes crafting magic items.
Living expenses are a good tool for fast forwarding through some of the more mundane aspects of role playing staying in a town. What I’m trying to do with my system is to help players highlight some of what would otherwise be unexplored aspects of their character. It puts the onus on the player to chase after the Gm with their own plot hooks vs the Gm having to finagle it out of them.
"Oh, and I go drinking and partying until I meet your spending quota. That's...800 gp? Done."
Even a simple declaration like gives a starting point to guide a player deeper into his character and the world.
“Are you throwing a black tie affair in the affluent part of town? Bar hopping with the peasants over the course of a week? What do you tell people when they ask you what the occasion is? The groups bard wants to entertain for your party do you let him? Oh no he crit failed his check and the venue is demanding you either fire him or leave.”I find little opportunities to build on a character interaction like that really make the game come to life for me. It helps build a narrative web that you can call back on later in the story. I don’t think it’s appropriate for all kinds of campaigns. In a ticking clock scenario it would be really out of place.It would create the same sort of disconnect as commander shepard shopping for his aquarium or throwing a dance party instead of dealing with the reaper invasion.
I usually run more sandboxy campaigns or modify the ones I do to incorporate some sandbox elements. Having a world that reacts to the players actions opens up new ways to casually show how important the characters actions and effect on the world.
Character only spends his money on partying at high levels? Nobles and merchant lords come up to him on the street begging for invitations to his next rager. Vineyards and breweries are emptied in his wake. Extraplanar merchants set up caravans to bring in wine from the planes of heaven. An army of thirsty men and hangers on closely follow the movements of Golarions own version of The Great Gatsby.
Have someone donating all their gold to the temple at high levels? Have new cathedrals start popping up in small towns. Get invited to fundraising dinners. Hymns are written about their generosity. Priests of aligned Deities start asking for donations to their own churches. Become a major target of evil cults. An aspect of their deity periodically comes by and gives them a thumbs up.
If you are worried about not being able to spend all the gold, a reasonable cap could be established. Maybe once you hit level 10 the cost stops rising.
In my opinion there is always something to waste your money on. A base of operations, while sometimes useful, in most campaigns would qualify as a waste of money. They can get quite expensive. Magical mansions filled with servants ready to cater to your every whim. Arcane academies filled loaded with apprentices that worship the ground you walk on. Fighting pits stocked with the fiercest of creatures to show off your fighting prowess to an arena of screaming fans. Then once you start stocking your base with magic items it becomes a gold sink that can last until the end of the game. Everburning torches lighting every room. Permanent levitate spells in place of stairs. A courtyard filled with magic plants guarded by an adamantine wall. A personal art gallery filled with the most expensive paintings on the material plane along with archeological curios from predating the age of darkness. A library that spans as far as the eye can see and warded with every book preservation spell known to mortal men.
I think some Conan themed game had crunch where PCs would have wealth over a certain level automatically spent/stolen/swindled between adventures. Like how Conan was reduced many times to just his horse, weapons and armor even if he was a noble earlier.
The PCs wouldn't be deprived of equipment, if they need a new sword because they broke the old one they can get one for free. Expensive stuff does require some saving though.
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My first thought here is what happens when a player comes up with something weird and unexpected. If, say, you get something like one of these, how would you respond?
I spend my gp on funding the magitek scientist trying to invent giant robots.
I spend my gp on a ton of bondage gear.
I spend my gp on funding a vigilante and supplying him with the magic items he needs to fight crime with terror.
I spend my gp on creating a national postal system operated by witches.
I've honestly been thinking of the opposite. Removing GP as much as possible. Just give out usable treasure, or exotic components that can be used for crafting, but things that they can't just sell because they are either too expensive to sell without a little quest of it's own to find a buyer, or the average person just has no interest in.
My players ignore character wealth and are fairly indifferent to experience points, too.
Therefore, they often return treasure stolen by bandits to the original owners or their heirs. They donate often to charities they like. They set up NPCs they befriended in new businesses. Once the skald (barbarian/bard hybrid) purchased a local gambing hall and converted it to a dance and music hall. She held regular concerts there. An NPC they rescued became its manager.
They also invested skill points into Craft(cooking) so that they could have good food at their campsites while out on a quest.
They figured out a secret of challenge-based roleplaying games and exploit that secret for more fun. The secret is that more levels and better gear don't help them win against the challenges, because the better their characters are, the harder I make the challenges.
Due to good teamwork, synergistic character design that aids teamwork, and one or two additional party members. the party fights extraordinarily well. Thus, I routinely increased the difficulty of the encounters in the modules by two levels. If they optimized their gear, then I would increase the difficulty by yet another level. They know that, so they don't bother optimizing their gear.
They use their treasure for roleplaying, instead.