Do adventure paths include all the loot you should be receiving?

[Nimor Starseeker]

Do adventure paths include all the loot you should be receiving?

Most monsters that you look up on d20pfsrd and stuff have a level of treasure the creature should have, whether its None or Incidental or Standard or whatever. And there are plenty of treasure generators online. Adventure Paths usually include treasure and gear on npcs or scattered around, but some creatures just say 'find this creature in Bestiary whatever." Are those creatures treasures included in what we should be getting as players? I feel like I am pretty poor for being Level 3 in my campaign, and looking at a different AP, I figured that could be part of the problem.

[DeathlessOne]

Not always. There can be various reason for this that varies by campaign, or by player choices. Random encounters can skew this as well.

As for your current situation, a level 3 character (starting at level 3) should have around 3,000gp in personal wealth. That's pretty much a single level equivalent magic item and some consumables, or you can get most of your stuff masterwork quality and buy some cheap wondrous items for limited or one off effects. The later option is usually the best one for low level games.

[Azothath]

→ Wealth by Level (WBL) Table
→ Adjusting Treasure(wealth)

generally 3 tracks; Slow (XP/2, Treasure/2 with regular support rewards(like healing potions, scrolls, recovered spellbooks)), Average/regular, Fast([1.5 to 2]*XP, [1.5 to 2]*Treasure)

APs have most of the work done but authors expect GMs to tailor the rewards and customize foes a bit to meet their group's needs. The background information is in the AP to help GMs do that. Some APs really need some customization as they do not challenge the average party and PF is well known for publishing lackluster caster builds. Some APs are missing an adventure or two in places to keep party levels where they need to be.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Another thing to consider is that even if the AP has enough treasure to satisfy the WBL guidelines that is no guarantee that the players will actually find or gain possession of all the treasure. A failed perception roll or a creature from an encounter getting away can mean the players do not gain the treasure even if it is in the AP. This is why the GM should still be keeping track of things and adjusting the loot as needed.

[JamesWTGames]

Honestly it isn’t just this but sometimes APs just have very specific loot, or loot that you’d need to alter drastically for it to matter for a party. I’m playing in Iron Gods for example. And we’re a 3 person group half way to lv3, and for the most part the biggest problem we have is that virtually _all_ the loot in the module we’re having to sell to buy what we actually want. Meaning we are getting less return on our rewards, since everything that any of us could want would be super niche. We are using Elephant in the Room which is comically making things more awkward.

I’m a ratfolk gun chemist, started with a pistol and wealthy parents which let me fix my gun, start with a wand of abundant ammunition and a bunch of other neat starting stuff.
P2 is an android Bladebound Magus who chose a rapier and thus ‘light blades’ is her weapon category her ‘black blade’ once awakened can inhabit.
P3 is a half orc Wind Shaman. Who took his first hex to basically have triggerable Mage Armor for himself, despite him being better if he’s doing ranged attacks.

And the first enchanted weapon that the module actually gives us? A dagum +1 warhammer! Meaning _none_ of us can realistically use it. Meaning we basically have to sell it. This isn’t mentioning the silverdisks (which are defunct unchargeable batteries in the AP.) but those are expected. Other notable examples include:
A brown veemod (no one has sunlight sensitivity)
A flashlight (everyone either has darkvision or a way to produce light)
At least half a dozen sets of MW thieves’ tools (this felt silly)
A timeworn camera with its memory erased (which is fairly worthless by that point only worth 750 gp to sell)
A timeworn commset that our GM has gaslit the other 2 players into thinking will be important for us later. (I desperately want to sell this, since this alone is worth more than most of our inventory, but also made the camera redundant since it has one built in)

There’s probably more but this is the stuff that stood OUT for the most part.

[DeathlessOne]

One thing you can do to offset the issue of having to sell items to buy others is to use the idea of 'trade-in value'. You can use the Bargaining Rules to get more money or value out of the item.

As a general rule for my game is that you get 50% of the value of the item if you just want to sell it. You can get 75% of the value as a trade-in. If you wish to use the Bargaining Rules, you can get a max of 75% of the item in coins or up to 100% of its value as a trade-in. 'Trade-in' in this circumstance means you are doing business with the one merchant (trading in the item for something of equal value, plus or minus coins if the trade is insufficent either way).

[Diego Rossi]

JamesWTGames wrote:

At least half a dozen sets of MW thieves’ tools (this felt silly)

After the first set, MW thieves' tools are money. Selling one of them you get 50 gp, and, RAW, you can sell an unlimited amount in almost any settlement. It seems silly that a town of 4,000 would have enough buyers for 6 MW thieves’ tools, but the GM can justify that by saying that the merchant sells the components separately. A good screwdriver, drill, or wirecutter is easier to sell than a set of instruments meant to open locks or disable traps.

A MW thieve’s tools set weight 2 lbs, while a common one weight 1 lb, so the difference in quality is mostly more and different tools, not simply better quality tools.

- * -

The large number of classes and builds makes generic loot, especially weapons and armor, problematic. The writer of the adventure will often go for thematic stuff, as he can't be sure there is someone in the party who will use it.

Numeria has a large population of barbarians, so I would expect a good number of greatswords or grataxes. No one in your group uses them.
You are small in a human land and the crew of the alien ship probably was medium-sized. Again, it seems that most of the advanced weaponry you will find would require taking feats your group members weren't meant to take or selling them.

Your GM should adapt some of the items, but probably taking a crafting feat or two will be useful.

[Niemand]

sadly adventuring has only lowered my bank account balance from purchasing adventures...

[Azothath]

DeathlessOne wrote:

... use the Bargaining Rules to get more money or value out of the item.

...

yep

the bargaining rules have a bit of a loophole from 100-150% of book value. Notice in the second example how the initial asking price replaces the actual price in appraised value for a higher final offer price. Bluff and Intimidate are interchangeable though the latter has worse long term consequences. Starting Attitudes should be taken into account.

Developing a trade relationship with craftsmen and/or merchants is the RP way to go. A small business needs 15-25% profit to survive. You get more value in trade than cash.

[Warped Savant]

I have run a number of APs and haven't changed / added to the loot listed in the books and it has never been a problem. (But apparently Carrion Crown is drastically short on loot, so keep that in mind if you're running that AP).

I've ran: Kingmaker, Hell's Rebels, Mummy's Mask, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Reign of Winter, and a heavily added to Skull & Shackles (so I don't know about the treasure levels on that one.)