Chapter 5: Gem - The Book of Many Things

Avoid the Profit Motive

If your characters are motivated primarily by money, wealth can threaten the entire campaign. After all, when mercenaries have all the money they'd ever need, why should they risk life and limb any more? Avoid this problem by ensuring your characters develop strong personal reasons to continue to adventure, even if they begin their adventuring careers in the pursuit of wealth. Perhaps they want revenge on a despicable villain, they enjoy exploring, or they crave the respect of their peers. Money won't provide any of these things, though it might make it easier to overcome obstacles along the way.

Power Can't Be Bought

Characters who come into a lot of wealth might try to buy magic items that make them more powerful. Remember, you decide what magic items, if any, can be bought and sold in a settlement. You don't have to provide access to magic items too powerful for the characters. Expendable magic items, like scrolls and potions, are a good compromise; they're useful but have fewer long-term effects on your campaign. If an item still proves to be too powerful, you don't have to provide access to it again.

Spread the Wealth

Wealth can transform people's lives; you just have to give the characters good reasons for spending their gold. Friends and loved ones, for example, can benefit from their largess, especially if these allies are experiencing hard times. If characters are attached to a settlement and its inhabitants, improving a neighborhood or the whole settlement can quickly expend their new wealth.

But an ally shouldn't simply approach characters and ask for money; instead, make the ally's financial needs part of a story. For example, if a dragon destroys the castle of a just ruler and devours the ruler's family, characters might be expected to hunt down the dragon, but wealthy ones can pay for the castle to be rebuilt and buy enough diamonds to cast Resurrection for the ruler and their entire family.