Treasure and Rarity

Giving out uncommon and rare items and formulas can get players more interested in treasure. It’s best to introduce uncommon items as a reward fairly regularly but rare items only occasionally. These rewards are * Many 1st-level permanent items should be items from Chapter 6 instead of magic items.

By varying the amount of XP it takes to gain a level, you can change how quickly characters gain power. The game rules assume a group playing with standard advancement. Fast advancement works best when you know you won’t be playing a very long campaign and want to accomplish as much as possible quickly; slow advancement works best for a gritty campaign where all progress is hard won. You can alter XP from one adventure to the next to get a different feel. During a street-level murder mystery and travel through a haunted wilderness, you might use slow advancement. When the PCs reach the dungeon, you might switch to standard or fast advancement. The values below are just examples. You can use values even higher or lower.

Advancement Speed

XP to Level Up

Fast
800 XP
Standard
1,000 XP
Slow
1,200 XP

Story-Based Leveling

If you don’t want to deal with managing and handing out XP, or if you want to have progression based solely on events in the story, you can ignore the XP process entirely and instead simply decide when the characters level up. Generally, the characters should gain a level every three to four game sessions, just after the most appropriate big event that happens during that time, such as defeating a significant villain or achieving a major goal.

2
300 gp

3rd: 2, 2nd: 2

3rd: 2, 2nd: 2, 1st: 2

70 gp
18 gp

3
500 gp

4th: 2, 3rd: 2

4th: 2, 3rd: 2, 2nd: 2

120 gp
30 gp

4
850 gp

5th: 2, 4th: 2

5th: 2, 4th: 2, 3rd: 2

200 gp
50 gp

5
1,350 gp

6th: 2, 5th: 2

6th: 2, 5th: 2, 4th: 2

320 gp
80 gp

6
2,000 gp

7th: 2, 6th: 2

7th: 2, 6th: 2, 5th: 2

500 gp
125 gp

7
2,900 gp

8th: 2, 7th: 2

8th: 2, 7th: 2, 6th: 2

720 gp
180 gp

8
4,000 gp

9th: 2, 8th: 2

9th: 2, 8th: 2, 7th: 2

1,000 gp
250 gp

9
5,700 gp

10th: 2, 9th: 2

10th: 2, 9th: 2, 8th: 2

1,400 gp
350 gp

10
8,000 gp

11th: 2, 10th: 2

11th: 2, 10th: 2, 9th: 2

2,000 gp
500 gp

11
11,500 gp

12th: 2, 11th: 2

12th: 2, 11th: 2, 10th: 2

2,800 gp
700 gp

12
16,500 gp

13th: 2, 12th: 2

13th: 2, 12th: 2, 11th: 2

4,000 gp
1,000 gp

13
25,000 gp

14th: 2, 13th: 2

14th: 2, 13th: 2, 12th: 2

6,000 gp
1,500 gp

14
36,500 gp

15th: 2, 14th: 2

15th: 2, 14th: 2, 13th: 2

9,000 gp
2,250 gp

15
54,500 gp

16th: 2, 15th: 2

16th: 2, 15th: 2, 14th: 2

13,000 gp
3,250 gp

16
82,500 gp

17th: 2, 16th: 2

17th: 2, 16th: 2, 15th: 2

20,000 gp
5,000 gp

17
128,000 gp

18th: 2, 17th: 2

18th: 2, 17th: 2, 16th: 2

30,000 gp
7,500 gp

18
208,000 gp

19th: 2, 18th: 2

19th: 2, 18th: 2, 17th: 2

48,000 gp
12,000 gp

19
355,000 gp

20th: 2, 19th: 2

20th: 2, 19th: 2, 18th: 2

80,000 gp
20,000 gp

20
490,000 gp

20th: 4

20th: 4, 19th: 2

140,000 gp
35,000 gp

The treasure you award to the party should be monitored and adjusted as you play. You might need to give out treasure you hadn’t originally planned for, especially if the group bypasses part of an adventure. Keep an eye on the party’s resources. If they’re running out of consumables or money, or if they’re having trouble in combat because their items aren’t up to the task, you can make adjustments.

This is especially common in adventures that have little downtime or that take place far from civilization. If the group goes a long time without being able to purchase or Craft useful items, the PCs will be flush with coins and valuables but behind on useful equipment. In a situation like this, you can either place more useful treasure in the adventure or introduce NPCs who are willing to trade.

Megadungeons and Sandboxes

Some adventures have an expectation that the player characters explore where they want and find only what their skill, luck, and ingenuity afford. Two common examples of this type of adventure are the sprawling dungeon with multiple different sections and paths, often called a megadungeon, and free-form exploration, often called a sandbox and typically occurring in a wilderness. If you want to build a free-form adventure like this where characters are likely to miss at least some of the treasure, increase the amount of treasure you place. Be aware, however, that a meticulous group can end up with more treasure than normal and will have advantages in later adventures.

For a simple guideline to these situations, increase the treasure as though there were one more PC in the party. If the structure is especially loose, especially in sandbox adventures, you can increase this amount even further.

especially compelling when the adventurers get the item by defeating or outsmarting an enemy who carries an item that fits their backstory or theme.

Uncommon and rare formulas make great treasure for a character who Crafts items. Note that if an uncommon or rare formula is broadly disseminated, it eventually becomes more common. This can take months or years, but the item might start showing up in shops all around the world.