Difference between revisions of "Wealth Guidelines"

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=== Average and Extreme Rewards, Examples ===
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=== Extreme Rewards ===
 
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Latest revision as of 06:48, 18 October 2017

Please note that the Wealth Guidelines are designed to give DMs a reference wealth range for a given PC at specific quantities of experience. The guidelines do not entitle PCs to receive more wealth if they are below average, nor does it require that above average PCs be reduced in wealth. In practice, only a PC beyond the Warning Cutoff level will need to see formal action taken by HDMs or the Admin.

For simplicity, the Wealth Guidelines are divided into two parts. Part One explains how PC Wealth will be monitored and the procedures for unusual wealth levels. Part Two provides further reference information for DMs and builders should they be interested. Only the guidelines in Part One will be regularly monitored by HDMs and the Admin.


PC Wealth

How to Monitor PC Wealth

See also: ACR Player Report, ACR Inventory Report
  1. Log in with DM Client.
  2. Open the "Inventory Manager" from the short row of icons
  3. Read values from the display
  4. Compare both values to Table 1 below.


PC Wealth by Experience

The following will serve as the expected distribution of player character wealth on ALFA Live servers. The following definitions will apply:

  • Average: The expected median and mean value of PC wealth on Live servers; given distribution of PCs across servers, this becomes impossible to enforce and remains only a theoretical target
  • Low End: An expected minimum value of sustained PC wealth on Live servers; see below for procedure regarding characters whose sustained wealth lies below this value
  • High End: An expected maximum value of sustained PC wealth on Live servers; see below for procedure regarding characters whose sustained wealth lies above this value
  • Warning Cutoff: A value of wealth that distinguishes which values of wealth above the High End are “actionable”
  • Warning Condition: PC with wealth between the High and Warning levels
  • Action Condition: PC with wealth over the Warning Cutoff
  • Uncounted Wealth: Catch-all term describing assets whose value is not immediately or easily transferable to coins or magical gear; see below for more details
  • Extenuating Circumstances: Catch-all term describing situations which will temporarily inflate or deflate a player character’s wealth value
XP Low End Average High End Warning Cutoff
1 300 600 2000 13350
1000 650 1175 3500 13350
3000 1925 3500 5100 13350
6000 3850 7025 10175 13350
10000 6425 11700 16975 22225
15000 9300 16900 24500 32100
21000 13575 24700 35825 46925
28000 19300 35100 50900 66700
36000 25750 46800 67850 88925
45000 35025 63700 92375 121025
55000 47200 85800 124425 163025
66000 62925 114400 165875 217350
78000 78650 143000 207350 271700
91000 107250 195000 282750 370500
105000 143000 260000 377000 494000
120000 185900 338000 490100 642200
136000 243100 442000 640900 839800
153000 314600 572000 829400 1086800
171000 414700 754000 1093300 1432600
190000 500000 1000000 1500000 2000000

This table is meant to include only adventuring wealth (i.e., gear) and liquid wealth (gems, tradebars, coin). "Uncounted" wealth is not included. Uncounted Wealth is meant to primarily emphasize RP-value assets. It is considered the “accepted” form of infinite wealth acquisition, as opposed to obtaining better and better magical gear. Many of these assets, such as businesses, have the potential to be a recurring revenue stream for player characters and should be monitored carefully. Some common forms of Uncounted Wealth include: non-magical clothing, housing, licenses and permits, businesses (within limits), retainers and employees (with limited capabilities, e.g. no assassins), and memberships in exclusive clubs. Other seemingly inappropriate ones, for example a gem collection, can be considered as long as there is a clear code of behavior the PC will follow to avoid its liquidation. HDM discretion dictates whether a given piece of wealth falls into this category. A DM wealth tool will be available to allow DMs to make a quick assessment of the total carried wealth of a PC.


Procedures for Unusual Wealth Levels

  1. PCs below the Low end could receive up to 1/3 above the standard DM wealth award, at the DMs discretion.
  2. PCs in a Warning or Action Condition
    1. Notify the PC of their status; give player opportunity to explain their wealth.
    2. Go to the Wealth Review forum. If a thread for the PC is not in existence, please create one noting the PCs wealth level and their explanation for their wealth.
    3. If there is a pre-existing thread for the PC, please follow any instructions from admin contained therein regarding the PC.
    4. Otherwise, the DM should reduce standard awards to the PC. PCs in a Warning Condition should get at most 1/3 of the standard DM wealth award, excepting Uncounted Wealth. PCs in an Action Condition should get no reward.
  3. Players with unusually high wealth levels may reduce their counted wealth voluntarily. DMs are advised to make this as IC as possible - PCs buying property, making gifts, etc..

Admin decisions regarding exceptions to the above standards will be where any accommodation of exceptional circumstances will be made. ARs will be involved in any circumstance where admin recommend reduction of a PCs wealth through extraordinary means to ensure transparency and fairness to the playe


References

Wealth Award per DM Run Session

Since ALFA uses a slower XP advancement curve than canon, the typical connections between encounter levels and wealth do not apply. Instead, the best connection that exists is between average wealth and XP, which tends to be consistent within four separate bands – levels 1-8, levels 9-12, levels 13-16, and levels 17 and above. As long as that consistent ratio is maintained, a simple relationship between XP and wealth will allow an easy way to aim for average wealth:

Total Wealth Value per Session = Average XP Awarded * Number of Party Members * Avg. PC level Factor. Avg. PC level Factor:

Levels 1-8; Factor: 1.25
Number of Party Members in Session
Avg. XP Awarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100 150 300 450 600 750 900 1050 1200 1350 1500
125 188 375 563 750 938 1125 1313 1500 1688 1875
150 225 450 675 900 1125 1350 1575 1800 2025 2250
175 263 525 788 1050 1313 1575 1838 2100 2363 2625
200 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100 2400 2700 3000
225 338 675 1013 1350 1688 2025 2363 2700 3038 3375
250 375 750 1125 1500 1875 2250 2625 3000 3375 3750
275 413 825 1238 1650 2063 2475 2888 3300 3713 4125
300 450 900 1350 1800 2250 2700 3150 3600 4050 4500
325 488 975 1463 1950 2438 2925 3413 3900 4388 4875
350 525 1050 1575 2100 2625 3150 3675 4200 4725 5250
375 563 1125 1688 2250 2813 3375 3938 4500 5063 5625
400 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 3600 4200 4800 5400 6000
425 638 1275 1913 2550 3188 3825 4463 5100 5738 6375
450 675 1350 2025 2700 3375 4050 4725 5400 6075 6750
475 713 1425 2138 2850 3563 4275 4988 5700 6413 7125
500 750 1500 2250 3000 3750 4500 5250 6000 6750 7500
525 788 1575 2363 3150 3938 4725 5513 6300 7088 7875
550 825 1650 2475 3300 4125 4950 5775 6600 7425 8250
575 863 1725 2588 3450 4313 5175 6038 6900 7763 8625
600 900 1800 2700 3600 4500 5400 6300 7200 8100 9000


Levels 9-12; Factor: 2.5
Number of Party Members in Session
Avg. XP Awarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500
125 313 625 938 1250 1563 1875 2188 2500 2813 3125
150 375 750 1125 1500 1875 2250 2625 3000 3375 3750
175 438 875 1313 1750 2188 2625 3063 3500 3938 4375
200 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
225 563 1125 1688 2250 2813 3375 3938 4500 5063 5625
250 625 1250 1875 2500 3125 3750 4375 5000 5625 6250
275 688 1375 2063 2750 3438 4125 4813 5500 6188 6875
300 750 1500 2250 3000 3750 4500 5250 6000 6750 7500
325 813 1625 2438 3250 4063 4875 5688 6500 7313 8125
350 875 1750 2625 3500 4375 5250 6125 7000 7875 8750
375 938 1875 2813 3750 4688 5625 6563 7500 8438 9375
400 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
425 1063 2125 3188 4250 5313 6375 7438 8500 9563 10625
450 1125 2250 3375 4500 5625 6750 7875 9000 10125 11250
475 1188 2375 3563 4750 5938 7125 8313 9500 10688 11875
500 1250 2500 3750 5000 6250 7500 8750 10000 11250 12500
525 1313 2625 3938 5250 6563 7875 9188 10500 11813 13125
550 1375 2750 4125 5500 6875 8250 9625 11000 12375 13750
575 1438 2875 4313 5750 7188 8625 10063 11500 12938 14375
600 1500 3000 4500 6000 7500 9000 10500 12000 13500 15000


Levels 13-16; Factor: 5.0
Number of Party Members in Session
Avg. XP Awarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
125 625 1250 1875 2500 3125 3750 4375 5000 5625 6250
150 750 1500 2250 3000 3750 4500 5250 6000 6750 7500
175 875 1750 2625 3500 4375 5250 6125 7000 7875 8750
200 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
225 1125 2250 3375 4500 5625 6750 7875 9000 10125 11250
250 1250 2500 3750 5000 6250 7500 8750 10000 11250 12500
275 1375 2750 4125 5500 6875 8250 9625 11000 12375 13750
300 1500 3000 4500 6000 7500 9000 10500 12000 13500 15000
325 1625 3250 4875 6500 8125 9750 11375 13000 14625 16250
350 1750 3500 5250 7000 8750 10500 12250 14000 15750 17500
375 1875 3750 5625 7500 9375 11250 13125 15000 16875 18750
400 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000
425 2125 4250 6375 8500 10625 12750 14875 17000 19125 21250
450 2250 4500 6750 9000 11250 13500 15750 18000 20250 22500
475 2375 4750 7125 9500 11875 14250 16625 19000 21375 23750
500 2500 5000 7500 10000 12500 15000 17500 20000 22500 25000
525 2625 5250 7875 10500 13125 15750 18375 21000 23625 26250
550 2750 5500 8250 11000 13750 16500 19250 22000 24750 27500
575 2875 5750 8625 11500 14375 17250 20125 23000 25875 28750
600 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000 18000 21000 24000 27000 30000


Levels 16-20; Factor: 10.0
Number of Party Members in Session
Avg. XP Awarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
125 1250 2500 3750 5000 6250 7500 8750 10000 11250 12500
150 1500 3000 4500 6000 7500 9000 10500 12000 13500 15000
175 1750 3500 5250 7000 8750 10500 12250 14000 15750 17500
200 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000
225 2250 4500 6750 9000 11250 13500 15750 18000 20250 22500
250 2500 5000 7500 10000 12500 15000 17500 20000 22500 25000
275 2750 5500 8250 11000 13750 16500 19250 22000 24750 27500
300 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000 18000 21000 24000 27000 30000
325 3250 6500 9750 13000 16250 19500 22750 26000 29250 32500
350 3500 7000 10500 14000 17500 21000 24500 28000 31500 35000
375 3750 7500 11250 15000 18750 22500 26250 30000 33750 37500
400 4000 8000 12000 16000 20000 24000 28000 32000 36000 40000
425 4250 8500 12750 17000 21250 25500 29750 34000 38250 42500
450 4500 9000 13500 18000 22500 27000 31500 36000 40500 45000
475 4750 9500 14250 19000 23750 28500 33250 38000 42750 47500
500 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000
525 5250 10500 15750 21000 26250 31500 36750 42000 47250 52500
550 5500 11000 16500 22000 27500 33000 38500 44000 49500 55000
575 5750 11500 17250 23000 28750 34500 40250 46000 51750 57500
600 6000 12000 18000 24000 30000 36000 42000 48000 54000 60000

The above equations, and the values in tables 4 through 7, are not meant to imply that every session must be rewarded according to these charts. The primary goal is to establish the connection between experience and wealth will best maintain folks near the average wealth target. These tables are not meant to defy common sense – a session spent hunting rabid wolves is not likely to produce significant monetary gain, for example. As an alternative, XP can be “banked” towards larger rewards, typically middle- or end-of-plot rewards. It may also not necessarily be appropriate to reward directly towards the average, such as when a character already exceeds the high-end. Some factors to consider when adjusting rewards from the above tables:

  • Wealth of Individual PCs: If most of the PCs in the session lie below the average for their level, a small positive adjustment can be made. If more PCs are above the average for their level, perhaps a negative adjustment is more appropriate. DMs should be provided with a tool (see below) to let them evaluate party members quickly. Typical adjustments would be plus or minus 0 – 50%.
  • Wealth of Server: Individual server HDMs can establish independent “targets” for their server, as not every zone will be similarly wealthy. To target the Low End stat, for example, reduce rewards from the above tables by 50%. To target the High End value, increase rewards by 50%. A very strong recommendation is to not target higher than plus or minus 25%.
  • Buyback Adjustment: If a significant fraction of gear/equipment awards (such as mundane clubs or bows) are unlikely to be used but instead sold off, consider small adjustments in the range of plus 0 – 25%.
  • Danger Level: Typically, this should be accounted for by the “Importance Factor” adjustment to Quest XP, but in cases where PCs were outright required to use significant amounts of consumables to survive (not just to make the fights easier), a small upward adjustment in the range of 0 – 25% should be considered

Maximum DM-Awarded Item Value

While Table 1 references the total wealth of a character, some attention must be paid to the makeup of that wealth. Typically, some nontrivial percentage of wealth is tied to consumables (scrolls, potions, etc.) or non-gear (housing, etc.). With what is left, some care should be taken with regards to how individual items might dominate a character’s wealth total. While random happenings such as gifts or players looting PC corpses cannot and should not be stopped, DM awards should aim towards a more controlled power curve. The following table governs those awards:

Note: The "example" items are only examples of single properties with the relevant value. In no way should the examples be construed as any sort of recommendation as to what sorts of items a PC of a given level should have.

The table makes the distinction between ‘DM Awards’ and ‘Extreme Cases.’ As only four of the ‘DM Awards’ will immediately take a character to their average wealth, it should be considered that a character would only have at most a couple items at the power level described for a given level, with weaker items rounding out the character’s gear. DM Awards are intended to refer to planned awards as a result of an individual session or a long-term plot. In the case of parties where characters have different levels, maximum reward values should be structured around the median level.

Extreme Cases refers to PCs could unexpectedly come into contact with very powerful items, such as PCs defeating a named NPC unexpectedly; magic awards should be reduced down to this value for the highest-level party member involved in defeating the challenge.

Items that are commissioned by player characters can be handled at the discretion of the DM. Since the “schedule” or motivation of crafters is left entirely to the DM, the recommendation is the “DM Award” value as a limit for what will be made on commission for the PC, with a hard cap at the “Extreme Cases” value (as in, DMs should not make available such items to PC under any circumstances). As an alternative, involved or lengthy plots may be structured to begin a commission process but not complete until the character reaches an appropriate level. This is an interim recommendation regarding crafting - expect this to change in future as crafting guidelines for ALFA are refined.

Player Characters seeking to purchase common items from static merchants (refer to Phase I wealth standards) should not be limited by this chart. Similarly, crafting performed by player characters is recommended to adhere to these values, but is otherwise considered acceptable within the bounds of "twinking" issues.


Overpowered Items

An item is considered overpowered for a PC if the item would exceed the greater of:

  • the Maximum DM-Awarded Item Value on the table above for a character five levels above (or two items valued four levels above, or four items valued three levels above), or
  • the DM session award value for a 10th level PC on that table (or two items valued at 9th level, or three items valued at 8th level, etc.).

Overpowered items should be reported in the Item Compliance forum. HDMs may at their discretion confiscate (but not destroy) such items if deemed excessively overpowered. DMs should consult with the player to determine their willingness to replace overpowered items with non over-powered items with properties as close as possible to those of the overpowered item. Should the player prove uncooperative, decisions regarding the fate of the item will be made in the Item Compliance forum under the direction of Admin.


Extreme Rewards

Level DM Award Extreme Cases Example Items
1 300 450
2 300 450 MW armor, +1 skill, +1 to one save
3 875 1325 MW weapon, +2 skill
4 1750 2625 +1 armor or MW full plate, +1 ability, +4 skill, +1 universal saves
5 2925 4400 +1 full plate, +1 weapon, +5 skill, +1 deflection/natural AC
6 4225 6350 +2 non-full plate armor, +2 ability, +6 skill, +2 universal saves
7 6175 9275 +2 full plate, +7 skill
8 8775 13175 +2 weapon, +2 deflection/natural AC, +9 skill
9 11700 17550 +3 armor, +3 ability, +3 universal saves, +10 skill
10 15925 23900
11 21450 32175 +4 armor, +3 weapon, +3 deflection/natural AC, +4 ability, +4 universal saves
12 28600 42900 +5 armor, +5 ability, +5 universal saves
13 35750 53625 +4 weapon, +4 deflection/natural AC
14 48750 73125 +6 ability
15 65000 97500 +5 weapon, +5 deflection/natural AC
16 84500 126750
17 110500 165750
18 143000 214500
19 188500 282750