So, my canite (dogfolk) war cleric really doesn't care that much about money or people who place too much stock in it over their own abilities. As a consequence, he's become the dedicated paymaster for the party. Whenever we find treasure, all gold, silver and platinum flow through his hands and is equally distributed amongst the table; 6 players and one dmpc (Droop the Goblin from LMoP). However, we spend very little of our funds because we've successfully purchased the goodwill of the entire town through our actions and our abilities. The druid has enriched the fields with a spell that will last one year, the cleric (me) has been raising the Redbrands that we've killed to work said fields as a penance for their actions in life. Our half orc barbarian defeated the chieftain of the orc band and now has his own little mini orc raiding band which have been training to be the town guards. So, the town feeds and houses us whenever we roll through. We just got done with Wave Echo Cave and are heading back before we move on to the next leg of our campaign and we're well off and pretty well armed, as well. Chip, my cleric, spreads his money around town by constantly overpaying for items that definitely should cost less to nothing (1 platinum for a handful of wine bottle corks, 2 gold for 2 lute strings, ect.). When asked why he spends more than is necessary for the things he wants, his answer is "It's all about perceived value; to you a cork will keep your wine from spilling or spoiling, to me it will allow me to walk on water. That's worth something, right?". One man's trash and all of that. Now, knowing that the DM is shifting universes on us (because he wants to run Wildemount next) and we're heading somewhere we've never been, I'm thinking that our need for money over items will probably increase. I personally think DM's should play to the players wants and needs, to an extent. If the players want items, give items as rewards. If they want gold, than give gold but make sure you have a few well stocked and constantly supplied stores in the area that can accommodate their many requests. Phandelver is pretty poor, so finding items while we either bank our money or spread the money around the town seems like the best course of action. When we get to Emon or Whitestone (Whitestone being our call to action to lead us from Phandelver) that's not going to be the same. These are established cities with really good economies that we probably won't be able to do the whole "we'll take care of these problems as long as you take care of us" routine. Edit- sorry about the book.
First of all done be sorry that was a great read. Your party really took over that starter module and made it your own and props to your Dm. Whitestone is a great example of a setting that has established value. Residuum is an extremely valuable resource because of its world value and mechanical value. We got to see how it effected the world mostly my villains abuse of it such as the assembly planting it in the arms of young mages but we’ve also seen it’s practical gameplay uses like using it as a universal spell component or for item enchantments. So if you came by someone selling it has already established a want and make gold that much more valuable. Thanks for sharing your story! Your group sounds like a lot of fun!
