Adventuring offers more than just thrills, powerful connections, or the pursuit of character motivations—it also provides one of the most compelling incentives: loot. Gold, silver, gems, and magical items can all serve as powerful motivators for characters. In FateTide, nearly every item has a set price, and an enchanting system is in development, allowing players to imbue items with unique abilities. This system will enable players to craft their own gear, spending vast amounts of coin to customize their equipment.

However, one major aspect of the game often goes overlooked: wealth. Loot isn't just a driving force for players—it can also be a powerful incentive for monsters and NPCs. The table below serves as a guide, particularly during character creation, to help players purchase appropriate items for higher-level characters or assist GMs in distributing rewards. It also acts as a reference for game balance, ensuring characters at various levels have access to suitable resources. Additionally, GMs can use this table to gauge the power level of creatures within their campaign or to scale encounters accordingly.

As with most mechanics in FateTide, this table is subjective and should be adjusted to fit the specific campaign. Its primary purpose is to maintain game balance, particularly for combat encounters, ensuring that players neither fall too far behind nor become overwhelmingly powerful too quickly.

To clarify, if a player’s net worth—primarily in the form of magical items—exceeds the suggested amounts, they should face more difficult encounters to maintain balance. Conversely, in lower-magic settings where magical items are rare, characters may need to rely more on their innate abilities and skills.

The table below provides an approximate amount of wealth (in gold) that each player character should have at the start of each level. This is not an exact number but rather an average guideline to ensure players have access to appropriate resources as they progress. For example, a character shouldn’t reasonably be able to afford 1,500 gold plate armor before level 12. This guideline can also be used when creating higher-level characters.

Note: This table represents an average estimate of potential wealth, not accounting for expenses such as gear purchases, lifestyle costs, or other expenditures.