How much money should a player have per level?

 I'll be honest, when I first started DMing, I had no idea how currency worked. My first campaign was a short Tal'Dorei adventure, starting in Stilben and trying to steal some artefacts from the clasp. While looking around the small port town, one of my players, an aasimar paladin named Valmont, decided that he wanted to find a cape. The party's sorcerer had been summoning some errant bonfires in the previous fight and he wanted something to resist the flames.

I wanted to accommodate the request and had put a gnomish artificer in the town by the name of Sprik who had a few magical items to help them out. I didn't expect them to go there this early, but after a bit of investigation, they found her shop.

Now I had no idea how much an item like that should cost, but it seemed simple enough at the time and I didn't want to break the flow of the session. I sold a cape of fire resistance for 100 gold pieces (which was around the amount of the current party funds). After the session, out of curiosity, I looked up the actual price of an item like this (using a ring of fire resistance as a reference) and my jaw dropped. The recommended price was 3500gp. I had given them around a 97% discount.

I later played it off that the cape was mildly enchanted and only lasted a week, but it made me realise that I had to figure out how money worked if I had any chance of balancing my game.

How much is a gold piece actually worth?

The first step to understanding currency is to set a value in mind. I think we often forget just how rich an adventuring party can become. The Player's Handbook tells us that a middling artisan can make around 1gp per day. I've often seen my players casually tip a gold at a bar for a single drink. This would be like walking into a bar, setting down a hundred dollar bill and telling them to keep the change. With the amount that the standard adventurer finds out in the world, it becomes negligible to them, but it's important as the DM to remember just how uncommon that would be to regular people.

If your party is regularly flashing their wealth, they're likely to draw some attention. If they're on the wrong side of town and giving a gold to every barkeep and shop assistant, word will likely get around. Think about how people would treat them. Would they try to gain favour in hopes of similar reward, or get angry about this tasteless display of wealth and extravagance – perhaps even try to take some by force.

How much money should a party have?

So now we know what a gold piece means to the average citizen. But, your party are by no means average. It's likely they will start to amass a large amount of gold out on their adventures, but how do you make sure the rewards are appropriate, and not have them out-earning the King in a few sessions?

Here is an average amount that a party should have between them at each level milestone. Bear in mind that this does include the cost of any magic items, gems, gear, property etc, so make sure to take those into account:

Level	GP	Level	GP
1	0	11	22550
2	120	12	36200
3	240	13	49850
4	410	14	68000
5	630	15	86150
6	3750	16	109500
7	6900	17	132000
8	10450	18	288500
9	14100	19	486500
10	18550	20	685000

This isn't a set guide, but generally these are good amounts to follow for each milestone to ensure that the gear parties have access to is appropriate to their level.

What to spend it on?

There are a lot more things than just potions and gear that adventurers can spend their money on. Does your group want to start their own tavern to pull in a little side income? There's rules for that on page 129 of the DMG. Do they want a keep to call their very own? They can get that built, but will also need to pay staff, upkeep costs, all covered on page 128 of the DMG.

Here are the basic costs of maintaining a home base:

Stronghold	Cost (GP)	Construction Time (days)
Abbey	50000	400
Guildhall	5000	60
Keep or small castle	50000	400
Noble estate/Manor	25000	150
Outpost or fort	15000	100
Palace or large castle	500000	1200
Temple	50000	400
Town, fortified	15000	100
Trading post	5000	60

The above is good to have for players in a long running campaign, where they are very invested in the world and want to make their mark on it. With my players, in our shorter campaigns, most of the party funds go towards their gear and magic items. Here's a quick guide to make sure you don't give away the same bargains I did in those early days.

Rarity	Cost (GP)	Minimum Level
Common	100	3rd
Uncommon	500	3rd
Rare	5000	6th
Very Rare	50000	11th
Legendary	500000	17th

Hopefully this helps put some of the currency in perspective and gives you a bit more confidence when the party have their inevitable shopping session. Remember though, this is your world. If magic is incredibly common for your world, the prices may be lower. For low magic campaigns, the prices may be higher. Whatever the case may be, make sure your players are on the same page, and whatever you do, don't give away a rare item on a 97% off sale.