Rules Index | GM Screen

Adjusting Treasure

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 160
Since scaling items improve as characters level up, they effectively add wealth to their owners over time. To balance this out, the Game Master should reduce treasure awards in proportion to how many scaling items the party has. This can be done per character or for the whole group, as described below. Note that the original level and price of a scaling item don’t matter once the character’s level exceeds the minimum caster level of the item, since the item accrues value based on its category (bauble, prize, or wonder), not on its original price. The adjustments to treasure awards are the same for all items in a category.

Table 4-13: Value of Scaling Items

Level	Bauble (5%)	Prize (15%)	Wonder (30%)
1st	15 gp	45 gp	90 gp
2nd	50 gp	150 gp	300 gp
3rd	150 gp	450 gp	900 gp
4th	300 gp	900 gp	1,800 gp
5th	525 gp	1,575 gp	3,150 gp
6th	80 gp	2,400 gp	4,800 gp
7th	1,750 gp	3,525 gp	7,050 gp
8th	1,650 gp	4,950 gp	9,900 gp
9th	2,300 gp	6,900 gp	13,800 gp
10th	3,100 gp	9,300 gp	18,600 gp
11th	4,100 gp	12,300 gp	24,600 gp
12th	5,400 gp	16,200 gp	32,400 gp
13th	7,000 gp	21,000 gp	42,000 gp
14th	9,250 gp	27,750 gp	55,500 gp
15th	12,000 gp	36,000 gp	72,000 gp
16th	15,750 gp	47,250 gp	94,500 gp
17th	20,500 gp	61,500 gp	129,000 gp
18th	26,500 gp	79,500 gp	159,000 gp
19th	34,250 gp	102,750 gp	205,500 gp
20th	44,000 gp	132,000 gp	264,000 gp

Per Character: If you apply the scaling item treasure reduction for each character, do so after dividing up shares of treasure for the characters. Reduce the treasure received by a character with a scaling item by the percentage listed for the item’s category (5% for baubles, 15% for prizes, and 30% for wonders). If the character has multiple scaling items, combine the percentages before adjusting the amount of treasure.

For example, a PC with a wonder and a prize would receive 45% less treasure, because the PC has effectively already received that amount of treasure in the form of the items’ increased values. Since the value of a scaling item is based on wealth for an entire level, apply this adjustment to every treasure allotment the character receives. If you’d prefer to keep the adjustments more tied to the game world, you can instead replace the character’s lost treasure share with a magical substance that must be used to increase the power of scaling items. This might be magical residue, vibrant crystals, or spellbook-style pages of magical phrases that increase the item’s power. In any case, this substance should be treated as almost worthless to sell, and therefore useful only for upgrading scaling items.

Group Basis: You can use the scaling items of the whole party to adjust treasure. This implementation works best if all or most of the characters possess scaling items, and no character possesses a far higher number than the others. This method has the advantage of hiding behind the scenes, requiring no in-game justification. Add up the percentages of all scaling items owned by all PCs. Divide this percentage by the number of PCs, and reduce the total value of treasure the party finds by that percentage before dividing it among the characters. For example, if a group of four PCs have between them one bauble, three prizes, and a wonder, their treasure is reduced by 20% (80% divided by 4).

Maximum Level

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 161
Many scaling items unlock new powers all the way up to 20th level. Others reach the caps on their abilities at lower levels. Once an item reaches the level of its most powerful ability, stop adjusting treasure for that item. At that point, the scaling item is considered fully “paid for.”

Mismatched evels

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 161
If a PC receives a scaling item of a caster level lower than her character level, she effectively receives an item that’s worth more than the price listed in the stat block. Reference Table 4–13: Value of Scaling Items and use the PC’s level to estimate how much the item is really worth to that PC, and use that purchase price as its treasure value. Giving an item with a caster level higher than the character’s level doesn’t present the same problems; it just means the PC won’t be unlocking the item’s higher-level powers for some time. Don’t reduce treasure for such an item until the PC’s level exceeds the item’s caster level.

Archives of Nethys

Rules Index | GM Screen

Adjusting Treasure

Table 4-13: Value of Scaling Items

Maximum Level

Mismatched evels