Does Gold Matter?

This is something I've talked about in passing in other posts, but I wanted a more focused discussion on the topic: does gold matter? For the purposes of this discussion, gold means whatever system of currency exists within the game. I don't think there's an easy answer other than, "it depends."

Some games make it vital by linking it character growth (see: gold as XP in OD&D) or the very well-being of your character (see: recovering from conditions in Torchbearer). In those kinds of situations, each piece of treasure matters, especially gold. Of course, outside of those games, it's been my experience that once the players go adventuring they never need to worry about wealth. In fact, they often struggle to find a use for it. And yet they'll still argue about how to best split the treasure.

This, I think, is more of a genre-problem. Fantasy RPGs often encourage players to earn their gear through adventure rather than allowing players to stock up on magic items in town. It's easy to understand why. It encourages players to take risks. It makes them care a whole lot more about each unique item they own. But it also has the drawback of making gold rather worthless.

Let's look at a different game in a different genre: Shadowrun. The game's architecture is almost identical to traditional fantasy RPGs and yet it has an entirely different economy. While it's true that the best gear will be still be earned through completing missions, player's can always spend their Nuyen to upgrade their runner's kit in the meantime.

Still not any closer to answering the question, I'm going to propose a new one: what if, rather than tracking gold at all, you just assume all of the characters have what they need? If the best gear is earned through adventuring, go adventuring! If the players are trying to purchase something bigger, like land or a ship, why not just set narrative conditions that make sense? You'll have enough cash for X after Y number of missions. Of course, this suggestion may be too hand-waive-y for some people. If that's the case, I would point to any number of games that treat wealth as a skill.

Unless you're playing a game where it matters (OD&D, Torchbearer, Shadowrun), will this really have any effect? I'm not sure you'll notice a difference, except it will cut out the useless bickering about how to split seven copper three ways.

What Are We Gonna Do With All This Gold?

The smell of sulfur is heavy in the air and a loud, deep snore rumbles through the walls of the cavern. The Thief scouts ahead, silent as the breeze. Atop piles of gleaming coins sleeps a dragon, its onyx scales reflecting the swamp water. Several chests dot the room, each overflowing with gold, jewels, wealth unimaginable. . .

Assuming these adventurers don't become dragon chow, what would they do with all of this gold? If your games are anything like mine, you can't just roll down to the corner store and pick up a Wand of Magic Missile, a belt of Healing Potions, and that Vorpal Longsword your Warrior has been eyeing. That kind of availability disrupts the balance of the game and, more importantly, it contradicts the nature of magic—rare, feared, misunderstood, inspiring. So what value does gold have as a player reward? 

While most adventurers begin the game poor, by the time they gain their first level they have already made more money than the average fantasy day laborer makes in their entire life. Not long after they should be able to afford the top tier of craftsmanship for their gear. And after that? I don't know, but gold is by far the most common reward and all of those loot stacks the party drags back to their hideout seem pretty redundant. 

To answer my own question: material wealth as a player reward stops being rewarding once a character's basic needs are met. While all games should be trading in the currency of what we'll call "story rewards", this should be the most common payout your adventurers receive once their basic needs are met. Give them influence, power, the opportunity to accomplish their personal goals. 

Of course, this is a generalization. Some people are perfectly content to plumb the depths of an endless underground maze, slaying rooms full of monsters for no other reason than they stand between the adventurers and their next pile of gold. Even in that type of game, which I do enjoy, the loot handed out can be more interesting by tying it to the narrative. It doesn't solve the essential problem of what to do with the accumulated wealth, but it does at least make feel more purposeful, which I suppose is what any reward aspires to, story or otherwise.