CR/EL Adjustment due to party having too much Loot?

[ksbsnowowl]

Okay, so for the big, massive battle that my 11th level gestalt PC's engaged in, I allowed them to be outfitted with 12th level wealth by level (in part because there were only three PC's plus a DMPC, and just because they needed it).  They succeeded in the massive battle, which took about seven game sessions to complete, and in so doing, reached 12th level.

They also gained over 100,000 gp in treasure.  As his 12th level feat, one of the players chose Craft Wondrous Item, and to give him a bit more coin to work with after the battle (ie - during two months of winter), I was generous with the rate they got on selling items they didn't want (75%, rather than 50%).

However, all told between individual treasure and "party loot" (used for healing and whatnot), they now have ~130k per party member, whereas 12th level wealth is 88k.  The WBL guidelines have 13th level wealth at 110k, and 14th level wealth at 150k.  So, my target is to have treasure-light encounters between now and when they reach 14th level, where I should have them just about right on target.

In the interim, should I adjust the CR of individual creatures they are fighting?  Or adjust the total EL of an encounter down by one (which in turn means they face more enemies per encounter)?  What suggestions would you give for accounting for this extra wealth via the CR system, at least until they are once again close to the WBL guidelines?

[Gribel]

I think the benefits of that extra wealth should be measured to see how much more powerful it made them. They have 42k more than they should; how was that money spent? For example, if one of them upgraded his weapon from +9 to +10 adding an enhancement bonus to it (38k, 4 left), that's hardly worth any adjustment in CR, especially since the party is gestalt, meaning a level is worth more to them. However, if they bought items that are somewhat cheap and powerful, such as Belts of Battle, an increase in CR is in order.

[ksbsnowowl]

A Belt of Battle was one of the items they gained in that 100,000+ gp of treasure from the big battle.  The Druid//Sorcerer crafted several wilding clasps, and upgraded his items of Dex, Str, Wis, and Cha enhancement from +2 to +4.

Of the three, one of them has a large chunk of cash from the selling of the treasure they didn't want, one got almost all items from the treasure, and the Druid got all cash and spent it ALL on upgrading his items.

[phaedrusxy]

It likely won't make a huge difference, as they're not wildly out of whack at this point. You might try adjusting the encounter level by 1 by adding more creatures and see how it goes, but I wouldn't increase the CR of enemies.

[ksbsnowowl]

Yeah, I'll probably just add one creature to the encounters I'd had planned (but not give xp for the extra guy), until they hit 13th level, at which point they will be close enough to the WBL.

For example, the next encounter was going to be one GCR 9 Frost Giant Tundra Scout, two GCR 8 Frost Giants, and four 6th level gestalt Goliath (three Barb/Fighter//Scouts and one Barb/Fighter//Bard), though the Goliath all have two fairly suboptimal feats (Cold Endurance and Imp. Cold Endurance).

I'll add a third Frost Giant to the mix, but only give them XP for the encounter I had originally planned.  It's 225 XP I'm "cheating" them out of, but so be it.

We'll see how it goes with this next encounter, and adjust the next batch based upon the results.

[Garryl]

Yeah, I'll probably just add one creature to the encounters I'd had planned (but not give xp for the extra guy), until they hit 13th level, at which point they will be close enough to the WBL.

For example, the next encounter was going to be one GCR 9 Frost Giant Tundra Scout, two GCR 8 Frost Giants, and four 6th level gestalt Goliath (three Barb/Fighter//Scouts and one Barb/Fighter//Bard), though the Goliath all have two fairly suboptimal feats (Cold Endurance and Imp. Cold Endurance).

I'll add a third Frost Giant to the mix, but only give them XP for the encounter I had originally planned.  It's 225 XP I'm "cheating" them out of, but so be it.

We'll see how it goes with this next encounter, and adjust the next batch based upon the results.

Make sure to be frugal about the loot you do give. If you add more creatures, you'll tend to give more loot (since the extra creatures are likely to have treasure they use, too). If you don't give experience for them, that'll push the WBL dynamic further out of whack (even MORE treasure for a given amount of xp). Consider having or adding more treasure-less enemies for a bit, and/or having enemies use more consumables (thus boosting their immediate power level while also removing excess treasure from the players' hands once they are defeated). For example, an archer might have 20 +5 arrows instead of a +3 bow, or a psionic foe might invest in psionic tattoos (optionally along with a capacitor, relay, and mental tap) rather than enchanted armor and stat boosters. Use potions of Barkskin and Shield of Faith instead of Amulets of Natural Armor and Rings of Protection.

[ksbsnowowl]

Good points.  Due to the direction the story is heading at the moment, their foes are going to be frost giants and "half frost giants" (goliath with improved cold endurance), who don't actually have much treasure on them, due to the fact they got kicked out of their mountaintop castle by a Horned Devil.

Normal Large Greataxes and chain shirts don't bring a whole lot of cash when you sell them...

Some potions or talismans wouldn't be out of order, however.

[Risada]

You could also deploy monsters without need for loot, like a Ice-templated Guulvorg (MM5), or any beast that doesn't carry treasure...

[ksbsnowowl]

You could also deploy monsters without need for loot, like a Ice-templated Guulvorg (MM5), or any beast that doesn't carry treasure...

By Ice-Templated, I assume you mean the template from Frostburn that turns them into constructs?

The up-coming Frost Giants were a hunting party that accidentally got stranded on Midgard about 50 years ago.  They still have their hunting hounds, though... Winter Wolves, and a Thrym Hound.  The Winter Wolves basically will earn them no XP at this point, but the Thrym Hound sure will.

[Risada]

You could also deploy monsters without need for loot, like a Ice-templated Guulvorg (MM5), or any beast that doesn't carry treasure...

By Ice-Templated, I assume you mean the template from Frostburn that turns them into constructs?

The up-coming Frost Giants were a hunting party that accidentally got stranded on Midgard about 50 years ago.  They still have their hunting hounds, though... Winter Wolves, and a Thrym Hound.  The Winter Wolves basically will earn them no XP at this point, but the Thrym Hound sure will.

Not exactly... I was thinking something more simple, like simply adding the Cold subtype to the Guulvorg, since we are talking about Frost giants...