When you create your character, you receive equipment based on a combination of your class and background. Alternatively, you can start with a number of gold pieces based on your class and spend them on items from the lists in this section. See the Starting Wealth by Class table to determine how much gold you have to spend.
Creating a higher-level character uses the same character creation steps outlined in the Player’s Handbook. Such a character has more hit points, class features, and spells, and probably starts with better equipment.
Starting equipment for characters above 1st level is entirely at your discretion, since you give out treasure at your own pace.
Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 38
How Does Starting Gold Work in 5e?
Starting gold at 1st-level is entirely based on a combination of a character’s class and background. Normally, a character starts with a specific set of equipment and a small portion of gold.
However, savvy players might wish to forego the less useful elements of starting equipment in favor of a greater quantity of gold to spend on items of their choice.
Additionally, starting a campaign at a higher level, or rerolling a character mid-campaign (due to a character’s death or the end of their narrative arc) is based on a table of suggested wealth found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Like all things in DnD, starting equipment and starting gold, whatever the level, is entirely at the DM’s discretion and what kind of world they’re trying to build.
A grittier game where equipment is scarce might force players to make more impactful decisions about their gear, whereas a high-magic setting might be flush with fantastic equipment and awash with hordes of treasure.
Starting Gold by Class 5e
| Class | Starting Gold | Average Gold |
|---|---|---|
| Barbarian | 2d4 x 10 gp | 50 gp |
| Bard | 5d4 x 10 gp | 125 gp |
| Cleric | 5d4 x 10 gp | 125gp |
| Druid | 2d4 x 10gp | 50gp |
| Fighter | 5d4 x 10gp | 125 gp |
| Monk | 5d4 gp | 12.5 gp |
| Paladin | 5d4 x 10 gp | 125 gp |
| Ranger | 5d4 x 10 gp | 125 gp |
| Rogue | 4d4 x 10 gp | 100 gp |
| Sorcerer | 3d4 x 10 gp | 75 gp |
| Warlock | 4d4 x 10 gp | 100 gp |
| Wizard | 4d4 x 10 gp | 100 gp |
| Artificer* | Unspecified | Unspecified |
*No official 5e rulebook indicates a starting wealth for Artificers. In my opinion, 4d4 x 10 gp (100 gp average) is a fair compromise.
Player’s Handbook, pg. 143
Starting Gold by Background 5e
| Background | Starting Gold |
|---|---|
| Acolyte | 15 gp |
| Anthropologist (ToA) | 10 gp |
| Archaeologist (ToA) | 25 gp |
| Charlatan | 15 gp |
| City Watch / Investigator (SCAG) | 10 gp |
| Clan Crafter (SCAG) | 5 gp gem and 10 gp |
| Cloistered Scholar (SCAG) | 10 gp |
| Courtier (SCAG) | 5 gp |
| Criminal / Spy | 15 gp |
| Entertainer | 15 gp |
| Faction Agent (SCAG) | 15 gp |
| Far Traveler (SCAG) | 10 gp jewelry and 5 gp |
| Folk Hero | 10 gp |
| Gladiator | 15 gp |
| Guild Artisan/Merchant | 15 gp |
| Haunted One (COS) | None |
| Hermit | 5 gp |
| Inheritor (SCAG) | 15 gp |
| Knight | 25 gp |
| Knight of the Order (SCAG) | 10 gp |
| Mercenary Veteran (SCAG) | 10 gp |
| Noble | 25 gp |
| Outlander | 10 gp |
| Pirate | 10 gp |
| Sage | 10 gp |
| Sailor | 10 gp |
| Soldier | 10 gp |
| Urban Bounty Hunter (SCAG) | 20 gp |
| Urchin | 10 gp |
| Uthgardt Tribe Member (SCAG) | 10 gp |
| Waterdhavian Noble (SCAG) | 20 gp |
Any background from an unspecified source comes from the Player’s Handbook
Starting Gold by Level 5e
If you’re starting a campaign at a higher level, or you’re rerolling a character after dying (or some other reason), this chart provides guidance on the expected starting gold by tier of play.
| Character Level | Low Magic Campaign | Standard Campaign | High Magic Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st – 4th | Normal Starting Equipment & Gold | Normal Starting Gold & Equipment | Normal Starting Equipment & Gold |
| 5th – 10th* | 500 gp plus 1d10 x 25 gp, normal starting equipment | 500 gp plus 1d10 x 25 gp, normal starting equipment | 500 gp plus 1d10 x 25 gp, one uncommon magic item, normal starting equipment |
| 11th-16th** | 5,000 gp plus 1d10 x 250 gp, one uncommon magic item, normal starting equipment | 5,000 gp plus 1d10 x 250 gp, two uncommon magic items, normal starting equipment | 5,000 gp plus 1d10 x 250 gp, three uncommon magic items, one rare item, normal starting equipment |
| 17th+*** | 20,000 gp plus 1d10 x 250 gp, two uncommon magic items, normal starting equipment | 20,000 gp plus 1d10 x 250 gp, two uncommon magic items, one rare item, normal starting equipment | 20,000 gp plus 1d10 x 250 gp, three uncommon magic items, two rare items, one very rare item, normal starting equipment |
Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 38
*Average = 637.5 gp
*Average = 6,375 gp
*Average = 21,375 gp
Magic Items Awarded by Tier
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything provided more guidance for DMs with regard to magic item distribution by level, rarity, and a delineation of “major” magic items (weapons, armor, and other permanent utility items) and “minor” magic items (potions, oils, spell scrolls, and other consumables).
It states that by 20th level, a group should acquire 100 total magic items. Note this refers to PARTY loot, so if your group has 4 players, this equates to each acquiring 25 magic items during the course of a full campaign.
Note that “the emphasis is characters receiving more items during the second tier (levels 5-10 than in other tiers…by design” since this is “where much of the play occurs in a typical DnD campaign.”
Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean a campaign starting at a higher level should start with the party collectively possessing this many magic items, and this chart directly contradicts with the starting equipment suggestions in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
But I personally feel that the DMG guidelines are a bit skimpy on magic items for a starting character at their respective tiers of play, while the table below might go a bit too far for brand new characters. Ultimately, I’d say a happy medium falls somewhere in between.
| Character Level | Minor Items | Major Items | All Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 5-10 | 28 | 6 | 34 |
| 11-16 | 24 | 6 | 30 |
| 17-20 | 19 | 6 | 25 |
| Total | 80 | 20 | 100 |
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, pg. 135
Magic Items Awarded by Rarity
| Level/CR | Minor Magic Items | Major Magic Items | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | Uncommon | Rare | Very Rare | Legendary | Uncommon | Rare | Very Rare | Legendary | |
| 1-4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5-10 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11-16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 17+ | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 19 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, pg. 135
Remember — for both of these above tables from XGtE, the numbers indicate collective PARTY-wide access to magic items; not individual characters. So divide the total evenly by the number of the players in the party to see what each CHARACTER should start with.
