Archives of Nethys

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GM Tools / Milestone Leveling

Equipment and Treasure

Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 185
Story-based wealth pairs well with milestone leveling, removing encounter-to-encounter credits and wealth tracking in favor of doling out rewards in large increments. Some groups may enjoy tracking credits and making planned purchases between sessions, while others might not. For a simpler advancement scheme, instead of providing full credit rewards, give the PCs equipment of an appropriate item level (equal to the PCs level or one higher), alternating between armor and weapons each level. Subtract the cost of this equipment from the normal credit reward and provide the remaining credits to the player (or that amount’s worth of serums, spell gems, or similar consumables).
As with leveling, it’s important to talk with players about how you all want to handle tracking equipment and wealth during a campaign. As PCs level up, they need to upgrade or swap out equipment to stay in keeping with the expectations baked into the game’s math. As long as PCs upgrade their primary gear (armor and weapons) every two to three levels, encounters tuned to their level should continue to provide a balanced challenge for the group.