Pathfinder Wealth by Level: Complete Treasure Guide for GMs
Unlike D&D 5e, Pathfinder has explicit wealth-by-level guidelines that directly affect game balance. Deviate too far from them—especially in PF2e—and your players will either steamroll encounters or get crushed. Here's how the numbers work and how to stay on track.
Why Wealth by Level Matters More in Pathfinder
In D&D 5e, magic items are optional bonuses. In Pathfinder—especially 2e—they're baked into the math. The game assumes your fighter has a +1 weapon by level 4 and a +2 weapon by level 10. Encounter difficulty is balanced around this assumption.
If you're stingy with treasure, your martial characters will miss more often and deal less damage than the system expects. If you're too generous, they'll one-shot encounters meant to be challenging. The wealth guidelines exist to keep the math working.
Pathfinder 2e: Treasure by Level
PF2e is the most explicit about treasure budgets. The GM Core (and previously the GameMastery Guide) gives you a treasure budget per level for a party of four. Here's what it looks like:
| Level | Total Value (gp) | Permanent Items | Consumables | Currency (gp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 175 | 2nd: 1, 1st: 2 | 2nd: 2, 1st: 3 | 40 |
| 2 | 300 | 3rd: 1, 2nd: 2 | 3rd: 2, 2nd: 2 | 70 |
| 3 | 500 | 4th: 1, 3rd: 2 | 4th: 2, 3rd: 2 | 120 |
| 4 | 850 | 5th: 1, 4th: 2 | 5th: 2, 4th: 2 | 200 |
| 5 | 1,350 | 6th: 1, 5th: 2 | 6th: 2, 5th: 2 | 320 |
| 6 | 2,000 | 7th: 1, 6th: 2 | 7th: 2, 6th: 2 | 500 |
| 7 | 2,900 | 8th: 1, 7th: 2 | 8th: 2, 7th: 2 | 720 |
| 8 | 4,000 | 9th: 1, 8th: 2 | 9th: 2, 8th: 2 | 1,000 |
| 9 | 5,700 | 10th: 1, 9th: 2 | 10th: 2, 9th: 2 | 1,400 |
| 10 | 8,000 | 11th: 1, 10th: 2 | 11th: 2, 10th: 2 | 2,000 |
Values are per level per party of 4. For 5 or 6 players, add 25–50% more treasure. Source: Pathfinder GM Core.
How to Read the PF2e Treasure Table
The "Permanent Items" column tells you item levels, not specific items. At level 5, you should give the party one 6th-level item and two 5th-level items across that entire level. This doesn't mean one encounter—spread them across all encounters and treasure in a level.
The Pattern
Notice the pattern: at each level, you get one item that's one level above the party and two items at party level. This means parties always have access to gear that slightly exceeds their level, which is intentional—it's how PF2e keeps martial characters competitive with the monster math.
The "level+1" item is often the upgrade that matters most: the next tier of weapon potency rune, a new armor property, or a key wondrous item that opens up new tactics.
Pathfinder 1e: Wealth by Level
PF1e uses a simpler system: a total gold piece value that each character should have at each level (including gear they already own). The key values:
| Level | Target Wealth (per character) | Typical Big Ticket Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starting gear only | Class kit |
| 2 | 1,000 gp | Masterwork weapon |
| 3 | 3,000 gp | +1 Weapon or Cloak of Resistance +1 |
| 4 | 6,000 gp | +1 Armor or stat belt/headband |
| 5 | 10,500 gp | Ring of Protection +1 |
| 7 | 23,500 gp | +2 Weapon or +1 stat item upgrade |
| 10 | 62,000 gp | +2 stat items, better armor |
| 13 | 140,000 gp | +4 stat items, +3 weapons |
| 15 | 240,000 gp | +5 weapons, major wondrous items |
| 20 | 880,000 gp | Nearly anything in the game |
In PF1e, these values include everything the character owns— equipped gear, consumables in their pack, and loose gold. If your level 5 character has a +1 longsword (2,315 gp), +1 chain shirt (1,250 gp), Cloak of Resistance +1 (1,000 gp), and miscellaneous gear (500 gp), they've spent ~5,000 gp—meaning they should have about 5,500 gp in liquid wealth or remaining items.
The "Big Six" Problem (PF1e)
Pathfinder 1e has a well-known issue where certain items are mathematically required to keep up with the game's scaling. These are called the "Big Six":
- Weapon enhancement bonus (+1 through +5)
- Armor/shield enhancement bonus (+1 through +5)
- Ring of Protection (deflection AC)
- Amulet of Natural Armor (natural armor AC)
- Cloak of Resistance (all saves)
- Stat-boosting items (Belt of Physical Might, Headband of Mental Prowess)
As a GM, you need to ensure your party can acquire these items at the expected levels, or encounters will be significantly harder than intended. This is precisely why tracking wealth by level matters in PF1e—if a fighter is missing their expected +2 weapon at level 7, they're effectively under-leveled.
Practical Advice: Staying on Target
Check the math every 2–3 levels
Add up what each player has. Total gold plus item values. Compare against the table. If someone's 20% below, you need to drop more treasure. If they're 30% over, ease off on the loot for a level. This is much easier when you track everything digitally instead of guessing from memory.
Spread treasure across encounters
Don't dump an entire level's treasure budget into one chest. Give some after fight 1, some in a hidden cache, some as a quest reward. PF2e's adventure paths typically spread treasure across 4–6 encounters per level.
Let players buy what they need
Give enough liquid gold that players can purchase the specific items they want. In PF2e, the "currency" column exists for this reason. A fighter who finds a Staff of Healing can sell it and buy a rune they actually need.
Adjust for party size
The PF2e tables assume 4 players. For each additional player, add one permanent item at party level and extra currency equal to about 25% of the base. For 3 players, reduce by similar amounts. PF1e uses per-character values, so it naturally scales.
PF2e Runes: The Treasure That Really Matters
In PF2e, weapon and armor runes are the most important treasure you distribute. They're the equivalent of PF1e's enhancement bonuses, but as transferable items. Key milestones:
Level 2–4
+1 potency rune (weapon or armor). This is the first "must have." Without it, martial characters fall behind the expected hit rate.
Level 4–5
Striking rune (weapon). Doubles weapon dice—a massive damage boost. Every martial character needs this by level 5.
Level 8–10
+2 potency runes and resilient rune (armor). Another crucial milestone for staying competitive.
Level 12–14
Greater striking (triple dice) and +2 resilient. Missing these milestones makes high-level play painful.
For a deeper dive into managing runes specifically, check out our Pathfinder 2e Rune Management Guide.
What Happens When You Get It Wrong
Too Little Treasure
- Martial characters miss attacks they "should" hit
- Moderate encounters feel severe; severe encounters feel impossible
- Casters pull further ahead (less gear-dependent)
- Players feel punished for not min-maxing
Too Much Treasure
- Moderate encounters become trivial
- You have to escalate everything to severe+
- No sense of progression—already have the best gear
- Economy breaks down (nothing worth buying)
Both problems are fixable, but prevention is easier than correction. Track what you give out, compare against the table, and adjust before things get out of hand.
Keep Your Pathfinder Treasure on Track
D20 Loot Tracker automatically tracks item values, gold distribution, and party wealth for both PF1e and PF2e. See at a glance whether your party is on target—no spreadsheets required.
Try D20 Loot Tracker Free →