The Nature of Treasure and Money

This is more of a general discussion about Treasure in D&D and how it relates to a bunch of human and character activities including crafting and suchlike. 

I do note that D&D by and large treats treasure like candy. Literally, it is like candy and characters are like children. To be fair, this is a very classic way in which heroes and adventurers behave, which is why they're in the predicaments they're usually in, so it is useful to think of it that way. By this, I mean that in D&D, treasure and gold is things OTHERS have or can grant and you adventure to get it. Once you get it, you get GOODIES in the form of magic items or whatever item or thing you desire and that's what money and treasure represents.

This is the perspective in which players themselves might think of money. Many folks are children, so it is natural for them to think this way. Also many folks are average wage earners who also don't usually need to think too much about what money is other than what their wages and bank accounts reflect. Many adults may think of money as a good or a thing that represents a good or value, and that's what money is to them. If that's as far as that goes, then yes, that's fine.

What money actually represents is power. Actual, real power in the realest of the senses. It is kingship. It's merchants. It's the ability to raise an army and establish a stronghold. It is the ability to tell people to do what you want them to do, and then they do it. In this sense, money is limited both by whether or not people are susceptible to be influenced in this way, but also by the relative amounts of power other people have. That is, not only does a small village lack the gold liquidity to purchase a ton of things, they also wouldn't be particularly interested in 700 swords because none of them really need that. They're not merchants who can sell the swords you're selling, and they're not dukes who might need it to outfit an army.

A player who is asking after how much money their character can make during downtime by crafting things is operating on the candy level. They're not seeing money for what it actually is, and if you're not creating a world beyond a candystore, more gold can seem more and more useless the more a character gets insane amounts of it. Once you've bought everything in the candy store that you want, the money becomes useless.

The real answer to the player's question, of course, is that they're trying to make money by practicing a profession. Whether they want to make things, or perform services for people, or what-have-you, they're trying to extract purchasing power from society by bartering the skills and capabilities their character's possess. The rules for that isn't covered by the crafting rules - those are for creating personal items the PCs will use. For making money, you use Downtime Activities - practicing a profession. You get 1 gp per day normally by practicing a profession. Belonging to an organization such as a Wizard Circle, Thieves' Guild, Weaver's Guild, or temple get you 2 gp per day because you are borrowing the organization's power and influence to get more for the same labor. NOT belonging to them is conversely very bad because guilds are historically very jealous about the practice of professions and you simply can't be making as much money as the nearest guild member or they're going to ask their guild to shut you down.

By the time they're 5-10th level, I think DMs should be introducing the idea that PCs are starting to significantly alter things in their society not only using their personalities and face to face personal influence, but also simply by virtue of how they spend and make their money. In this sense, 3000 gold pieces doesn't merely represent buying power they can use to purchase personal magic items, but the ability to commission a boat that can alter the economy of a small seaside village. This is particularly appropriate if you're using Bastion Rules because a bunch of 5th level adventurers who have Bastions and Followers are creating and offering services that would not always be available in villages, and wouldn't be numerous even in small towns. Your Fighter's Barracks could represent the only significant private armed force in a small town that isn't part of the local constabulary and you can bet your ass the Mayor is going to be talking to you about it. Your 12 Barracks Defenders is a bonafide Infantry Squad which is a legitimately basic army-sized unit of force.

I understand that this can be scary to DMs, but the purchasing activities of a party of 8th level characters SHOULD change your world map. 3rd level adventurers open their purses at the Magic Shop salivating over goodies. 8th level adventurers store their wealth in banks and guilds and they think about what they should be purchasing by looking at the world map.

Realism, in the world of Summoning Dinosaurs & Custard Damage, is fairly nonexistent.

But I get what you're alluding to.

As a quick starting note - and I am going to assume this is not your intention - your post inadvertently comes off as extremely condescending.  Telling your readers that they’re most likely children or as simply “don’t think about” the same concepts as you; that they exist in a world of “candyshops” and that you’re going to give these folks some great insight?  Surely you can see why that comes off as incredibly dismissive.

Moreover, you then preface the substantive context of your post with a “grand insight” that is really more a cliche.  If you are going to present your thread as a revelation of something most folks do not think about, “money = power” is something most folks do, in fact, think about.  It is almost an unavoidable piece of information in the modern day.

Moving past the dicta to the substance of your thread, I have been playing for quite some time, and think a lot of what you are saying here is common knowledge.  Almost every single DM and player I have ever played with recognizes that gold has influence beyond simply allowing the purchase of gear.  Bribes. Purchasing property, both before and through the bastion rules for upgrading.  Vehicles and mounts. Random luxury accommodations.  Investments in critical infrastructure. Restitution for problems the party caused or were involved in.

The only times I have seen players not use their wealth in the manner you mention in your post has nothing to do with the reasons you ascribe.  The first situation is simply DMs who lack experience and know how to balance money; the second is players who come from gaming backgrounds where your options are not quite as unlimited, and thus they do not understand that a lack of rule does not mean you can do the thing.

Yet, even acknowledging that, your post still makes two fundamentally flawed assumptions. 

The first is your level ranges are a bit off.  Under the traditionally recognized tier breakdown, a level 8 character absolutely should not be considering the world map.  At that point, they are still very much in the “hero of the realm” tier - and not even beginning to surpass that point.  They might have some significant influence, but they’re likely not looking outside of their greater region yet.

Second, in relying on the cliche “money is power” you ignore the nuance of reality.  Money can contribute to buying power, but power is a far more esoteric concept.  Take an adventuring party.  Their value to a kingdom is not their wealth, but in their ability to stop threats the regular government cannot.  Yes, the party could buy a boat and get some standing in a town. As could any wealthy merchant.  But where the party is unique is their ability to kill monsters, stop plots, and save the day.  

Wanting to spend that gold on magic items and equipment is hardly a candy store mentality - that is the player choosing to invest in the unique value they offer, which, in turn, can increase their power.  After all, surviving a dragonslaying quest because you bought a rare healing potion instead of a boat is going to have a far greater impact on both the kingdom and the player’s power.

Which leads me to my final point: The are very few wrong ways to play D&D.  Choosing to place your purchasing power in improving your character is not one of them.  Choosing to do so does not mean the player is somehow missing some kind of big picture. Or that they’re somehow missing the most obvious cliche in the book.  Or that they’re more like kids in a candy shop than adults focused on a big picture. They’re playing the game in the way they want to, and, in a way that can sometimes reach similar or better power outcomes than some of what you present here. 

Likewise, spending your money on non-adventuring gear is perfectly fine.  There can be absolutely delightful campaign moments that result from this kind of expenditure, as well as long-term dividends that might be beneficial to the party. 

There are few wrong ways to play D&D.. but lecturing others for fairly mundane game choices very well may be one of them. 

I commonly play cleric and Druid and do a lot of the healing and support, and that also mean, I go through money fast when dealing with diseases, other medical disorders like exhaustion or even extra planar foes. That is if you can find the components in shops, supporting a party gets expensive, and that isn't counting potions i purchase for my group. 
The consumed component really start to add up. 

Protection from Evil and Good: 25 GP per use.

Revivify: 300GP per use.

Greater Restoration: 100GP per use

Raise Dead: 500 GP per use.

Heroes' Feast: 1,000 GP per use.

Resurrection: 1,000 GP per use.

True Resurrection: 25,000 GP per use.

And that isn't even an exhaustive list.  In my case, Money=power in a more literal sense. I can't cast a lot of my most needed spells when i need them, if i don't get cash to spend on components. 
So no, it isn't like Candy to players, it is the ability to do perform my role. I have more than once spent ALL my money on components when going through dangerous areas and was STILL short and had to barrow diamonds from my party to raise them.
I would love to be able to cut down on the accounting, but component costs don't let me.