At the beginning of level 5 they should have approximately 700 gold each, and at the end 3000 gold each, so they earn a total of approximately 2300 gold. Level 5 characters should have around 500 gp of wealth, with 1 or 2 common magic items and 1 rare mix of consumables and permanents. There is only one class that strongly defends the search for gold, and even then it depends on the fund you have selected. However, a bard has a great chance of starting with a lot more wealth even with an average roll of dice compared to taking the initial equipment.
The initial team based on the class is worth approximately 100 gp; the average gold roll for a bard is 125 gp. With a perfect run, you would start with about 200 GP to equip your character and fill your pockets. All other buildings have a limit of 50,000 GP, which means that a character could easily afford 10 of those buildings and at the same time have enough leftover gold to retreat, and then sit on their property as if it were a Monopoly game and they are trying to get their friends and family to hate them. The second option sets you up with teams based on your class, with a fixed amount of gold determined by your background.
There are only two class characteristics (okay, technically three) that require any kind of gold value to actually work. If players receive so much gold, according to the rules and suggestions provided to the DMs, then they have to spend it on something or it just doesn't make sense to have 786,000 pieces of gold and have nothing to do with it. For higher-level characters, it obviously wouldn't make sense to start with less than 200 gold pieces in wealth and equipment. If the group gathers their gold, you can give them something really cool, like a castle full of servants and henchmen.
When it comes to starting gold and equipment for a level 1 character, you should do what makes the most sense to you. In d%26d it has been defined that gold is worth an amount and that is all there is in an economy in d%26d. I have scaled my campaign so that, in a series of 10 missions, two characters receive a total of 500 gold in mission payments. If you select the option to start with a gold reserve to buy your starting equipment, the amount of money you have to choose depends on your class.
If you prefer customization and don't mind taking a little risk, digging for your gold might be the best option. If your players find themselves in a treasure trove of dragons, a good way to spend that pile of gold is on housing. From this, it is assumed that anyone who can have a plate must have a plate by the time they are entering the fifth level because that is what the game is designed for, since there is little or nothing else that players can spend their gold on.
