While attempting to organize the chaos of my bedroom, I found my copy (literally "copy," as it was bootlegged off my old GM's original on an Air Force copy machine, waaaayyyyy back in the day) of the 1987 TSR Temple of Elemental Evil module.

And I started reading it (for the first time in over 20 years).

Keeping in mind that the starship economics of Classic Traveller date from the same dynastic period of RPG development, consider these words of advice to the GM of ToEE, on the subject of character wealth:

"You should sharply limit the amount of gear and treasure they can bring to the village (as you will understand when you read the adventure). If your group of players has had exceptional luck, simply engineer a minor encounter or two along the way - light-fingered leprechauns, a thief or two, or perhaps some brigands - to rid them of a few of those cumbersome gems, coins and magical items."

As has been said many times before, I don't think a whole lot of economic thinking went into the CT economic rules. They were simply a way to reward PCs with the Referee's right hand, then siphon those same rewards back off with his left hand . . .

--

Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein