Excess Wealth

Finding yourself with a large wealth can be a daunting experience. One which often leads to more problems than one would think. Here may be some pointers on what to 'invest' it in.

From least to most expensive
This stage often representing your wealth as an adventurer starting out. Here your wealth is used to survive on the road, transporting yourself and fighting off what lurks in the dark between towns. More than not, you find yourself having to choose between different simple options as you lack the funds to have it all - a potion to survive a grim encounter, a better axe or a safer transportation to the next town over with a full belly to boot.

Low to medium cost:

 * Downtime - a band of adventurers is known to burn through coin quickly when visiting towns, both to resupply and repair broken items, but also to drink away the horrors they may have encountered, or drown the sorrows of a fallen comrade.
 * Carriage or transport - Hire lingo to carry stuff, transport (by sea or land) or guard yourself, maybe pay banks to keep your gold as it is heavy as hell to log around with.
 * Equipment - a rogue without thieves tools, a tank without armor, or a traveler without rations won't last long.
 * Things Don't Last Forever - Swords break, bows snap, clothes fall apart. Creatures sunder weapons, rust armor, and befoul food and drink.
 * Equipment Isn't Universal - Still wearing the same commoner's clothing you wore at lvl 1 to a noble's ball? That's an issue. Clothing fowl easily and should be fitting of stature.
 * Potions - being able to heal without having to rest is essential if adventurers want to survive a journey into the outskirts. Potions in general can also give a significant boost in an hour of need.
 * Bribes, the occasional ordered hit on a competitor, or an illegal acquisition - might be an easy way out of a tight spot.
 * Taxes, Duties, and Coin conversions - Remember, the only sureties in life are death and taxes. Tithes, guild dues, offerings to your baron, duke or king... everyone pays a price.

Medium to high cost:
At this point you are past the 'gold to survive' stage of the game, you enter the 'gold to influence your surroundings' stage of the game. You now have the coin to change and save lives on a larger scale - a paladin might go into the poorer districts of a town with 100gp and buy inexpensive food for hundreds, if not thousands of people all at once, and then use the opportunity to give speeches to them about whatever threat the party is facing. This would generally result in cities being more defensible with a lessened corruption.
 * Wizards notes and spells - acquiring spells is not a simple, nor mundane task in Alera, a bit of coin might point you in the right direction.
 * Master crafted weapons and armor - that +1 armor or axe makes more of a difference than one might think.
 * Get a personal tutor or teacher - finally learn that skill you always fail at, add knowledge to the team with a particular trade, or increase your proficiency in some area.
 * Magical scrolls - for that emergency exit or that final push of damage when all hope seems lost.

High to very high cost:
At this point you enter the 'gold to shape the world' stage of the game. You can now literally alter the continental map of Alera, wage wars, wipe out cities or construct major monuments of power.
 * Construct shrines and magical towers - do deep and maybe dark research into the arcane, lost arts or forbidden summoning rituals, or maybe discover an entirely new branch of magic - or die trying.
 * Open a shop, build a stronghold, found a guild or even a town - with enough wealth and political power, everything is possible. If you are capable of building a safe haven for a large populous, they just might settle down near you, seeking your protection.
 * Get a personal mercenary army - ever wondered what it would be like to lay siege to a city or maybe take over an entire range of Alera, well now you just might!
 * Want to overthrow a government or construct a new set of laws? - with enough coin and political power, everything is possible.