[RPG] How to keep the gold safe from other PCs

Your first instinct-- gently talking to the player-- is a very good one. You can easily follow that up with a less gentle discussion laying out the basic idea that tabletop RPGs (unlike computer RPGs) are collaborative efforts where everyone needs to have fun. This includes not only the other players, but also you as the GM.

Your second instinct-- restricting this recruitment activity to when it "makes sense" in the game context-- is also a very good one. This, too, can be amplified beyond what you've already discussed: The idea that NPCs are just standing around waiting to be recruited is a trope in CRPGs and is sometimes a trope in tabletop RPGs but there's no overwhelming reason for it to be a trope in your game. NPCs who follow PCs around and risk their lives for them (especially when the PC is just hanging back and managing things!) are going to expect something for their troubles. It might be money, it might be respect, it might be help with their own agendas, but whatever it is, it should be something costly that the PC should have difficulty supplying.

Finally, building off that idea, there are many creative ways for a GM to make a follower at least as much trouble as he's worth, if not more. A non-exhaustive sampling includes:

• The incompetent NPC, who falls asleep on watch incurring a surprise attack at night
• The belligerent NPC, who always knows better than the boss and goes his own way
• The unpopular NPC, who manages to antagonize all the other NPCs
• The thief NPC, who robs the group
• The NPC with his own agenda, constantly steering the group into various trouble that advances his own purposes
• The wanted NPC, who has one or more groups after him for past transgressions
• The spy NPC, sent by someone else to take advantage of your PC's ardent love of followers.

Give them 'phantom levels'

I ran a game a few years ago, where we had a brand new player (to our table and RPGs in general) join our level 7 party. This was a similar situation to yours, as I had to get them tough enough not to get perma-dead by the first enemy they encountered, but they would have been overwhelmed if I had them make a 7th level character.

What I wish I had done in that situation, and what user T.L.D. has done (for previous editions) was give them the HP, Armor, and Weapons of a level 7 character, with the features of a level 1 character.

My suggestion to you is that they start at level 1, but have the HP that their character would have if they were the same level as your lowest leveled player at the table (or the level of the table if that's how you're doing things).

Then give them any mechanical bonuses commensurate to the party's level that do not increase the complexity of their character. This may include:

• increased proficiency bonus

• increased HP

• better armor (magical if appropriate, limited to +1's and +2's)

• better weapons (magical if appropriate, limited to +1's and +2's)

• class features that do not induce choice or increase complexity (e.g. Monk's level 6 feature to overcome resistance to non-magical attacks)

Then, after each session (or two), they replace 1 phantom level with a real one. They do not get more health (you already gave that to them), but they add their class features, feats, spells, etc... that a character of their level would have.

This way, you don't have to be afraid to hit them, but they can still learn the character at a normal pace. Obviously, this works best for more martial classes vs casters.