Cost of living for soldiers

[Stormcrow]

Should the monthly cost of living be suspended for high Status deployed soldiers? Should a soldier with a family pay the cost of living to support his or her family, assuming the soldier is the family's only working member? Would that give a "freebie" to soldiers without family back home?

[thrash]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Should the monthly cost of living be suspended for high Status deployed soldiers? Should a soldier with a family pay the cost of living to support his or her family, assuming the soldier is the family's only working member? Would that give a "freebie" to soldiers without family back home?

It depends. A soldier with a family will presumably maintain that household whether deployed or not. A single but high-Status soldier may not want to give up the house or primo apartment just because deployed, or may pack everything up into storage and save the cost of living. In the latter case, the Status should count as temporarily reduced: it's impossible to impress guests and keep up your social position when you're living in a tent overseas.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by thrash

It depends. A soldier with a family will presumably maintain that household whether deployed or not. A single but high-Status soldier may not want to give up the house or primo apartment just because deployed, or may pack everything up into storage and save the cost of living. In the latter case, the Status should count as temporarily reduced: it's impossible to impress guests and keep up your social position when you're living in a tent overseas.

And of course, much of this is assuming modern day western soldiers.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Should the monthly cost of living be suspended for high Status deployed soldiers? Should a soldier with a family pay the cost of living to support his or her family, assuming the soldier is the family's only working member? Would that give a "freebie" to soldiers without family back home?

Ancestral estates don't maintain themselves. Then there's the tailored uniforms, the bottles of wine from back home, the gourmet dinners with your C.O. and paying your batman.

Or maybe you don't do that. There aren't necessarily any lasting consequences to not maintaining your status. It's possible for your status to dip temporarily due to circumstances, and then simply bobble back to the mean once you are in a position to retake your position in society. But if we are talking about _serious_ high status, it takes maintenance regardless of whether you are there or not.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Ancestral estates don't maintain themselves. Then there's the tailored uniforms, the bottles of wine from back home, the gourmet dinners with your C.O. and paying your batman.

Tip of the iceberg, old boy! You need your hounds and hunters, grooms and kennel-boys, and a cook besides your bâtman. A cart for your luggage, a cart for your tent, dining-table, and chairs. Carters for the carts. Carthorses. And life in the field is expensive in porcelain and glassware. It's just as well to make sure of your own mounts and remounts, too.

[SuedodeuS]

Cost of Living is an approximation and can change based on what's going on in a character's life. That said, above Status 1 or so (and to some extent at Status 1), cost of living also involves servants. Unless you lay off your staff every time you go off to war, you're still going to be paying for them. In many time periods, high Status individuals are going to have their servants with them (and are going to eat better than low Status soldiers) when they go off to war, so Cost of Living remains virtually unchanged.

Personally, I'd probably keep Cost of Living the same.

[David Johnston2]

Or if you're your an 18-19th century American, you may very well find yourself paying the expenses for your very unit.

[dcarson]

Ship captains during the age of sail would pay for fancy uniforms for the crew of the captain's gig so that you made the proper impression when going ashore of paying a call on another ship.

You were expected to pay yur share of the officier's mess fund and if you were high status not paying for ecen better quality would affect your status.

In modern times living on just your military pay probably won't make a big dent in status in most of the past it would.

[trooper6]

Please the Advantage Rank, B29.

High Rank, grants status.

Then note, B256 Cost of Living.

"If you get Status free from Rank, you need only pay the cost of living for your Status before this bonus, not for your final Status level. Someone else--your organization, the taxpayers, etc.--covers the difference."