How to handle in game wealth increase

[oma]

The PCs during the game build up more wealth. Bringing back treasures from the jungle, stealing a case full of money, etc. How does GURPS handle the increase in wealth. Say the PCs are all wealth 0.

Does GURPS say they should pay points for increased wealth or does that even factor in for things attained during play.

I guess, is wealth strictly a starting game amount or does it reflect how much money you can have on a permanent basis. If you get a bunch of money or equipment in an adventure, do you need to buy up your wealth to keep the GM from removing it from the game or do you just keep it and not worry about your wealth level?

[Landwalker]

I believe the general approach to this is that CP-bought Wealth also represents a character's ability to keep wealth. A dead-broke monk who brings a chest full of gold back from a dungeon either has to buy wealth to reflect his windfall, or he loses it one way or another (a monk might gift the whole thing to the church; a rake might blow it all on ale and wenches).

Dungeon Fantasy also uses Wealth to determine the percentage of an item's value you receive when you sell it. So a wealthier character has better "contacts" or something that allows them to get $800 for something, while a poorer character might only be able to sell the same item for $500. Of course, in practice this kind of falls apart, since the whole party will give their loot to the highest-Wealth member to sell on their behalf.

[Langy]

Does GURPS say they should pay points for increased wealth

Yes, it does. If you reach the the starting wealth of a higher wealth level and you keep that amount of money (rather than spending it on hookers and booze), you should purchase that wealth level.

[oma]

So to be clear, if I acquire wealth and turn it into a magic item or equipment etc. then I would need to raise my wealth level to that next step that equals the value of what I found/bought etc., in order to assume the GM will let me keep all that newfound goodness. Otherwise, I should say bye bye to my new +4 vorpal bunny slaying cheese slicer, or whatever it was that I bought, acquired, stole.

All my equipment, land, possessions of any kind go into a pot and if that value reaches the next level of wealth in the book, then I pay the points for the wealth level or lose the wealth. Right?

[Langy]

In general, yeah. Depends on the game, though. I don't think it's normally used in Dungeon Fantasy games, for example.

[trooper6]

Originally Posted by oma

So to be clear, if I acquire wealth and turn it into a magic item or equipment etc. then I would need to raise my wealth level to that next step that equals the value of what I found/bought etc., in order to assume the GM will let me keep all that newfound goodness. Otherwise, I should say bye bye to my new +4 vorpal bunny slaying cheese slicer, or whatever it was that I bought, acquired, stole.

All my equipment, land, possessions of any kind go into a pot and if that value reaches the next level of wealth in the book, then I pay the points for the wealth level or lose the wealth. Right?

For me, Magic Item or equipment is not the same as Wealth. That is some stuff. Stuff that can be lost or stolen. Even if not lost or stolen, it is still just stuff. Wealth is far more than just cash on hand or some stuff. Remember that high levels of Wealth also gives you Status. Actually wealth involves things like credit ratings, connections, sustainable income, how people view you. This is more than just having a +4 vorpal bunny slaying cheese slicer.

In many societies, wealthy people had permission to carry swords where poor people didn't.

Or let's look at a drug dealer. That drug dealer may have a lot of cash...but they can't buy property with it. They can buy fancy clothes...they can buy fly clothes...guns on the black market. They have money, but they don't have Wealth. All of their money is confiscatable by the government if they get arrested.

The homeless guy with the vorpal sword is going to have a harder time keeping that sword while sleeping in the woods, vs. the Wealthy guy who has a home and security.

I think the most important thing to remember is that Wealth is more than just cash.

In my games, players don't *have* to buy up their Wealth...but if they don't...then they don't. And there are consequences for that. Generally, the situation is that my players *want* to buy up Wealth but I don't let them. Why don't I let them? Because in order to buy up Wealth, they need to prove sustainability. So...they get a big expensive Vorpal sword? That isn't enough of a justification for upping Wealth. Now if they take some of their treasure, invest it in land, buy a minor title, throw some lavish parties to impress the important people in the town...then okay, they can buy up Wealth. But that isn't something I let people do easily.

ETA: If that barbarian never loses the Vorpal sword that he found...even if that vorpal sword is worth a lot of money...that isn't going to up his Wealth. And guards and other people in power are going to look suspicious at this poor this walking around with an expensive sword that he obviously doesn't have the money to acquire legally.

Wealth involves social and cultural implications beyond just cash. Since my games involve society and culture. Wealth is a much bigger deal than a vorpal sword.

[roguebfl]

Wealth I treat like any other GM granted advantage in play, (what i call soft points), it at GM whim of events to take it away again. Player spent points on their other hand if i take it away it will be temporary the fates will bring you back to paid for level in reasonably due time.

[Captain-Captain]

My personal preference is to redefine wealth into 3 categories.

1) Starting Money. You get a base amount free and adjust it for points saved or spent.

2) Income. Money the character gets outside of actual play. This is an advantage. By default this is Pennies from Heaven money that has no obligations attached to it. A character can put limits on it to represent work etc. Understand that doing so both authorizes and obligates the GM to throw work related obstacles in your character's face though you can adjust the frequency of work hassles.

3) Money earned/lost in game.

This has NO effect on the character's point cost. The GM permitted the situation which enriched the character in game. Monies earned in game that are invested tend to go out of game and should count as Income.

Money used to buy equipment is the same as found equipment the character uses in play/ No cost.

[malloyd]

If you acquire assets incidentally to an adventure, I generally would not make you *pay* points for it, any more than I make you pay for contacts or changes in reputation, or give you points for lost limbs. Just write it on your character sheet.

Your point *total* does change as a result of some of those, but that's a different issue. Though in fact it does not change from acquiring assets; if you want to increase your Wealth level, and come up with enough cash to justify it through adventuring, then you can choose to spend earned points to gain the other benefits of Wealth (increased status, higher job income for shorter work hours etc.) but you need not. You can have a very large stash of gold on you and be Dead Broke - in which case you still can't get a loan, or a job, or admitted to a respectable inn, or convince anybody you didn't steal the money...

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by trooper6

In many societies, wealthy people had permission to carry swords where poor people didn't.

I think this is more status than strictly wealth.