Looking for good House Rule on Wealth

[Jareth Valar]

Originally Posted by Gnome

Have you checked out "Abstract Wealth" from Pyramid #3/44? It basically turns Wealth into an attribute that you roll against to make purchases.

I have used the system in one campaign, though I combined it with standard Wealth. Every character got 20% of their starting Wealth as equipment/cash, and the Abstract Wealth rules were used to handle the other 80%. This was a TL6 game, and it worked out really nicely. PCs could choose whether to pay for things out of pocket (using "cash on hand") or using Abstract Wealth.
I would use this system again for any game in which I want the characters to have remotely realistic financial situations (so not DF) without having to deal with boring bookkeeping.

Good article and good idea on how to incorporate.

My on;y issue with it, if i am remembering correctly, it doesn't address in any way what to do with Independent Income. We were thinking on using this but haven't come up with a a solution on how to handle it (every PC has some varying level of Independent Income).

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Jareth Valar

Good article and good idea on how to incorporate.

My on;y issue with it, if i am remembering correctly, it doesn't address in any way what to do with Independent Income. We were thinking on using this but haven't come up with a a solution on how to handle it (every PC has some varying level of Independent Income).

An Unusual Origin which has the effect of giving you your income without the need to work. Maybe 15 points?

[Jareth Valar]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

An Unusual Origin which has the effect of giving you your income without the need to work. Maybe 15 points?

In this campaign all of the characters work (F.B.I.). 2 are from wealthy families and the other (was going to be a chef/restaurant owner before tragedy befell him) has his own line of BBQ sauces (all having various levels of Independent Income from these) and having already paid points for such. I don't see where charging more points helps with how Independent Income integrates with the article.

I appreciate the response, but am just a bit confused as to the direction of it.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Jareth Valar

In this campaign all of the characters work (F.B.I.). 2 are from wealthy families and the other (was going to be a chef/restaurant owner before tragedy befell him) has his own line of BBQ sauces (all having various levels of Independent Income from these) and having already paid points for such. I don't see where charging more points helps with how Independent Income integrates with the article.

I appreciate the response, but am just a bit confused as to the direction of it.

I was suggesting that instead of Independent Income you just give the characters an Unusual Origin that means they get their income without having to work for it.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

I was suggesting that instead of Independent Income you just give the characters an Unusual Origin that means they get their income without having to work for it.

You'd still have to determine what their "Job" paid.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

You'd still have to determine what their "Job" paid.

...that's already determined by their Wealth characteristic in Abstract Wealth. They just don't have to spend time working for it. If they have a job it's for fun (or you know a deep and sincere desire to serve the community).

[Jareth Valar]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

...that's already determined by their Wealth characteristic in Abstract Wealth. They just don't have to spend time working for it. If they have a job it's for fun (or you know a deep and sincere desire to serve the community).

Please correct me if I am misunderstanding your suggestion.

I am getting that you suggest charging an extra 15ish points on top of the 2-10 that are already spent for Independent Income so the characters don't "have to" work, but if they do it's just for fun. With no benefit from doing so. Even though the levels of Independent Income bought would not necessarily allow them to have the Wealth levels they already purchased? Especially in our case, where the job is NOT an option (it is an F.B.I. game), this just sounds like a slap in the face.

Independent Income is supposed to be just that, independent. Separate from the Wealth gained from working a job. The one PC that has his sauce line only has Independent Income at 2 points (right now). No where near enough to support the Comfortable lifestyle he has from the Template out GM created.

Like I said, I greatly appreciate the suggestions, but this one isn't helpfull to our current game. Thanks anyway.

Unless I have totally crit failed my reading check and you were suggesting something entirely different.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Jareth Valar

Please correct me if I am misunderstanding your suggestion.

I am getting that you suggest charging an extra 15ish points on top of the 2-10 that are already spent for Independent Income t.

No. I'm suggesting charging 10 or 15 points for "not having to work for your Income" in an Abstract Wealth game. Period. End of story. Independent Wealth never worked very well as a mechanic and becomes really problematic to calculate in Abstract Wealth. So ditch it.

[Jareth Valar]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

No. I'm suggesting charging 10 or 15 points for "not having to work for your Income" in an Abstract Wealth game. Period. End of story. Independent Wealth never worked very well as a mechanic and becomes really problematic to calculate in Abstract Wealth. So ditch it.

Ah. Misunderstood the "replace" option you were suggesting.

Thanks for clarifying.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Actually, I think you could make Independent Income work with the Abstract Wealth system. Here's how I'd do it:

The first 5 levels of Independent Income simply cover a decreasing need to actually work for a living. Each level reduces the time you need to work a "regular job" in a month by 20%, up to not having to work at all at level 5. The remaining levels, up to 20, effectively let you do cheap and normal purchases without reducing your effective Wealth level - each level past 5 eliminates the normal penalty to Wealth rolls for one purchase, either for the month for Normal purchases, or the week for Cheap purchases. So, for example, someone with Independent Income 10 wouldn't have to work a regular job at all, and would be able to make 5 normal purchases in a month, and 5 cheap purchases a week, without any penalty to their Wealth rolls.