Status, wealth, rank, independent income

[Silverblade]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Generally, full-time adventurers earn whatever they earn in the course of roleplaying. "Full-time adventurer" is a kind of job, but the earnings should be set by whatever loot, rewards, and treasures the GM sets before the PCs -- not by the rules for Status and Wealth. If she expects to get a little extra for her noble birth, she should either take a Patron, and use that to explain her nice adventuring gear, or above-average Wealth with Independent Income to represent a small stipend.

So, a full-time adventurer would, for all intents and purposes be "dead broke" all the time? When does our Full Time Adventurer stop being dead broke? Suppose he has completed a few "adventures", been paid for it, and now has a healthy reserve for a few months?

Also suppose he has a sizeable amount of Survival/Hunting/Armory skills and is capable of covering his own needs a good long while without spending a single $ and rarely, if ever, has to touch his earnings - is that some degree of wealth?

If he further manages to produce more than he uses himself (between - or even during - adventures) and sells it, would this qualify as a "job"? Or would he only have to get a degree above Dead Broke if the income is "reliable"?

[CrownedSun]

An Adventurer not having a job, as I understand things, isn't the same as him being Dead Broke. A Job is just one way to bring in additional money, usually useful to pay off cost of livings. Adventurers just have the "Job" of "freelance adventurer." Which is played out in play, as opposed to being resolved via the Job system.

They still have Wealth as normal, reflecting the worth of their assets.

[Silverblade]

If he already has assets, sure - but if the Full Time Adventurer starts out as "dead broke", and has no assets, but is highly skilled and accumulates a bit of cash, with which he bought some equipment (or made it himself) and shows no desire to accumulate wealth, and also has literally no cost of living he'd stay Dead Broke.

The money accumulates over time and he rarely spends anything, one day he'll have a sizeable cash reserve (and, as an adventurer, he'll carry it all in a purse on his belt, even millions of it :p ) but he'd still be dead broke.

[Mettius]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Also note, that the person with $20 million worth of ostentatious junk can (if he or she chooses to work) get a job earning $2.6 million a month, whereas the bloke who has invested his money can only earn $260,000 a month with the same skills.

This is the only problem I have with the rules. I don´t mind having to pay points seperately for Independent Income and Wealth, but I´ve always had a bit of a problem with the job table on this. On one hand we have the reduced requirement of work hours. Plus most really high levels of wealth don´t have entries on job tables. I always assumed that these folks basically used their 10-20/hrs week of ¨work¨ managing their investments (or slaves, or rental empires, or what have you). But what I never ¨got¨ about this rationalization is that:

A) If they don´t ¨do their job¨ that week, they don´t ¨get paid¨
and
B) Why aren´t they simply deligating the tedium of such management to someone else.

I´m not privy to the books of anyone who is filthy rich in real life, so I can´t say how much time they spend managing their assests or income generators.

Also, what about a campaign like age of sail, or Traveller with the PC out of comminication with his assets for weeks or months at a time. How does such a PC ¨manage his assets¨ while in jumpspace or in the middle of the Atlantic?


-Mettius

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Silverblade

If he already has assets, sure - but if the Full Time Adventurer starts out as "dead broke", and has no assets, but is highly skilled and accumulates a bit of cash, with which he bought some equipment (or made it himself) and shows no desire to accumulate wealth, and also has literally no cost of living he'd stay Dead Broke.

The money accumulates over time and he rarely spends anything, one day he'll have a sizeable cash reserve (and, as an adventurer, he'll carry it all in a purse on his belt, even millions of it :p ) but he'd still be dead broke.

Nope, Not at all.

First , you cost of living has nothing to do with you "Wealth level", it has to do with your Status level.

Dead broke is you have nothing but the clothese you your back, and they not worth much, and no prospects of getting more.

an Advtures Wealth level will deppend how good they are at being a "Freelance advture if the bring enough income from loot, rewardfs etc to live a avarage world lifestly , then ther wealth level is average, etc.

[Mettius]

Guess I should have kept reading before I posted. :) (I made it to page 5! :P )

Thanks for hitting this thread. Dr. Kromm´s posts nicely address my questions. Including the roaming high status/wealthy adventurer.

I guess looking at things from my middle-class perspective it seems mostly like rich folks just sit around being rich doing whatever they wish. And, I suppose that an power-elite family fortune probably does provide enough (GURPS) independent income to allow for this essential running around doing as they wish. But I suppose that with enough inattention at least from the family pat/matriarchs the family income from investments might dry up if they cut out of the right wheels and deals from the star chamber due to upsetting the other members of the illuminati.

:)

-Mettius

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Silverblade

So, a full-time adventurer would, for all intents and purposes be "dead broke" all the time?

No . . . where did I say that? I said that adventuring is a job, but one that uses the GM's judgment regarding loot, rewards, and treasure to determine income instead of the usual rules for Status and Wealth. A lot of adventurers might well be Filthy Rich by that token.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by CrownedSun

An Adventurer not having a job, as I understand things, isn't the same as him being Dead Broke. A Job is just one way to bring in additional money, usually useful to pay off cost of livings. Adventurers just have the "Job" of "freelance adventurer." Which is played out in play, as opposed to being resolved via the Job system.

They still have Wealth as normal, reflecting the worth of their assets.

Exactly. Not all jobs are "roll dice, do math, collect pay based on Wealth level." Lots are "go on adventures and collect bounties, loot foes, and recover lost treasure troves." Other jobs for full-time adventurers are silly -- when are they doing these other jobs if they're adventuring full-time?

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Silverblade

If he already has assets, sure - but if the Full Time Adventurer starts out as "dead broke", and has no assets, but is highly skilled and accumulates a bit of cash, with which he bought some equipment (or made it himself) and shows no desire to accumulate wealth, and also has literally no cost of living he'd stay Dead Broke.

By default, he has a background and that background is Average wealth. This is how he managed to eat while learning his skills, and of course buy his gear. An adventurer who starts out Dead Broke gets to enter play naked, unarmed, and either looked down upon for his low Status or looked down upon for living below his average Status.

Originally Posted by Silverblade

The money accumulates over time and he rarely spends anything, one day he'll have a sizeable cash reserve (and, as an adventurer, he'll carry it all in a purse on his belt, even millions of it :p ) but he'd still be dead broke.

As the rules on p. B517 say, if his job ("adventurer") earns him enough money to gain Wealth levels, he's expected to buy those Wealth levels. If he doesn't, he hasn't made the commitments needed to keep the money and something will happen to it.

[Silverblade]

EDIT: Just got the answer I wanted above. Thanks! :)