[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Heir was a 5-point place-holder advantage in 3rd Edition. I don't think it transferred over to 4th Edition. If you don't want to bring it back for your own use as a house rule, you're probably looking at a combination of Independent Income, Wealth, Status, Patron, and, possibly, Reputation. Independent Income would represent an allowance (that probably can't be cut off), or perhaps, trust income from a company that was put in her name for tax purposes. As "the putting a company in her name" indicates, even though the real wealth belongs to the family (or select members thereof, possibly only to the head of the family), it is possible for her to have Wealth in her own right, and the same is true for Status. Unless she is truly the heiress of someone in control of the family's fortune, rather than just a member of the family, her Status might be anything up to 3 levels lower, depending on where in the family she is, and the degree to which she is guilty of conspicuous consumption. Her Patron won't be the family as a whole but rather the movers and shakers within the family, possibly the head of the family if he makes all the real decisions. The Patron would usually be well-disposed toward her but might be less inclined to help if she has embarrassed the family recently. (eg., been in the papers for being "found in" a raid on a scandalous "speakeasy.") As far as not keeping equipment, Equipment that you get to keep is an Enhancement to the Patron Advantage. Not having the Enhancement doesn't mean you can't take the basic Advantage. Reputation, for better or worse, would include being reported on as a "madcap heiress" in the newspapers. Which might not be a bad thing, as in The Mad Miss Manton (1938).

Actually Heir did transfer. See Potential Advantages on page B33.

Yes, she probably has a Claim to Hospitality but I'd be less inclined to place it with her family and instead put it among her circle of friends and acquaintances, which from period films seems to be closer to how it really worked anyway.

I would disagree here, in that "a small family" is one of the standard cases of this advantage, worth 2 points (see p. B41). Of course, hers might not be "small." If you boost it to large family and add friends I might call it 4 points.

As to Social Stigma, federally, unless you're starting before August, 1920, Second Class Citizen doesn't really apply, though it might be appropriate in some less-than-progressive states. There are a few interesting period problems that you'll want to consider before deciding one way or the other. First, she can lose her U.S. citizenship if she marries someone who is not eligible to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Second, once married, she is subject to coveture, i.e., her husband has legal control of her property. On the other hand, as a woman, she is not subject to Selective Service. While possibly still a minor (depending on how far along in her degree program she is), drinking and entering into enforceable contracts on her own are the only things I can think of that she couldn't do. (Note: enforceable contracts, she could sign a contract in her own right, but as a minor, it's voidable at her option, and hence unenforceable in court).

More generally, women in the 1920s are more or less the equals of men and don't have to take a Social Stigma, but society is different from today's society, so men and women operate in what are effectively separate worlds. This doesn't mean that women are powerless at higher levels of Status. They are society's gatekeepers. Largely, they decide who gets invited to parties and parties are where men network and sometimes make deals. If you become persona non grata, your ability to network pretty much dries up. Even if the husband insists you be invited, a hostess could sabotage you with her choice of your dinner partners.

The constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote was not an equal rights amendment. It granted women one specific right in which they were equal to men, but that doesn't amount to full equality. There were occupations from which women were excluded, by law or by custom (including union practices that virtually had the force of law), and there was the generally accepted custom that women stopped working at marriage—often employers would let a woman employee go at that point. There is also the fact that back then, and up until the 1970s, a wife could not have her husband charged with rape.

On the other hand, American states started passing Married Women's Property Acts before 1840, and Wikipedia says that "until late in the 19th century" three states still did not provide such rights to married women; I think that suggests that coverture was gone by 1920. And Selective Service isn't relevant; it was abolished in 1920 and didn't come back until 1940.

I would also note that beyond purely legal rules, Second-Class Citizen includes lack of privileges and negative reactions (a -1 modifier). Women in this era did face a good deal of that. Yes, women did have social privileges, and in a certain type of campaign it might make sense to give them Social Regard 1 (Respected); but in an adventure campaign those privileges are going to be less relevant.

(I met my oldest friend when were were both math majors at UC San Diego in 1971. On her first day of real analysis, an upper division math course, her professor told the class that women had no place in mathematics. He faced no penalties for doing so, not even a negative reaction.)

Finally, I would suggest that Status 4 or 5 is more appropriate, at least for the head of a family important as the Rockefellers or Duponts. They would certainly be Status 4, "Who's Who", and the heiress might be listed as well. While there aren't many, if any, multinational corporations as we currently think of them in this period, their precursors certainly exist, and this would be a family in that category. I.E., they own additional companies in other countries, some of which even engage in the same or related businesses, as the ones that the family operates at home.

A family such as described are probably Multimillionaires. The character probably gets +2 to Status from that, in that her lifestyle will lead people to assume that she has influence and can, for example, get people fired for disrespecting her. If they're Old Money I'd allow another +1. The head of the family probably has Status 5 matching the family wealth and another +1 for Old Money, totalling 6.