[DF] - Party wealth disparity

[RobKamm]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

In those bad old days there were no such thing as one player starting out with substantially greater wealth than another,

As I recall, from several iterations of the famous old school game, each class had radically different starting money levels. It was impossible for certain classes to start with the same amount of gear that other classes did. Indeed, I don't think it wasn't until GURPS came along that the idea of each character started with the same level of funding even entered gaming.

What good is he going to be to a dungeon-delving party if he doesn't contribute his wealth? What's the reward for being a good fighter? A share of the loot. What's the reward for being a healer? A share of the loot. What's the reward for being able to zap the opposition? A share of the loot. What's the reward for being able to open locks and backstab enemies? A share of the loot. Why should someone who can't do any of these things very well get a bigger share of the loot?

The idea of a bigger base share was introduced for those occasions when Mr. Rich subsidized his companions. In effect the extra shares were payments for his largess. Barring that Mr. Rich's extra cash comes from the fact that he can unload his loot at a premium other characters can't match. If he is willing to share his contacts with his companions, well, that's his choice. Just like Mr. Cleric could decide if he should bother patching Mr. Rich back up.

PS. What is DF, anyway?

DF= Dungeon Fantasy. The series of high point "old school" fantasy GURPs books started by Dr. Kromm. They are available as .pdfs from W23.