Gaining Wealth in Play

[Colarmel]

Say a barbarian decides he's tired of losing out on good deals due to his lack of connections and saves up his points for very wealthy. Does he gain the difference in starting wealth with each point expenditure?

[sir_pudding]

No, but presumably he has gotten some treasures along the way and didn't have to pay points to keep them so it balances out.

[Kromm]

Generally, it costs money equal to the difference in starting cash to improve Wealth. The funds go toward opening accounts, making investments, supporting the community, joining the Stonecutters, paying dues and bribes, etc. to establish your solvency – in modern terms, your credit rating. This lets you sell future loot more profitably, as you have access to more competitive agents and markets, you know a better class of merchants, you've set up tax loopholes (or paid off tax collectors), you have richer acquaintances willing to pay sweetheart prices, and traders are more likely to trust that you aren't selling garbage.

For instance, if you want to go from Struggling [-10] ($500 starting money) to Comfortable [10] ($2,000 starting money), you need not only 20 points, but also $1,500. After that, you can sell treasure at 60% of value instead of 20%. You'll recoup your investment on as little as $3,750 in loot.

The GM might find this record-keeping annoying. If so, just charge points. But the essential detail is that you never get money for points once the game starts. Whether you're buying Wealth or trading points for money directly, that's a one-time deal when you first create your character.