csyphrett Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Personally I felt I had to buy wealth for the Teen Guardians game I am co-gming. None of the player characters have any resources, basic equipment other than their own, essentially got a base by blowing up a supervillain safehouse (with the help of the villain), or even a patron. It was easier to have a character come up with the money to buy those things to smooth things in play. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Hi! I'm the Brawling Balabanto himself, so let's get straight to the point of this thread. Does your world suffer from "Richest Man in the World" disease? Does every single one of your PC's buy the perk "Wealth?" I am having a great deal of trouble regulating this. Powered Armor characters and major villains need this stuff for their concepts. And if you have too many powered armor characters, they shouldnt' ALL be able to afford those new powers they want their armor to have. Wealthy Dilettante is too popular as a conception. I'm starting to just say no to people, but it's getting stupid as my game moves on. How do you control this without giving people the finger? I've tried explaining this to my players and they don't buy it. They all have to be stupid ass broken wealthy billionaires. I remember when 10 points of wealth was enough. What's going on here? I don't know if anyone else has asked this, but have you tried turning this question around? Not "Why do my players all want to be wealthy?", but "What am I doing to make the player feel that they need fifteen points of wealth to survive in my game?" Another question: have you asked them? They just might tell you. If they do, tell us, too. Long experience has taught me to learn from the mistakes of others whenever possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyrm Ouroboros Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Do your Players understand that if a PC regularly makes $15' date='000, but is conceptually spending $14,000 a month on upkeep and maintainence, that it means the character's "Wealth" level is calculated from the $1,000 a month left over?[/quote'] I don't know if anyone else has asked this, but have you tried turning this question around? Not "Why do my players all want to be wealthy?", but "What am I doing to make the player feel that they need fifteen points of wealth to survive in my game?" Pretty much what I was saying on both parts -- the concept of 'wealth' is 'what you have left over afterwards'. MachineMan lives in a 3-bedroom 2-bath 2-story in the suburbs, drives a sedan, makes payments on all of them, and has the default 0 points in Wealth -- but in-game, he MAKES US$40,000,000 a year, because he's a bloody genius inventor. 'Where'd it all go?' they ask. "Well, keeping up the MachineMan suit," says he. "Oh, and the UltraCar. Then there's the GizmoBase we're using, that costs a pretty penny ..." Points were paid for the suit, for the car, for the base. MachineMan doesn't -- shouldn't -- feel the need to stick points into Wealth in order to 'have the necessary monies' to keep up what ELSE he put points into; that's why he put POINTS into them. Wealth is 'What's Left Over Afterwards'. Not 'what you need in order to Have That Concept'. Oh, and don't forget Warren Worthington III, the one and only Angel. Probably not 15 points in wealth, but at least 10 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warpcore Breach Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Most characters I have made over the years have had at least 10 pts in Wealth. I like to be able to have a character who can ignore the problems that plague me in real life. Plus, I know that most of my friends don't really think about that so if/when we do get a base I like to be able to explain where the facilities come from. Even the "Taken over enemy base" will be needing some upgrades and security systems installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease If all my players wanted to be rich' date=' then I'd treat it the same way as if they all wanted to be mutants or aliens. I'd say "Keen. A unified campaign theme". Even if it was just a majority, I'd try to suggest to the remainder that they consider being the "bodyguard/assistant" of one of the billionaires, or perhaps the love interest of one of them.[/quote'] I've done the bodyguard to the rich dude thing before. One of the most fun characters I've ever played. It didn't even start out that way, it just kind of happened. My character was ronin and was looking for a master, her's was BADLY in need of someone to keep him alive. We've rarely had more than 1 super-rich character in any campaign I've been in. But then most of the groups I've played with don't like to step on each other's schticks too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Most characters I have made over the years have had at least 10 pts in Wealth. I like to be able to have a character who can ignore the problems that plague me in real life. Plus' date=' I know that most of my friends don't really think about that so if/when we do get a base I like to be able to explain where the facilities come from. Even the "Taken over enemy base" will be needing some upgrades and security systems installed.[/quote'] Just as a note, 0 pts of wealth generally lets you ignore the whole money issue entirely. You make enough that you don't have to worry, though you can't just fly to Ireland whenever you feel like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
input.jack Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease If all my players wanted to be rich' date=' then I'd treat it the same way as if they all wanted to be mutants or aliens. I'd say "Keen. A unified campaign theme". Even if it was just a majority, I'd try to suggest to the remainder that they consider being the "bodyguard/assistant" of one of the billionaires, or perhaps the love interest of one of them.[/quote'] GENIUS! Thats a great idea! (I love theme games) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Just as a note' date=' 0 pts of wealth generally lets you ignore the whole money issue entirely. You make enough that you don't have to worry, though you can't just fly to Ireland whenever you feel like it. [/quote'] Of course you can "just fly to Ireland whenever you feel like it". That's why you have Megascale on your Flight. Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Of course you can "just fly to Ireland whenever you feel like it". That's why you have Megascale on your Flight. Just sayin'. I actually rarely make characters that can fly. And frequently make ones that have no special means of transportation at all. Or at least not intercontinental type transportation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease 15 points spent on Wealth? Humbug. That's 15 less points to spend on STRENGTH! You should be happy they spend points on Wealth. Our group spends them on powers, and then TAKES the wealth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlinggeek Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease 15 points spent on Wealth? Humbug. That's 15 less points to spend on STRENGTH! You should be happy they spend points on Wealth. Our group spends them on powers, and then TAKES the wealth. So, you're running a Villains campaign? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease I say roll with it, then feed the sickness..."Dude! Only 15 points of wealth? Power guy was saying he wanted 18 points of wealth" when they get to 100 let us know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease If all my players wanted to be rich' date=' then I'd treat it the same way as if they all wanted to be mutants or aliens. I'd say "Keen. A unified campaign theme".[/quote']When doing a "restart" for a HeroCentral game I'm in, the majority (if not all) the players were making various speed characters (6 SPD+, if there was a 6 SPD). I joked that we should all do fast characters and have a sign that says: "You must be THIS fast to fight crime in this city." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drhoz Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Truman/Zero gets by. But then, he's a quite powerful telepath who spends his lunchbreaks outside the stock exchange, etc. Most of the funds hethen acculmulates go into his collection of 50's Americana. The Skeleton Crew have a base now? Great! more room to store and display his stuff. Vitus, on the otherhand, has zero income. The small quantity of material he carries with him in case of fiscal emergency aren't legal tender on Earth, and the barter system hasn't been used in a long time. Even his attempts at exchanging magic lessons for local currency earned him nothing more than a migraine headache. Celebrity = cash is a concept that has so far eluded him completely. He considered special effects work, but of course, he's not a member of the union... So he's currently living on the charity of a local teammate he can't stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Truman/Zero gets by. But then.... Vitus, on the otherhand, has zero income. The small quantity.... When did this become a WWYCD thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimble Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Just as a note' date=' 0 pts of wealth generally lets you ignore the whole money issue entirely. You make enough that you don't have to worry, though you can't just fly to Ireland whenever you feel like it. [/quote'] And you have to call in sick at your place of employment if you need to go save the world and it isn't after 5pm or during your lunch break... Usually, 0 pts in wealth puts you in 9-5 job territory. Unless you have a modest inheritance or some other source of income that does not involve your character working. I really don't see the fuss over the money Perk as long as it fits the character's concept. Any GM worth his salt could run a team of characters with 15 pts of welth all around or -10 pts. Sure, each extreme has its problems, but that just means more plot hooks either way. From dumpster diving to being on the scene in secret ID when the super-villians bust up the musium gala openning. As others have said...talk to your players if you have a problem with them all being rich. I'm sure it can be worked out. Grimble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimble Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease In the current campaign I am running there is one character that took 15 pts of wealth. He is Metal Master, who cam transmute any metal to ay other and can telekinetically control any metals. Not only has he created a large amount of valuable metals for himself, but he also converts dangerous radioactives into harmless metals for governments and companies. Totally acceptable for him to have vast wealth. The rest of the team took 1-2 pts of wealth, if any. When they were hired onto the super-team evryone gained $1,000,000/year as pay with the stipulation that they had to be available 24/7 to kick villian butt and/or save the world. I gave this free of charge. Basically, because I am running a high powered game and wanted to bring all the characters together at the super base (Also provided for free). Several of the characters have their own apartments in the campaign city, but need to be within a few minutes from the base in case of emergency. The point is. Wealth can be a good thing for superhero campaigns. Roll with it and embrace it. MY major problem is I have to scrap most of my powersuited villians because of the Metal Master's trasmutation powers. Ever see what happens the a powersuited villian after his suit turns to Murcury?!? Grimble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Ever see what happens the a powersuited villian after his suit turns to Murcury?!? Very effective. Were you aware that calcium is a metal? I think sodium is, too, but I'll leave it to the alpha geeks to confirm or disprove that claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease My group had an alternative team (for between the main campaign's story-arcs) who all had 10 points of wealth. They all had professions they excelled at, but little need to actually practice them. After a while their team leader went on a late-night talk show. When asked why they went into the "heroing biz" he answered "we needed something to do." Boredom as a character motivation. Who knew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimble Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Very effective. Were you aware that calcium is a metal? I think sodium is' date=' too, but I'll leave it to the alpha geeks to confirm or disprove that claim.[/quote'] I am all too aware, and so is the guy playing Metal Master...But this is for another thread. Grimble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Ever see what happens the a powersuited villian after his suit turns to Murcury?!? Well, I imagine that said villain would die a very painful death from mecury poisoning. "Mercury damages the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys, and other organs, and adversely affects the mouth, gums, and teeth. Exposure over long periods of time or heavy exposure to mercury vapor can result in brain damage and ultimately death. Mercury and its compounds are particularly toxic to fetuses and infants. Women who have been exposed to mercury in pregnancy have sometimes given birth to children with serious birth defects."- Wikipedia. That sounds like a dark thing for a superhero to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Well, I imagine that said villain would die a very painful death from mecury poisoning. "Mercury damages the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys, and other organs, and adversely affects the mouth, gums, and teeth. Exposure over long periods of time or heavy exposure to mercury vapor can result in brain damage and ultimately death. Mercury and its compounds are particularly toxic to fetuses and infants. Women who have been exposed to mercury in pregnancy have sometimes given birth to children with serious birth defects."- Wikipedia. That sounds like a dark thing for a superhero to do. Well, speaking of metals, that's what the Iron Age does ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Johnston Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Well, I imagine that said villain would die a very painful death from mecury poisoning. . Probably not. A brief exposure isn't likely to do that much damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealVector Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease The other issue is that if all of the supers have all of the money, eventually all of the normals are going to get pissed off. What? The economy is not a zero sum game, how would a handful of rich supers monopolize wealth in your campaign world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Probably not. A brief exposure isn't likely to do that much damage. First, turning an entire suit of armor into mecury, which would immediately douse you in it.... is far from brief. It's complete saturation. Second.... "In December 1997, a chemistry professor, Karen Wetterhahn, working at Dartmouth College in the United States was contaminated with dimethylmercury when she spilled a drop on her latex glove. She began experiencing the symptoms of mercury poisoning within 5 months of the exposure and despite treatment, died a few months later."- Wikipedia. The only reason I even pointed it out was to indirectly suggest to the GM that he could possibly check some of his player's powers through genre conventions. I think I'm begining to cause thread drift, so I will restrain my future comments on this particular matter to private messages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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