Richest Man in the World Disease

[RPMiller]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Purposely creating boring sessions sounds like a great idea' date=' assuming that you aren't attached to having players at all.[/quote']

I see that you understood my point exactly.

[Tigereye]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

You could have several different socioeconomic classes represented in one group.

 

The billionaire dilletante who finances and supports the group for reasons ranging from seeking vengeance (Bruce Wayne), to just to stave off boredom

 

The struggling blue-collar type who has powers far beyond that of normal people, but would never exploit it for money, or just hasn't found out how. He or she is knowledgeable about the seedier sides of society, tho

 

The affluent (but not obnoxiously rich) type who can pose at a higher social status than her raw wealth would indicate, allowing them to ingratiate themselves with higher circles (government types, for example)

 

The dirt-poor person who could turn to the Dark Side, if they weren't so proud, or whose philosophy forbids them to do so (a Vow of Poverty, for instance)

 

The alien to whom all forms of money are just wierd pieces of colored paper or plastic or metal that all the humans seem to be obsessed by.

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Actually, no, that's not it. You guys just have a different view of what goes on Character Sheets and why it goes there.

 

Let's look at the Champions Universe and their powered armor character, Defender.

 

In my world, this character doesn't have the skills necessary to justify itself. Defender lacks the appropriate science skills to build his powered armor, but has the money to do so.

 

Likewise, the technological characters who have armored suits or build gadgets need the money to do so.

 

...

 

If you have 20+ characters who have unlimited money (15 points), that money had to come from somewhere. Money is one of those things that helps you JUSTIFY a concept. Not something you just put on your sheet because you'd like it to be there.

 

PLUS, if you effectively have unlimited wealth, and all the other tech characters have unlimited wealth too, then how are all of them getting the things they need? Someone's gonna lose. And who is it that will lose?

 

Wealth is not only something that you just pay for. It justifies the acquiring of certain types of powers and abilities through technology that you can't normally acquire.

 

That's the problem. People are spending points on Wealth 15 when they should have other skills that they need to justify their concept and it's existence, and buying Wealth 5.

 

 

This, right here, is the core of your problem.

 

And yes, I say your problem. The actions of your players are in response to your turning-of-the-screws. Characters don't need other skills or perks to justify their powers. They don't need anything but a story to justify their powers. 'Well, I spend most of the money I make on putting together and maintaining my battlesuit.' Story. 0 points in Wealth, Battlesuit Mechanics, Mechanics, Inventor, battlesuit powers: points.

'I'm just a test-pilot.' Story. NOTHING BUT BATTLESUIT POWERS: points.

 

The 'problem' here is that YOU are the problem, and also that YOU are not listening to what everyone else is saying. What we're all saying can use repeating: Characters don't need other skills or perks to justify their powers.

 

Hugh puts it most excellently:

 

I suspect an early discussion went like:

 

Player: My character is like Iron Man - he's got a very sophisticated suit of powered armor which he designed and maintains.

 

GM: How does your character pay for all this? He has no points in Wealth, so he's just a 9 to 5'er. Where can he get the bucks to afford all this high tech equipment?

 

Over time, the players learn that many things they want in their character concept will be rejected by the GM if they don't have the wealth to support it. The players then realize that:

 

Player #1: The GM rejected my way cool techno-archer character. I'm really tired of making characters just to have the GM reject them.

 

Player #2: Lemme guess...[whiny nasal voice]"How can he afford all those high tech arrowheads. He's just a 9 to 5 worker with no real source of cash for all that gadgetry."[/whiny nasal voice] Right?

 

Player #1: Well, yeah...how ...

 

Player #3: Every character in every game since 1987. Just buy 15 points of wealth for everyone. It's the only way you'll ever get a character who doesn't use a trash can lid for a shield, tie a towel around his neck for a cape and wear a stock pot with eye holes for a helmet.

 

The error message lies behind the GM's eyes on this one.

 

0 points in wealth means 'everyman salary after the Power Necessities are taken care of'. 15 points in wealth means anything above $10M per year -- 'effectively unlimited wealth' -- which puts a person at superstar status.

 

And don't reply that 'you can't have more than one richest man in the world'. 15 points isn't 'You ARE the RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD!!!1!1!!' It's 'you have more money than you can really spend.' How many people out there make over $10M annually? How many out there are worth over fifty million dollars? Ten million? When we have not just one, but multiple multi-billionaires in the world, literally thousands of people who, at the drop of a hat, can take themselves and their hangers-on to Paris, Moscow, or anywhere else their little hearts desire. Having 5 PCs with 15 points in wealth is just 5 PCs who haven't spent those points on EBs or strength or whatever.

 

But the reasons for them to be doing this is, pretty clearly, in direct response to your requirement that they have points spent otherwise to 'support' their concept, which requirements you've delineated -- points spent on money and skills.

 

In my world' date=' this character doesn't have the skills necessary to justify itself. Defender lacks the appropriate science skills to build his powered armor, but has the money to do so.[/quote']

 

Now, repeat after me: Characters don't need other skills or perks to justify their powers. They have spent character points on the powers; that's all they need to have. Anything else is gravy for the GM and player to play with. Requiring anything else is the recepie for the disaster you're bitching about.

[Kirby]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Since wealth seems to be so important and a center of what is going on' date=' try this: play an entire session just dealing with their wealth.[/quote']Hopefully this isn't a derailing of the thread, but honestly, doing something like this could actually be fun. When I was in a FtF group years ago, we often did things in our Secret IDs that wasn't really plot related (for the most part, sometimes there were subplots that managed an invitation). We wined and dined and talked amongst the city's famous as well as visiting celebrities. Our Wealth ranged from 0-15, but since we were a team the richer folks managed to get the 0-point Wealth folks in (my character had 5 points in Wealth). (And for the poor woman who was at a loss socially, she managed to get in as "the help.")

 

There are times when playing the non-hero aspect can be fun. In another instance, the wealthiest PC (who was the wealthiest on the team save the GMPC twins) threw a picnic/party/get-together at his mansion. We played games of pool, billiards, swam in his swimming pool (which included races on large, inflatable rubber duckies), ate barbecue, etc. That was something his 15 points (I think it was 15, it may have been less) of Wealth allowed us to do. In fact, I recall his parties were the zaniest. His bachelor party was most unique as part of it detailed racing go-carts through the sewer tunnels. But that's another story.

[Peregrine]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Wyrm Ouroboros again."

 

Bother.

[Kirby]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Wyrm Ouroboros again."

 

Bother.

I've done it for you. Well, for me really, but consider yourself to have hopped on for it.

[Manic Typist]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Guys, just remember- the point of these boards is to help one another, not tear each other down. If you think Balabanto's approach is all wrong, and hope to help him (and his players) by convincing him of this- you can defeat your words of advice with your tone.

 

Just my two cents, and all. So far I agree completely with the words, I just think we are sort of starting to beat up on a fella. Which is the quickest way to drive someone off.

[RPMiller]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Hopefully this isn't a derailing of the thread' date=' but honestly, doing something like this could actually be [i']fun[/i]. When I was in a FtF group years ago, we often did things in our Secret IDs that wasn't really plot related (for the most part, sometimes there were subplots that managed an invitation). We wined and dined and talked amongst the city's famous as well as visiting celebrities. Our Wealth ranged from 0-15, but since we were a team the richer folks managed to get the 0-point Wealth folks in (my character had 5 points in Wealth). (And for the poor woman who was at a loss socially, she managed to get in as "the help.")

 

There are times when playing the non-hero aspect can be fun. In another instance, the wealthiest PC (who was the wealthiest on the team save the GMPC twins) threw a picnic/party/get-together at his mansion. We played games of pool, billiards, swam in his swimming pool (which included races on large, inflatable rubber duckies), ate barbecue, etc. That was something his 15 points (I think it was 15, it may have been less) of Wealth allowed us to do. In fact, I recall his parties were the zaniest. His bachelor party was most unique as part of it detailed racing go-carts through the sewer tunnels. But that's another story.

Sounds like a fun session! I've done a couple of those over the years myself. Problem is, I don't think Balabanto and his group would be able to pull it off, and Balabanto sees wealth as something to be gained through hard work so the wealthy probably aren't a cheery lot, or at least that is the atmospheric jive I'm getting. Like I said above wealth is all about the toys after the expenses of being a hero, but Balabanto wants the players to see that wealth is merely a means to an end and an excuse for how you can do what you say you can do. Unless I'm missing the point all together.

 

So lets make that a challenge. Balabanto, show your players by example what wealth means to you. Have a wealthy NPC invite the players to his abode and even if it is a short encounter show them what wealth means to you and what their characters can expect from being wealthy as well. If for whatever reason things are not being understood, an example of what you want and what it means will go a long way. Sort of a game session is worth a thousand GM explanations approach.

 

Ultimately, it is the GM who is 100% responsible for the atmosphere and rules of the game. It is the players who supplement and enhance the story by playing the roles of the protagonists and moving the story along. Together you make a story that all can reflect back on and enjoy for decades to come. If this isn't happening someone is failing in their role and needs to assess what they are doing.

 

Something I learned a few years ago, is that being open and honest with your dearest friends should be the rule. Holding in grudges, resentment and antagonism will only lead to a lack of enjoyment no matter how fun it might be for everyone else. If you can't talk to the players, or to yourself, and be honest, then it may be time to seek out a new group.

 

Best of luck to you!

[Shaft]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Another idea that might work for all members of a group to be wealthy is to make the Superhero team a publicly traded company. The PCs are all starting off rich because they got stock before the company had it's Initial Public Offering. Now their team is accountable to a board of directors, and the company has to balance itself between saving the world and remaining profitable.

 

Not very Silver Age, but good for an Iron Age idea.

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Put in AVP tonight -- 'Alien vs. Predator' -- and realized I was watching a character (NPC?) with 15 points in wealth. This man owns a private corporation -- Weyland Industries -- private satellites and dish farms, private icebreakers, able to pick up someone from the top of a Nepalese mountain on a whim ...

 

Definition of 15 points in Wealth if ever I saw it.

[input.jack]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Guys' date=' just remember- the point of these boards is to help one another, not tear each other down. If you think Balabanto's approach is all wrong, and hope to help him (and his players) by convincing him of this- [b']you can defeat your words of advice with your tone.[/b]

 

Just my two cents, and all. So far I agree completely with the words, I just think we are sort of starting to beat up on a fella. Which is the quickest way to drive someone off.

 

I agree, and mea culpa.

 

Balabantos, Im sorry if I, or anyone else here, has gotten a tone of hostility.

 

Really. I apologize.

 

Carry on

[Balabanto]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

The problem comes not from the tone of voice, but the fact that I've always seen a character that is conceptually well designed to HAVE the things that are needed on their sheet to justify their powers.

 

Does this mean that the average mage, gadgeteer or powered armor character needs to spend 70 or so points of skills to make their character justifiable? Sure it does. But the tradeoff is that these particular concepts are some of the more powerful concepts in the game because of the focus limitations, incantations, gestures, and other things that naturally come along with that sort of baggage.

 

Now, a guy who's just a mutant with 15 points of wealth, sure, it's a mutant with 15 points of wealth, but the problem is that there's only so many unlimited money characters that a world like this can support before the gravity of international competition sets in for resources.

 

It's just that I see far more characters with wealth than without it, and the problem is, it creates certain "Rules of the Genre" that I don't like.

 

1) Supers have a tendancy to be richer than other groups as a percentage breakdown.

 

2) Eventually, based on that logic, some cunning villain is going to figure this out.

 

3) That's when you run the plot. The problem is, there's not a lot of plot out of "I'm sorry, you're poor" that involves supervillainy. Plus, in a comic book, you can write this over and over again. But in your CHAMPIONS game, you can only run this plot ONCE. I can't recall the number of times Iron Man has been bankrupted. But he has writers who are willing to bankrupt him. And every time they do, it takes three years to resolve it. (Obidiah Stane, The Armor Wars, etc.)

 

Yes, I'm a curmudgeon. Yes, I think too many people in my game have too much money. But the thing is, some of my players, in fact most of them, agree with me on the issue that you DO need to have certain skills to shore up your concept if you have an armored suit, or read grimoires to get spells, or build microwave ovens out of toothpicks and a D battery. It's just that when it comes to Wealth, many of them are too ambitious. I can get them to scale it back a little, but I always feel dirty when I put "Unlimited Wealth" on my character sheet as a player. I feel like I'm cheating.

[Balabanto]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Oh, and Tigereye, the problem is this. I don't have a lot of blue collar characters in the game at all. It feels like an unhealthy representation of the superhero community.

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Oh' date=' and Tigereye, the problem is this. I don't have a lot of blue collar characters in the game at all. It feels like an unhealthy representation of the superhero community.[/quote']

 

Maybe not. Apart from Freemasons and 12-step groups (Alcoholics Anonymous, Alanon, Alateen, etc.) where do you routinely see people of widely disparate socioeconomic status meeting as equals? Not at the country club, certainly! Maybe there's a(n NPC) group of low-income supers that has their secret base (equipment: a worn sofa, an old television bought from Goodwill, and a small, refurbished refrigerator for beer, sodas and other incidentals) in the abandoned steel mill on the seedier side of town?

 

A low-income hero might have resources that do not derive from money, but allow him to build his "super suit" anyway. Maybe "Buick Man" dreamed the plans for his powered armor suit, even if he can't explain it very well to others? Maybe he built it from parts of old Buicks he cobbled together at a friend's machine shop. What if the ability to build and maintain the Buick Man suit was bestowed upon him by an alien who chose him according to criterion that have nothing to do with his income? Maybe "Destitute-Man" has some innate mystical ability that allows him to fabricate fantastic gear from nothing but cardboard boxes, string, and empty beer cans?

 

I don't agree with your assertion that powers must be "justified" with money and/or skills. It looks to me that you aren't giving your players room to excell. Let them be creative and reward that creativity. Maybe then they won't feel like they must buy wealth for their characters. I've been reading comics since 1963 and I have never seen a comic strip where the focus was on the character's wealth or lack thereof, except as a plot device. Don't worry about whether your players have "Earned" their wealth. Instead, make sure they have an opportunity to earn some experience points.

[Balabanto]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

My players don't have a problem with justifying their concepts with a strong conception, Baloo. In fact, they have a tendancy to overdo it.

 

I really don't think I'd be able to run the same gameworld for 20 years if the conceptions weren't strong and the plots and RP weren't good.

 

The problem just comes from the fact that it's not six of one and half a dozen of the other. It's just this.

 

It seems like people feel there's something wrong with being middle class. Now, to me, that indicates a general swing of negativity in the mood of how people perceive themselves in this country of ours rather than something that's wrong with the game.

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

It seems like people feel there's something wrong with being middle class. Now' date=' to me, that indicates a general swing of negativity in the mood of how people perceive themselves in this country of ours rather than something that's wrong with the game.[/quote']

 

Meh! I think you're overanalyzing. If it's just a matter of "this sort of thing pushes my buttons", then the solution is a change in your behavior, not that of your players. If having multiple wealthy characers in the campaign is really causing problems in your game, then hash it out with the players in an assertive but respectful way until you can all agree upon a solution you can live with. Maybe your players will come up with a fix you haven't thought of.

[Matt Frisbee]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Back at the 250-point level (4th Ed.), a 15 point perk was a significant chunk (about 6%) of the total points available. With the 350-point standard, a 15-point perk is much less so (slightly over 4%). The old school games I ran had a few characters with deep pockets, but they were the exception rather than the rule. Most players take this perk just to get out of the complication of having to work or explain their background.

 

GM: So you're rich, huh? Great! How did your character get his money?

Player: Um...he inherited it.

GM: Cool. So your character had a rich relative. So how did the relative get his money before your character inherited it?

Player: He inherited it.

GM: Um, okay. Look, I'm just trying to get a handle on what your family did or is doing to earn a fortune. Got any ideas?

Player: Um...

 

That was an actual conversation I had with a (young) player. Fortunately, we eventually settled on his family having a long history of land speculation.

 

Most of my characters bought a five-point perk that was "Doesn't have to work for a living." My characters were still solidly middle-class types, but they had free-lance occupations, lottery wins or rich relatives to pay the bills.

 

Matt "Feeding-my-inner-freeloader" Frisbee

[nexus]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

I'll admit I do tend to agree Balanto that characters should have some skills, perks or at least a plausible (with in the framework of the campaign world, not reality) story to explain their powers and abilities. It does ring as off when a Power Armor character who built and designed his own power suit doesn't have one science skill or even Inventor, for example.

[BcAugust]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

You know, I've never played a character with Wealth on the sheet, and only one capable of getting it. And yeah, the in character parts of the game can be a lot of fun, especially dealing with various class assumptions. I seem to remember an WWYCD that dealt with what your character's life would be like without powers.

 

Admittedly, your attitude in this thread has been... offputting to myself at least. But my advice remains the same. What do your players say?

[Guest steamteck]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

I'll admit I do tend to agree Balanto about characters have some skills' date=' backgrounds or at least a plausible (with in the framework of the campaign world, not reality) story to explain their powers and abilities. It does ring off when a Power Armor character who built and designed his own power suit doesn't have one science skill or even Inventor.[/quote']

 

 

I agree completely. Fortunately it wouldn't occur to my players not to design them that way.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Does this mean that the average mage' date=' gadgeteer or powered armor character needs to spend 70 or so points of skills to make their character justifiable? Sure it does. But the tradeoff is that these particular concepts are some of the more powerful concepts in the game because of the focus limitations, incantations, gestures, and other things that naturally come along with that sort of baggage.[/quote']

 

Are you saying that these limitations aren't actually Limiting (or at least not as limiting as the point savings imply), so you have to reduce the character's points with a requirement to spend points somewhere else that the character will get no in-game benefit from, other than justifying their other abilities? If that is the case, perhaps the answer is to reduce the value of the limitations themselves to reflect how limiting they really are in your game.

 

Sure, that Focus saves points. That means it should suffer from problems on occasion. It can get broken and require repairs. It's tough to get that metal suit through airport security, so maybe the character has to do without it while conducting out of country investigations. It can be removed by the villain while the character is unconscious. Ditto gestures (Grab or entangle solves that pretty quickly) and Incantations (choke hold, silence field). If these limitations aren't restricting the character enough in your game, reduce the point savings. Maybe "Gestures and Incantations" is a combined -1/4 in your game.

 

Now' date=' a guy who's just a mutant with 15 points of wealth, sure, it's a mutant with 15 points of wealth, but the problem is that there's only so many unlimited money characters that a world like this can support before the gravity of international competition sets in for resources. [/quote']

 

The entire Fantastic Four has basically unlimited funds due to Reed's patents, which are in a trust for all four of them. Black Panther, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America never have trouble obtaining whatever resources they may need (from different sources, but still effectively wealth). Hawkeye has no visible means of support, yet has access to all those costly high tech arrows. Prof. X and Angel are both independently wealthy. So are Psylocke and Captain Britain. There are lots of wealthy Supers.

 

Your view the characters need to "work for" their wealth seems sideways to the superhero genre. While Supers range from unbelievable wealth (Batman, Tony Stark) to mild affluence (Daredevil the lawyer) to lower levels (Spider-Man) to very low levels (Nova, D-Man), their wealth rarely (not "never") changes over time, and is rarely (again, not never) the focus of the plot. With this in mind, why would "increasing my wealth" be a focus of a game about superheroes?

 

It's just that I see far more characters with wealth than without it, and the problem is, it creates certain "Rules of the Genre" that I don't like.

 

1) Supers have a tendancy to be richer than other groups as a percentage breakdown.

 

This is consistent with the comics. And, if you require certain levels of wealth to support common character concepts, you are effectively enforcing it in your games as well.

 

2) Eventually' date=' based on that logic, some cunning villain is going to figure this out. [/quote']

 

R'as Al Ghul, in his original appearance, deduced that Batman was Bruce Wayne by analyzing Batman's high tech and expensive needs and comparing this to expenditures of an array of corporate holdings. Only Bruce Wayne's companies made all the necessary purchases. [Mind you, R'as has the apparently unlimited resources to actually have such an analysis performed.]

 

3) That's when you run the plot. The problem is' date=' there's not a lot of plot out of "I'm sorry, you're poor" that involves supervillainy.[/quote']

 

Does this need to be binary? Can't there be plots that INVOLVE the characters wealth without changing it. Green Arrow changed as a character when swindled out of his fortune. Iron Man has fended off attempts by SHIELD to take over his company, and had it removed by Obadiah Stane, only to start up again. These are extremes. Tony Stark and Batman have been targets of villains due to their wealth. The Defenders first battled the Wrecking Crew because one of Kyle Richmond's (Nighthawk) buildings was targetted. Kyle's wealth was later determined to be funding the Sons of the Serpent. None of that wealth helped him battle the Headmen, or calm down the Hulk, nor do Iron Man's foes surrender to take lucrative employment with Stark Enterprises.

 

The Silver Surfer can transform base metals into gold. Dr. Strange seems to have unlimited financial resources. How often does that matter against the challenges they face?

 

Wealth can have as much, or as little, impact on your game as you want it to have.

 

Yes' date=' I'm a curmudgeon. Yes, I think too many people in my game have too much money. But the thing is, some of my players, in fact most of them, agree with me on the issue that you DO need to have certain skills to shore up your concept if you have an armored suit, or read grimoires to get spells, or build microwave ovens out of toothpicks and a D battery. It's just that when it comes to Wealth, many of them are too ambitious. I can get them to scale it back a little, but I always feel dirty when I put "Unlimited Wealth" on my character sheet as a player. I feel like I'm cheating.[/quote']

 

First you tell us their concepts REQUIRE wealth. Then you're unhapppy because their characters HAVE wealth. You can't have it both ways. It sounds like you have made Wealth a valuable game ability, probably going well beyond its book cost, so everyone buys it. De-emphasize its importance in the game, or raise its cost to be commensurate with its in-game benefits, and it will doubtless become less commonplace.

[input.jack]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

 

First you tell us their concepts REQUIRE wealth. Then you're unhapppy because their characters HAVE wealth. You can't have it both ways. It sounds like you have made Wealth a valuable game ability, probably going well beyond its book cost, so everyone buys it. De-emphasize its importance in the game, or raise its cost to be commensurate with its in-game benefits, and it will doubtless become less commonplace.

 

Emphasis mine.

 

From what Im hearing, raising the cost of Wealth in the game would simply make the game unplayable.

 

De-emphasizing its importance, and letting go of some preconceptions youve got, sounds like the better plan to me.

 

I dont know where the idea that 15 points of Wealth makes you "the richest man in the world" came from, but I think thats a false assumption right there. It doesnt say that. It doesnt mean that. Likewise, considering there are several HUNDRED multi-billionaires and multi-millionaires in the world, every single PC having multiple millions of dollars in the bank makes NO difference to the "world economy". It seems weird, I grant you. But it wont reshape the world's cash-flow.

 

The reason so many Players are taking Wealth in your game is that youve made it an unspoken requirement for them to do so, in order for them to play certain character types, and have re-interpreted the Wealth rules in such a way as to make it impossible to play inventor or gadgeteer characters -without- Wealth, since you are looking at Wealth as being the sum of their assets, rather than (as was intended) the sum of their assets -after- normal operational expenses, including their super-gear, is taken into account.

[transmetahuman]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

I don't get how anyone can possibly feel that superhero team members who are wealthy can possibly be out of genre. Every halfway experienced team in comics has access to pretty much anything they need, from semi-ballistic jets to snazzy civilian wardrobes. The FF, X-Men, Titans, Avengers, JLA... Sure, Clark Kent has a job, but he also has resources enough to build giant arctic fortresses and enough super-robots to industrialize a continent. He's mega-rich; the reporter thing is a hobby. Even Spider-Man expected to get paid for joining the FF or Avengers. If a team book features a character with a job in his secret ID, it will inevitably get downplayed. How else could he possibly keep his job? And if the job never comes up, he effectively has wealth.

 

It's not even realistic to expect otherwise - you can't keep a job in your secret ID if you're expected to pull monitor duty on your rotating shift. The only possible way Barry Allen kept his police scientist job was by both having super-speed and apparently being completely unsupervised. Someone is always bankrolling a team, and usually in high style. Would you rather one character pays for the wealth while the rest of the team benefits for free? Do you really think 99% of middle class jobs are unsupervised enough to let someone step out to save the world when his communicator beeps?

[Balabanto]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Uh, yes, I do. Trust me, I work in retail. There is absolutely no supervision whatsoever, and I'm on a commission sales floor. You could tell your manager that "My pet donkey needs to be walked, and my spouse can't do it today" and if it's not stupidly busy, they'll probably let you go.

[Kirby]

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease

 

Trust me' date=' I work in retail. There is absolutely no supervision whatsoever, and I'm on a commission sales floor.[/quote']I think this is flawed logic. I've worked retail and there was supervision. I've worked a commission job (indirect retail) where there was supervision. While these weren't "Big Brother is watching you" supervision, it was still there. I've screwed up and took a 30 minute break instead of a 15 minute break. I even thought that it was lunch time once when it wasn't. This was noticed. If this happened on a daily basis, I would have been fired.

 

Not all jobs are retail, much less commission. (Unless this is an unwritten requirement in your campaign.)

 

My wife, brother and sister-in-law are all teachers. If they left for an hour at any time other than their planning period, it would be noticed (and leaving during the planning period on a daily basis is *always* noticed by the other teachers, if not the principals).

 

In my opinion, I think you need to actually absorb the advice that's been given by others. I feel that you've backed yourself into a corner and refuse to allow any view other than yours to succeed in your campaign.

 

On a side relation back to the original topic, if you move your campaign city to Hollywood, CA, then your PCs could be surrounded by others who ALL have the Wealth perk.

 

YMMV.