Money In Your Campaigns

[tiger]

I have a player who has purchased money as a perk. I was wondering how others allow players to use money in their campaigns?

[lemming]

I have one character with the money perk in one game. She's just wealthy which in the game means she doesn't have to worry about plane tickets, and the occasional large expense. In other words, it's a factor, but not a big deal.

 

In my curent campaign, money isn't a big deal. I don't think anyone has taken wealth and I'm sure nobody is poor.

[Talon]

I'm assuming a superheroic campaign here. I've used two options:

 

1) Money can't buy anything which you can get with points. This is generally way too restrictive except in the most four-color campaigns.

 

2) You can buy "normal" equipment with money (cars, radios, etc.); however, any such equipment has "real item" limitations built-in. For example, Focus breakability rules are strictly enforced. Also, anything that is repeatedly and directly used "on camera" must be bought with Character points.

 

For example, the rich character might buy a Ferrari to get across town quicker. But if he started driving the Ferrari in combat, he'd have to pay points for it.

[tiger]

I told the player that his money can be used for anything other than combat or character type things. So he can't buy armor or weapons but if he needs to fly to LA for a meeting he's covered and he has a nice house and stuff like this.

 

I have debated on allowing bases and such to by purchased with money, BUT I don't like that it's cheaper to buy money than a base. So I doubt that I'll end up allowing it.

[VictorVonDoom]

money= like Tony Stark (He started the Avengers, arranged the house, did the inventions)

 

i would use money to help with inventions...you need invest money in them (budgets)

[Farkling]

SuperHeroic uses of Wealth

 

1) Incidental purchases

2) Speeding the dramatic wheels

3) Purchasing any equipment within the 15 point range. And as stated above, all such equipment is REAL and subject to all comic book violence. If your force field doesn't protect the stuff you carry, it will get fried REAL easily.

 

As an incidental rule of thumb, don't allow the character to routinely use "off the rack" equipment valued at more that 15 pts worth of real power. Break it, smash it, confiscate it, limit it. Oh yes, and there is that pesky waiting limit if you need a gun in a hurry. Guns bought on the black market, well, they may have other problems...

[Watchman-BN]

Money and Perks

 

If money doesn't do anything for the character (make his/her in-game life easier) then why buy it?

 

I try to limit the usefulness of money by comparing it to similarly priced perks. How often is that 5 pt contact useful?

 

Often, I've given a money perk to a GM controlled character just to make it easier to move the plot along. Players have taken the money perk because it fits their character conception. If that's the case, I strive to bring it in to the campaign as I do with other background skills.

 

For instance: really wealthy types know people (media moguls, politicians, etc.) or can get appoints with them, even if they aren't contacts. Reasonably wealthy people have or know lawyers, etc.

[Tom Carman]

I've been running a Heroic-level game, in which money is used to buy equipment. However, the bookkeeping is a bit annoying, so I am thinking of hybrid money system. Comments are welcome.

 

Use money Perks and Disads to determine annual income, and divide by 12 for monthly income. Subject to revision on account of players abusing it, a player can freely make expenditures up to their monthly income. To spend more than monthly income, treat it as an Activation-Jammed roll (defined as tapping their savings). For each multiple of the monthly income (rounding UP) spent, the Activation is one level worse. The effect is cumulative: if a character spends 3 times his monthly salary on plane tickets, that's 2 levels past monthly for a 14- roll. If he then spends twice his monthly income on a hotel room, he needs to make a 12- roll. The above is for spur-of-the-moment expenditures; if the expense is planned well ahead, the roll would be reduced or waived.

 

Now that I think of it, Activation-Jammed is more appropriate for a cash economy. With credit cards taken into account, Activation-Burnout may be better to indicate maxing-out the credit limit.

 

Money given out in-game would be in the form of 1-pt Favors. 1-pt Well to Do is worth $100k per year in contemporary games, so a 1-pt Money Favor would be $100k, one use, no roll required.

[CorpCommander]

Hybrid Money System

 

I don't like accounting. Odd since I have a degree in business. Let me restate that. I don't like accounting when I am playing a game. That said, here is a simple money system that I am trying out for a Steampunk Fantasy game.

 

Money is represented in points of buying power. The basic point will get you something you need. A room for a week at the local inn. Passage on a ferry. Any basic gear. It costs 1 basic point to keep the party in lodging and food between adventures.

 

2 points gets you something good. A weapon, some light armor, a bribe of the gateman at the local merchants guild.

 

5 points gets you something really good. A decent weapon/armor, something uncommon. Horses for the whole party.

 

10 points gets you incredible stuff like lightly enchanted weapons/armor, a safe house, a small keep.

 

25 points gets you rare items, enchanted items, will let you bribe out the secret name of the dragon from one of his minions, etc. Of course this is all subject to availability.

 

Money perks can offset all or some of the cost over the course of a year. 1 point makes sure that you always have money for basic stuff (food, board, etc.) 2 makes sure the whole party has stuff. 3 is the same as two but also lets you buy one level 3 item per year without changing the value of the party's money. 4, and 5 follow the same trend as 3.

 

Example. The party has raided a local crypt, killed the Litche, boffed his minions and taken his loot. The GM tells the party it is a decent haul. The GM notes the party now has +3 points of money. The party goes to town and spends 1 point of money to cover food and lodging. This leaves 2 points left over. They might with bartaring/theiving be able to up that again to 3 points. If so then they could buy a new weapon for a party member.

 

One thing I am thinking about doing is never telling the party exactly how much they have. Just let them know they "probably have enough to purchase a couple of decent weapons."

 

How much do things cost? I think a good guideline is active points. Items sold off generate about 75% off for smaller items and 50% off for larger items. Bartering and roleplaying can help change those values.

 

I don't know if this works, I am just starting to use this system. I thought of it last week and it seems like it has potential. It is certainly easier than dealing with money conversions, gem appraisals and so forth. Party money can be divided up easily enough and so forth.

[coach]

In superheroic games, we use money for stuff points can't buy so easy, especially in a roleplaying sense. For example, in one rather bizarre campaign we are in, a rich PC "hero" just bought himself protection from a time-travelling mercenary that we've had trouble with. That is, he went to Tempus (said mercenary) and took out a contract on himself. A contract that said Tempus could not take any other contract on him.

 

We never allow money in a super-heroic game to purchase something that points should be used for. But it does make life easier. Flying first class, living in big houses, maids and butlers, getting in all the fancy nightclubs. It also helps to ease the roleplaying excuses for things like bases. You still have to pay points for your base, but it's easier to rationalize when you can just hire some genius to come in and design and build it.

 

In Fantasy and other Heroic level campaigns, we rarely use the money perk. If the PC's defeat the dragon and get a huge load of gold, I would not make everyone buy the Money Perk. In general, in those types of games, we don't make people pay points for vehicles or bases, either, unless they are waaaaaay out of the oridinary.

[McCoy]

Having a PC with money can speed up a lot of things. Need to get to Europe? PC waves the magic checkbook and you're there.

 

However, If for some reason the GM wants to play out difficulty with a ticket or passport, money will not help. As Farkling said, it speeds the wheels and provides an in-game rational for making easy anthing the GM wants to be easy.

 

As far as equiptment, I allow PC's with the money perk to buy real-world non-combat equiptment, such as cell phones and cameras. However, I also impose a "three use" rule, use it three times and you have to pay character points for it. One team pooled some points and created a group VPP for real-world equiptment.

[VictorVonDoom]

In some campaigns money is not used anymore: see startrek. They use latium to buy things but the only race doing this are the ferengis. How do they evolved beyond money? By existing in a federation by trading things they need. They need help. Help they will get. They need a ship. Ok they will need men to help make it but the others will lend the crew (look at this at long term payoffs for guilt)

If you see in Startrek a Vulcan in a Starfleet ship then you might said he is "paying" his guilt for the planet Vulcan because Starfleet has lended some help...

Here money is somewhat different: it can't be all tangible