On loot and lifestyle

Most players love finding loot, but how often do we do anything with it apart from hoard it or go equipment shopping?

Wealth could be a deeper and more meaningful part of the story, and this month's RPG Blog Carnival over at Campaign Mastery has got me thinking about how I could make more of it in my games.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be

All RPG campaigns need glue to hold them together, and a popular glue is having PCs have a shared goal or a shared enemy. One that I think could be fun is a shared debt - all the PCs owe somebody big time - which is effectively both of the above.

Starting the players in debt is an easy way to bring disparate characters together, it gives context to accumulating wealth, and can be an effective short (or even long) term goal.

Some games have this built in, some it's easy to factor: in a Traveller or Stars Without Number game, ships are expensive. You're not likely to get one without a loan.  In a cyberpunk world if you want chrome you're likely to end up owing - or being owned by - someone to be able to afford it.

What about fantasy or other settings:

* Maybe the rogue/thief stole something - or is accused of stealing it - and the whole party is implicated by someone powerful who wants it back?

* Maybe some expensive property gets lost or destroyed in the opening session, and the party is held responsible for the loss?

* Maybe one of the PCs is a slave and the party buys them out of indentured servitude? Or perhaps they are an escaped slave, and the party is held accountable for "loss of earnings"?

There comes a problem, potentially, in allocating the debt when new characters join the party, but it can be a fun way to start out.

Money can't buy happiness

In a lot of games, there comes a point where money stops meaning that much.  Meals and gear are measured in copper or silver, even plate armour and a warhorse are only a few hundred gold.

What if you have thousands of gold pieces? Do you invest in property and businesses? Buy castles and land?

Perhaps the trick is to make it harder to hold on to that much wealth in the first place:

* Maybe the Cleric's church is in dire need of a new roof, or the Wizard's tuition fees are suddenly due?

* Maybe the local ruler has a ransom to pay but no liquid assets and asks the party, knowing they have several tons of gold about their person, to help in exchange for titles or favours or the hand of the kidnapped ward?

* Maybe the local thieves' guild gets wind of the party's wealth and tries to relieve them of it? Or maybe a local dragon does? Or maybe The Tax Men..?

* Maybe the party just "Conans" all their money between adventures, spending it on (or losing it while) revelling and toasting their success?

In my Stars Without Number campaign, when the party made profitable interplanetary trade deals they accrued local wealth, which was kept distinct from the ready cash in their pockets (and on their character sheets) when they moved on.

Maybe large amounts of wealth just aren't portable?

Perhaps getting any significant amount of wealth should be an adventure, or a puzzle, in itself:

Image (cc) drazebot

* Maybe they find a dragon's hoard, but how do they get any sizeable part of it back up the many many flights of narrow, rickety stairs that lead back to the surface? Without waking the dragon.

* Maybe they find a huge statue made of some precious but hardwearing material, but it's way too big to lift or to get through the doors of the chamber it's in?

* Maybe they just watched a treasure ship sink off the coast, but all that heavy, dense gold is under tens of fathoms of cold seawater and they don't have access to water breathing spells?

* Maybe they find a huge amount of money but it's in foreign (and not locally spendable) currency, or expired currency, or it's counterfeit? Or - channelling Pirates of the Caribbean - it's cursed?

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief

Most games have "lifestyle" tables that outline the cost of living but, like encumbrance rules, do we often pay them that much attention?

Poor (or just tight fisted) PCs should probably be filthy - how does that affect charisma checks? - and malnourished - how does that affect strength checks? - and more susceptible to disease. Are there any benefits? Probably not, apart from a drive to adventure.

PCs living opulent lifestyles might be more likely to win over people impressed by this, more likely to gain followers, more likely to have minstrels sing tales of their deeds (which could work for or against them, as could being more likely to be recognised in the street).

And, of course, attract the attention of the thieves' guild and The Tax Men.

Let me know any more ideas in the comments!