Calculating wealth for 6th lvl chars ?

[rythm_rampage]

Hi folks,

today was character creation for 4 6th level D20 modern PCs. Wealth was not yet an issue since our last campaign was D20 Apocalypse. Now that we start "real" modern (actually a Horror campaign though ^^) I wonder how to calculate wealth boni for characters above 1st level. One player clearly announced to have a, let's call it, "very rich" character (took the windfall feat 3 times). We calculated his wealth using table 7-2 (Wealth by Level), added his starting occupation, dilletante, +6 wealth, trice windfall, +9 wealth and +8 for being a 6th level character. This all adds up to +23 to me. There is no shopping included yet, of course.
What about Profession, do you roll that for every level if you do chars about 1st level or what ?

I find that system quite confusing, but if you help me clarify it a little bit I can get along with it.

yours _rampage

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

It's pretty simple, really.

Consult the table and add ONLY the Profession bonus and Windfall bonus.

The table exists so you don't have to roll profession for each level and whatnot.

If you're new to the system, some tips and notes:

• If somebody wants to be "Rich", his character can be "Rich". And by rich, I mean, "buy anything you want for your character" rich. It doesn't even take that much in character resources to do so (a few feats, full points in Profession, the Dilletant Starting Occupation).
• Characters can generally buy what they want. If they're really worried about the items they have, and former D&D players usually are, they'll maximize their gear ASAP and as much as possible. Without some other intrusion, everybody will want a machine gun, grenades, flak jacket, and armored car.
• The game assumes an "Action Hero Movie" base-line. Unless you make a habit of shooting up their car with an M16, stealing their guns, planting bombs in their toilets, and blowing up their boats ... they'll always have a large Wealth score that will always continue climbing until the point they can buy a tank.
• The rule for time-to-purchase exists for a reason. Buying a tank should take 54 hours or so. I put that into business hours. So a full week of down-time, IMC. At the very least, buying expensive items should take the players OUT OF THE GAME for a while. If your adventures take place one-day out of a month, they'll always have the time to restock their LAW missile loads.
• Use logic and be the final law. The rules are in there for buying tanks, missile launchers, and grenades ... for completeness. If you figure it aught not be available to your players YOU are responsible for saying no. If there's no logical reason for your Rich Man's Son PC to have a full-auto combat shotgun, a rack of LAWs in his bedroom, and fifty grenades under his bed ... just say no. Money isn't really what stops rich people from buying racks of guns ... LOGIC is. What possible USE does John P. Moneybags down the street have for a basement filled with high explosives? He can GET them, but all it really does is draw the cops down on him. As should messing around with heavy weapons. Even if there's a legal way to get it ... the cops are going to pay quite a bit of attention to the rich guy who suddenly starts moving crates of AK47s through his basement.
• Your best friends are the tables in the GMing section of the book, specifically the table detailing Cash Costs to PDC. This allows you to add new items to the game easily, by looking it up and adding it in. Don't go for the bargain-basement prices, though, find the best-quality gear you can and take the average store retail price. PDCs are set by good gear at retail prices, not bargain-shopping on the internet.
• Likewise, they have "Wealth Awards By Encounter Level" in there. The way you do that is take the Wealth Award Bonus and split it evenly among the players. Sounds odd, but there are various logical reasons it would work that the rich guy gets "more mileage" out of the cash. I, honestly, like to use an alternate methodology -
  
  Just think of an appropriate cash value ... "Briefcase with 10,000 dollars". Divide evenly for each of the players and "Sell" the resulting cash. For 4 PCs that's 2500, PDC 21, sell at PDC 18. It takes longer, but my players get a kick out of it and it takes me like, thirty seconds.
• Biggest tip ... Just Have Fun. The system is there to be fast and easy and flexible. The gear largely doesn't matter, and if you make that clear to the players, it won't be that big of a deal. Without the proper feats, there's not much of a difference between an MP5 and a .38 Chief's Special.
  

--fje

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The game assumes an "Action Hero Movie" base-line. Unless you make a habit of shooting up their car with an M16, stealing their guns, planting bombs in their toilets, and blowing up their boats ... they'll always have a large Wealth score that will always continue climbing until the point they can buy a tank.

Someone agrees with me!

Anyway, I think PCs are supposed to add +2 to their Wealth based on that table, along with the occupation bonus. There's slightly confusing information about that +2 bonus.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Someone agrees with me!

Anyway, I think PCs are supposed to add +2 to their Wealth based on that table, along with the occupation bonus. There's slightly confusing information about that +2 bonus.

Mmm, if that +2 were down the line, why not just include it on the table?

And I included the above mostly for you, O Bodiless One. I've, personally, never had the problem of constantly inflating Wealth scores, but I figured I'd mention it since he obviously had a player who was trying to maximize his ability to get all of the gear he can whenever he can. I figure the guy will have max ranks in Profession as well. I agree that it can show up, though, and that character seems to be running right for the goal line.

--fje

 

[arscott]

The format (as given by a bullet points article on the WotC website) is:

Number on table + Occupation bonus + Ranks in Profession + Bonus from windfall + 2 for being a PC

I'm thinking of ignoring the bonus for PCs next campaign I run, though. It smacks of the whole PC/NPC wealth by level thing I so dispise from D&D, and the system is pretty generous even without it.

 

[rythm_rampage]

Ok so if I got it right that's the way how to do it:

Number on Table + Occupation + current ranks (on level 6) + windfall feats (I skip the +2 bonus )

 

[Armistice]

I've found the following useful. A reworked version of the wealth rules for d20 that gets rid of some of the annoyances...

http://swrpgnetwork.com/files/PDF/articles/creditline20040105.pdf

 

[rythm_rampage]

Phew, that looks even more complicated than the original rules Oo
Dividing, aiding and what not. I don't want to use a calculator when running a session, it just should be quick and smooth.

So is my calculation I posted before right ?

 

[Armistice]

Yeah it is slightly more involved, but depending on your campaign model and players, it can be useful. Say for instance your pc's are free-traders and looking to start a company with money from a crime-lord all while they're managing the upkeep of a tramp-freighter that they're still paying the loan for. You know, just for example

As for your last calculation, I believe it is correct.