Thinker
2017-01-06, 12:53 PM
Inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510775-Thoughts-on-an-abstract-wealth-system), I decided to create my own Wealth Abstraction System. The intention is to create a wealth system that does not rely on coinage, but includes abstraction in finding goods, purchasing goods, and managing debt. There's probably more that can be tacked on depending on system preference, but this is just in the idea phase. I want this to be system agnostic, but decided to use 1d20 since that is the most popular on this forum. I don't think it would take much effort to change this over to 2d6 (my preference), 3d6, dice pools, or the like.
Stats:
Settlement Modifier:
- Village = -2
- Town = 0
- City = +1
- Capital City = +2
Assets = This represents gold, credit, fine art, land, etc. This increases as you find treasure, sell goods, or have people owe you favors. Some things will have a defined value; for everything else work with the GM.
Liabilities = This represents outstanding debt, favors owed, goods purchased, etc. When you purchase goods or someone does you a favor, your liabilities increase. Some things have a defined value; for everything else work with the GM.
Social Status = 0 + Modifiers
Connections = 0 + Charisma + Social Status + Modifiers + Settlement Modifier
Haggling = 0 + Charisma + Assets + Social Status + Modifiers
To find an item:
Once per day when you are in a settlement and trying to find a specific item, roll 1d20 + Connections. Note: objects with the [common] tag do not require a roll to find the item unless there's a compelling reason to do so.
- On a 21 - 25, you are able to find the desired item on sale (gain +2 for a single associated haggling roll)
- On a 16 - 20, you are able to find the desired item
- On a 11 - 15, you are able to find an item, but it's going to cost extra (gain -2 for a single associated haggling roll)
- On a 1 - 10, if you are trying to find items with the [restricted] or tag, you have attracted unwanted attention (GM's choice)
To purchase an item:
After successfully finding an item when you are in a settlement, roll 1d20 + Haggling. Note: objects with the [common] tag should use the value associated with them unless there's a compelling reason not to do so.
- On a 21 - 25, you are able to purchase an item, but reduce the liability gained by 2
- On a 16 - 20, you are able to purchase an item
- On a 11 - 15, you are able to purchase an item, but increase the liability gained by 2
- On a 1 - 10, you have upset the merchant, which may lead to problems (GM's choice)
Once per day while in a settled area, every player rolls Liabilities:
On a 21 - 25, local government or criminal elements approach the character with a deal to reduce liability and won't take no for an answer (GM's choice)
On a 16 - 20, local government or criminal elements approach the character with a deal to reduce liability; liability will be reduced by undertaking the task presented (GM's choice)
On a 11 - 15, your debts go unnoticed for now
On a 1 - 10, you're able to work out a deal to lower your liabilities. reduce liabilities by 1.
[I]Liability may be reduced by reducing Assets at a rate of 1 for 1 at any time within a settlement. Assets may not be reduced below 0.
Special Abilities
Underworld connections -> You have seedy connections to help locate hard-to-find goods. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items that have the [restricted] or [illegal] tag.
Arcane connections -> You know where you can probably find magical objects. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find and any items that have the [arcane] or [magic] tag.
Holy connections -> Your religious connections help you to find religious items. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items that have the [divine] or [magic] tag.
Arms merchant -> Your military connections keep you in the know about armaments. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items that have the [weapon] or [armor] tag.
Merchant connections -> You're good at having the merchants do the work of finding goods for you. Gain 2 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items.
Haggler -> You're learned at bargaining. Reduce liability gained by 2 when purchasing any items.
Bargainer Extraordinaire -> You're a master bargainer. Roll twice for haggling and take the better result to purchase an item.
Sir-Knight -> You have been knighted, gaining all of the social status and privilege that goes with it. Gain 1 to your social status.
Noble-born -> You were born to privilege and luxury. Gain 2 to your social status.
Promoted noble -> You have either gained a noble rank or been promoted within your social class. Gain 1 to your social status. This ability may be taken multiple times.
I've Got a Guy -> You're well-connected with the network of traders for a particular item. Choose one item with the [consumable] tag; you can always find someone selling this item without rolling.
Item Tags
Note: The GM should feel free to modify the scarcity of items depending on locale, for instance you probably won't find a heavy coat in the Sahara very easily, but probably will in Scandanavia. Similarly, legality tags are also based on local laws so buying a sword might be legal in one town, it might not be the next town over.
[common] - indicates an item is found fairly often; ordinarily, no roll is needed to find or purchase the item
[uncommon] - indicates an item is not found frequently; -3 Connections roll to find the item
[rare] - indicates an item is difficult to find; -5 Connections roll to find the item
[unique] - indicates an item is one of a kind and similar substitutions won't do; -10 Connections roll to find the item
[licensed] - indicates an item is legal with the appropriate paperwork; -1 Connections roll to find the item
[restricted] - indicates an item is legal, but its use may be restricted; -1 Connections roll to find the item
[illegal] - indicates an item has been outlawed and there may be repurcussions to having it discovered on your person; -3 Connections roll to find the item
[weapon] - indicates the item is a weapon
[armor] - indicates the item is a piece of armor
[arcane] - indicates the item is specifically arcane in nature, being related to those magical arts either through its creation or its study
[divine] - indicates the item is specifically divine in nature, being related to those magical arts either through its creation or its study
[magica] - indicates the item is specifically magical in nature
[consumable] - indicates that the item has a limited number of uses
More tags may be created as appropriate, but this should cover the bare bones.
Stats:
Settlement Modifier:
- Village = -2
- Town = 0
- City = +1
- Capital City = +2
Assets = This represents gold, credit, fine art, land, etc. This increases as you find treasure, sell goods, or have people owe you favors. Some things will have a defined value; for everything else work with the GM.
Liabilities = This represents outstanding debt, favors owed, goods purchased, etc. When you purchase goods or someone does you a favor, your liabilities increase. Some things have a defined value; for everything else work with the GM.
Social Status = 0 + Modifiers
Connections = 0 + Charisma + Social Status + Modifiers + Settlement Modifier
Haggling = 0 + Charisma + Assets + Social Status + Modifiers
To find an item:
Once per day when you are in a settlement and trying to find a specific item, roll 1d20 + Connections. Note: objects with the [common] tag do not require a roll to find the item unless there's a compelling reason to do so.
- On a 21 - 25, you are able to find the desired item on sale (gain +2 for a single associated haggling roll)
- On a 16 - 20, you are able to find the desired item
- On a 11 - 15, you are able to find an item, but it's going to cost extra (gain -2 for a single associated haggling roll)
- On a 1 - 10, if you are trying to find items with the [restricted] or tag, you have attracted unwanted attention (GM's choice)
To purchase an item:
After successfully finding an item when you are in a settlement, roll 1d20 + Haggling. Note: objects with the [common] tag should use the value associated with them unless there's a compelling reason not to do so.
- On a 21 - 25, you are able to purchase an item, but reduce the liability gained by 2
- On a 16 - 20, you are able to purchase an item
- On a 11 - 15, you are able to purchase an item, but increase the liability gained by 2
- On a 1 - 10, you have upset the merchant, which may lead to problems (GM's choice)
Once per day while in a settled area, every player rolls Liabilities:
On a 21 - 25, local government or criminal elements approach the character with a deal to reduce liability and won't take no for an answer (GM's choice)
On a 16 - 20, local government or criminal elements approach the character with a deal to reduce liability; liability will be reduced by undertaking the task presented (GM's choice)
On a 11 - 15, your debts go unnoticed for now
On a 1 - 10, you're able to work out a deal to lower your liabilities. reduce liabilities by 1.
[I]Liability may be reduced by reducing Assets at a rate of 1 for 1 at any time within a settlement. Assets may not be reduced below 0.
Special Abilities
Underworld connections -> You have seedy connections to help locate hard-to-find goods. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items that have the [restricted] or [illegal] tag.
Arcane connections -> You know where you can probably find magical objects. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find and any items that have the [arcane] or [magic] tag.
Holy connections -> Your religious connections help you to find religious items. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items that have the [divine] or [magic] tag.
Arms merchant -> Your military connections keep you in the know about armaments. Gain 1 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items that have the [weapon] or [armor] tag.
Merchant connections -> You're good at having the merchants do the work of finding goods for you. Gain 2 to your connections and roll twice and take the better result to find any items.
Haggler -> You're learned at bargaining. Reduce liability gained by 2 when purchasing any items.
Bargainer Extraordinaire -> You're a master bargainer. Roll twice for haggling and take the better result to purchase an item.
Sir-Knight -> You have been knighted, gaining all of the social status and privilege that goes with it. Gain 1 to your social status.
Noble-born -> You were born to privilege and luxury. Gain 2 to your social status.
Promoted noble -> You have either gained a noble rank or been promoted within your social class. Gain 1 to your social status. This ability may be taken multiple times.
I've Got a Guy -> You're well-connected with the network of traders for a particular item. Choose one item with the [consumable] tag; you can always find someone selling this item without rolling.
Item Tags
Note: The GM should feel free to modify the scarcity of items depending on locale, for instance you probably won't find a heavy coat in the Sahara very easily, but probably will in Scandanavia. Similarly, legality tags are also based on local laws so buying a sword might be legal in one town, it might not be the next town over.
[common] - indicates an item is found fairly often; ordinarily, no roll is needed to find or purchase the item
[uncommon] - indicates an item is not found frequently; -3 Connections roll to find the item
[rare] - indicates an item is difficult to find; -5 Connections roll to find the item
[unique] - indicates an item is one of a kind and similar substitutions won't do; -10 Connections roll to find the item
[licensed] - indicates an item is legal with the appropriate paperwork; -1 Connections roll to find the item
[restricted] - indicates an item is legal, but its use may be restricted; -1 Connections roll to find the item
[illegal] - indicates an item has been outlawed and there may be repurcussions to having it discovered on your person; -3 Connections roll to find the item
[weapon] - indicates the item is a weapon
[armor] - indicates the item is a piece of armor
[arcane] - indicates the item is specifically arcane in nature, being related to those magical arts either through its creation or its study
[divine] - indicates the item is specifically divine in nature, being related to those magical arts either through its creation or its study
[magica] - indicates the item is specifically magical in nature
[consumable] - indicates that the item has a limited number of uses
More tags may be created as appropriate, but this should cover the bare bones.