The Lifestyle Expenses thing is an interesting feature I'd like to add to my adventures. I think it gives the players an idea of a living world where their characters need to nurture themselves in order to be fit.
The Lifestyle Expenses is found in the PHB (p. 157-158) and covers 7 different expenses:
1. Wretched (no cost)
2. Squalid (1 sp)
3. Poor (2 sp)
4. Modest (1 gp)
5. Comfortable (2 gp)
6. Wealthy (4 gp)
7. Aristocratic (10 gp minimum)
It follows with a table that goes for Food, Drinks and Lodging as well (where the Wretched lifestyle is excluded).
Now, I know the description of these gives a hint of how they can be used.
My problem is that I have hard time interpeting them and implementing them into actual gameplay services or the like.
Sure, an Aristocratic lifestyle gives more influence and maybe can add to that an NPC gives the PC's an adventure hook, but still, I can't justify to my players fully why they should choose a Comfortable lifestyle instead of a Modest.
Also, to I understand this right if the actual Lifestyle Expenses should be determined when a session starts and then substract the appropriate expenses during gameplay, or is it rather on Downtime Activities?
I know it could be done when the PC's take a week rest, but other than that?
I am interested in adding a more flavour to it.
When looking at the gameplay of the soon to come rpg game "Pillars of Eternity", they have implemented an interesting approach to lodging (see below):
Now, I don't want to add +2 strength (or +2 Intelligence either) to my wizard if he chooses a Wealthy lifestyle, Wealthy inn stay or even a Wealthy meal. That's a bit to much. At least in my book.
But I would really like to mark out to my players that they would WANT to live better lives. At least at a Modest level, so that they may not aquire any disease or get robbed.
Before I start moving any further, do any of you have any ideas regarding to this feature?
How does Lifestyle expenses work in your setting?
*Updated*
A very simple starting point could be giving them bonus inspiration based on the level they are living at.
At poor you receive 0 bonus inspiration. At modest 1 bonus inspiration. At comfortable 2. At wealthy 3. At aristocratic 4.
Then maybe give disadvantage on ability checks or saving throws at squalid, and disadvantage on ability checks, saving throws, and attacks at wretched.
It all makes sense story wise as if you live in terrible conditions you will be unhealthy, while if you are living well you are healthier.
You could maybe move the scale up one so that modest is the baseline instead of poor, and poor gives disadvantage to one check type, squalid to 2, and wretched still all 3.
Now there is a tangible reason to not live in crappy conditions, while also being rewarded for keeping up a healthy lifestyle but not having that reward be overpowered.
bonethug0108 wrote:
Interesting options for the poorer conditions. I like those.
And I was coming back to say that you cannot pool these bonus inspiration points. You have to maintain that lifestyle until you go adventuring again, and then they go away after a long rest(so use them or lose them) and you don't regain them until you have at least a week of downtime.
I was thinking that was implied(the first three parts) but realized I didn't go deep enough in explaining it(thus me coming back to clarify).
I think having 3-4 bonus inspiration for one day is far from game breaking(though thinking about it, if everyone in the party has it it could be a pile on). The limitations(needing at least a week of downtime, needing to maintain the lifestyle throughout the period of downtime regardless of how long, and them going away after a long rest) hold it pretty well in check.
Maybe an alteration like this:
Wretched- 1 level of exhaustion + 15% chance of catching a disease each day
Sqaulid- 1 level of exhaustion + 5% chance of catching a disease each day
Poor- 1 level of exhaustion
Modest- no benefit or drawback
Comfortable- 1 bonus inspiration point that is lost after a long rest(this point doesn't accumulate)
Wealthy- 2 bonus inspiration points that are lost after a long rest(these points don't accumulate)
Aristocratic- 2 bonus inspiration points that are lost after a long rest(these points don't accumulate) + other benefits normally associated with living in the aristocratic class
That takes care of pretty much any abuse issues and limits the bonus inspiration to 2 at the most.
Once you are "out in the wild" all of the benefits/drawbacks go away after the first long rest(though normally survival rules still apply).
I also like that the disease chance is based on each day you are around those conditions so that if you have to live wretched one day you aren't burdened with disease if you can live poor the next day(unless you got diseased on that one day). Living modest(or better) for a day will "cure" you from being exhausted(if you lived poor or worse the prior day).
It can also help you in social interactions in the city if you are wealthy or an aristocrat. Basically the wealthier you live, the more influential you can be.
That's some great additions I may just add to my setting.
I might just go with that the inspirations gained are lost after a short rest, mostly since long rests are often at the end of our sessions and also because I want to push my players to use their inspirations and be willing to gain new ones.
So this is mostly during either long rests and downtimes.
I might add similar ideas to the Food and Drink option, giving them a chance of catching a disease if they order a squalid or poorly made meal, or just have them roll a Constitution saving throw (DC 10 or something) and if they fail - they catch a disease (which is either the poisoned condition or 1 level of exhaustion).
In my game, I incorporated a house rule regarding equipment that is tied to the lifestyle. As written in the PHB, your lifestyle represent also the ''cost of maintaining your equipment so you can be ready when adventure next calls'' so when you roll a 1 on an attack, ability check or saving throw you roll an equipment saving throw DC 10 with a modifier depending on your lifestyle:
Wretched +0
Squalid +1
Poor +2
Modest +3
Comfortable +4
Wealthy +5
Aristocrat +6
On failure, the item you were using or a random item on you is broken. If the check determines that an object already broken is damaged or if it targets a mundane item (ex: torch) it is destroyed instead. On a success nothing happens.
Broken weapons have disadvantage on attacks, broken tools have disadvantage on ability checks and broken armors/shields only give half their static bonus to AC. To repair an item you must use the crafting rule or have someone do it considering the item to be at half cost.
With that rule, my wretched monk's player feels like all he owns is cheap and my wealthy warlock's player feels like he has decent equipment. Its a good alternative to '' you drop your bow'' and even wretched equipment succeed half the time.
Yeah I was debating the short rest/long rest reset of them myself. I opted to go long rest as it gives them more opportunities to use them, but short rest effectively kills any abuse they could see.
I like also adding some poison/disease chance to squalid and wretched meals(maybe even poor also). Good stuff.
Edit:
The broken equipment thing is also a pretty neat take(I've had a DM use something like that in 3.5). It wasn't tied to maintaining equipment but was tied to a critical failure.
Dr.Fresh wrote: