DC question - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

DC question

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
brokenoakleys
Apr 07, 2008 22:00:27 Today I told a player his starting wealth was going to be +1

He told me he guessed he'd be living in a van down by the river.

I told him vans were DC 25

He said he's get a tarp.

I told him that was DC 10.

He said he'd just have to get a carboard box.

What DC do you think I should have for the cardboard box?
#2
steventirey1985
Apr 08, 2008 8:44:30 You can buy things with a PDC higher than your wealth bonus. With a Wealth bonus of +1, the character can afford to buy something up to PDC 21. (pages 91-92)

And the game assumes that you already have an apartment. You don't need to buy somewhere to live. Though I can't seem to find that page, I did find a Bullet Point article. Here's the relevant bit:

Is it assumed that a character starts out with the necessities of modern life, such as a place of residence and a car? Or is he supposed to buy these with his starting Wealth? Wouldn't buying such things almost always reduce a character's Wealth bonus to +0?

A character starts with a place to live (rented, not owned) and a reasonable assortment of clothing. Everything else -- including a car -- he has to buy.

If you still want to force the player to live in a cardboard box, I'd set the PDC at 1 or 2 at most. Or he could just look behind a grocery store or something like it and find them for free.
#3
crwydryny
Apr 08, 2008 10:00:52 or you could have him live in a bridge, an abandoned building, an outlet pipe, or a shack in the woods until he manages to get back on his feet.
I suggest looking at the charicter, what is his ocupation ect. and decide what his lifestyle would be. for example a soldier could live on a base, an average joe could be living in his parent's basement and so forth. just becuse he's broke doesn't mean he's homeless he could be living in a council house (or what ever is your local equivalant)
the wealth score is basically what the guy has left over after buying food and paying rent, generally speaking so he could have a huge fancy apartment but can only just afford it. (i.e if he spends too much on anything fancy he'll be kicked out for not paying rent)
#4
kjakan
Apr 08, 2008 15:57:33
You can buy things with a PDC higher than your wealth bonus. With a Wealth bonus of +1, the character can afford to buy something up to PDC 21. (pages 91-92)

As a houserule I don't allow purchases that would reduce the character's Wealth bonus below +0. A purchase in excess of this is cancelled and the time invested is wasted.

A character with Wealth +1 can safely buy an item of purchase DC 11 or less and drop to Wealth +0. He can attempt to buy an item in the 12-14 range as this incurs a 1d6 Wealth bonus loss, which is a one-in-six chance of dropping the character to Wealth +0 but a five-in-six chance of being cancelled.

-K
#5
TheRealOrion
Apr 09, 2008 18:10:05 I always interpreted rule as a way to reflect the bizarre credit-and-purchase system we have in the modern world. It's remarkably easy to put yourself hugely in debt but make one, giant purchase in the mean time. I also know people who effectively lower their own standard of living, greatly, by doing something like buying a house or relocating in order to take a job they want, in the long term. I can see how it's potentially game-breaking, but I can also see the rationale behind it.
#6
crwydryny
Apr 10, 2008 7:13:47 personally I just say have one of the other charicters to buy an item he needs and give it to him. or to just help him buy an item

but if you want to make things more complicated you could go with giving each item an individual cost, then have the players ear X ammount each week of game time or for each adventure they undergo. but doing that you would have to work out charicter's rent ect. (though you could just say the money they got is after paying for rent and food) and allow them to save up for big items, take loans or various other things.
though then you'd probably have the same problem as D&D adventures. kill bad guy and loot his remains for an extra £5.
but in my opinion that would just take too much time to sort out, but if you have the free time I don't see why you can't do it.
#7
akodo
Apr 12, 2008 20:56:31 Steve has it right. The basic equation is
Characters income -rent -utilities -food -basic cloths= wealth bonus

someone with a high wealth bonus could live in a very modest apartment he just has loads of savings from living frugally.

someone wiht a low wealth bonus may live in a very fancy place, but that is for the sake of appearances. After cloths expenditures he has very little left.

Even cloths expeditures can be necessary. You can play a guy who manages rap musicians. He is expected to entertain his clients, and represent them. This demands he keep a fancy apartment and buy fancy cloths, but that eats up all his income, he'll never have enough money for a car, a vacation, or whatever.

Like that Suzie Orman or whatever talks about "Young, Fabulous, and Broke!" vs "The Millionaire Next Door" the blue collar working stiff who is 55, pinched pennies all his life but has one hell of an investment portfolio because of it.
#8
brokenoakleys
Apr 17, 2008 13:13:17 Thanks for all the answers and and shedding some light on how purchasing works.

I actually started all the characters out with:

socks, white, two pair;
underwear, whitey tighties, two pair;
pants, orange, two pair;
shirts, orange, two;
toothbrush, one;
room, 10x10, no window, one;
blanket, wool, one;
meals, three/day.

Would you believe the ungrateful little $%$#@ had the audacity to escape and leave all that wonderful equipment behind?:D I hope that strange masterwork handgun they got in the their escape was worth it, cause I aini't givin' them no more underwear!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 brokenoakleys Apr 07, 2008 22:00:27	Today I told a player his starting wealth was going to be +1 He told me he guessed he'd be living in a van down by the river. I told him vans were DC 25 He said he's get a tarp. I told him that was DC 10. He said he'd just have to get a carboard box. What DC do you think I should have for the cardboard box?
#2 steventirey1985 Apr 08, 2008 8:44:30	You can buy things with a PDC higher than your wealth bonus. With a Wealth bonus of +1, the character can afford to buy something up to PDC 21. (pages 91-92) And the game assumes that you already have an apartment. You don't need to buy somewhere to live. Though I can't seem to find that page, I did find a Bullet Point article. Here's the relevant bit: Is it assumed that a character starts out with the necessities of modern life, such as a place of residence and a car? Or is he supposed to buy these with his starting Wealth? Wouldn't buying such things almost always reduce a character's Wealth bonus to +0? A character starts with a place to live (rented, not owned) and a reasonable assortment of clothing. Everything else -- including a car -- he has to buy. If you still want to force the player to live in a cardboard box, I'd set the PDC at 1 or 2 at most. Or he could just look behind a grocery store or something like it and find them for free.
#3 crwydryny Apr 08, 2008 10:00:52	or you could have him live in a bridge, an abandoned building, an outlet pipe, or a shack in the woods until he manages to get back on his feet. I suggest looking at the charicter, what is his ocupation ect. and decide what his lifestyle would be. for example a soldier could live on a base, an average joe could be living in his parent's basement and so forth. just becuse he's broke doesn't mean he's homeless he could be living in a council house (or what ever is your local equivalant) the wealth score is basically what the guy has left over after buying food and paying rent, generally speaking so he could have a huge fancy apartment but can only just afford it. (i.e if he spends too much on anything fancy he'll be kicked out for not paying rent)
#4 kjakan Apr 08, 2008 15:57:33	You can buy things with a PDC higher than your wealth bonus. With a Wealth bonus of +1, the character can afford to buy something up to PDC 21. (pages 91-92) As a houserule I don't allow purchases that would reduce the character's Wealth bonus below +0. A purchase in excess of this is cancelled and the time invested is wasted. A character with Wealth +1 can safely buy an item of purchase DC 11 or less and drop to Wealth +0. He can attempt to buy an item in the 12-14 range as this incurs a 1d6 Wealth bonus loss, which is a one-in-six chance of dropping the character to Wealth +0 but a five-in-six chance of being cancelled. -K
#5 TheRealOrion Apr 09, 2008 18:10:05	I always interpreted rule as a way to reflect the bizarre credit-and-purchase system we have in the modern world. It's remarkably easy to put yourself hugely in debt but make one, giant purchase in the mean time. I also know people who effectively lower their own standard of living, greatly, by doing something like buying a house or relocating in order to take a job they want, in the long term. I can see how it's potentially game-breaking, but I can also see the rationale behind it.
#6 crwydryny Apr 10, 2008 7:13:47	personally I just say have one of the other charicters to buy an item he needs and give it to him. or to just help him buy an item but if you want to make things more complicated you could go with giving each item an individual cost, then have the players ear X ammount each week of game time or for each adventure they undergo. but doing that you would have to work out charicter's rent ect. (though you could just say the money they got is after paying for rent and food) and allow them to save up for big items, take loans or various other things. though then you'd probably have the same problem as D&D adventures. kill bad guy and loot his remains for an extra £5. but in my opinion that would just take too much time to sort out, but if you have the free time I don't see why you can't do it.
#7 akodo Apr 12, 2008 20:56:31	Steve has it right. The basic equation is Characters income -rent -utilities -food -basic cloths= wealth bonus someone with a high wealth bonus could live in a very modest apartment he just has loads of savings from living frugally. someone wiht a low wealth bonus may live in a very fancy place, but that is for the sake of appearances. After cloths expenditures he has very little left. Even cloths expeditures can be necessary. You can play a guy who manages rap musicians. He is expected to entertain his clients, and represent them. This demands he keep a fancy apartment and buy fancy cloths, but that eats up all his income, he'll never have enough money for a car, a vacation, or whatever. Like that Suzie Orman or whatever talks about "Young, Fabulous, and Broke!" vs "The Millionaire Next Door" the blue collar working stiff who is 55, pinched pennies all his life but has one hell of an investment portfolio because of it.
#8 brokenoakleys Apr 17, 2008 13:13:17	Thanks for all the answers and and shedding some light on how purchasing works. I actually started all the characters out with: socks, white, two pair; underwear, whitey tighties, two pair; pants, orange, two pair; shirts, orange, two; toothbrush, one; room, 10x10, no window, one; blanket, wool, one; meals, three/day. Would you believe the ungrateful little $%$#@ had the audacity to escape and leave all that wonderful equipment behind?:D I hope that strange masterwork handgun they got in the their escape was worth it, cause I aini't givin' them no more underwear!