Wealth and Influence

Now you need to determine your position in your society: How much money do you have, what privileges do you enjoy, and how do others react to you?

Wealth

Wealth is relative. A middle-class American lives in more luxury than a medieval king, though he may have fewer gold coins in his basement. It all depends on the game world - see Tech Level and Starting Wealth. In most worlds, the range of standard starting wealth and income is relatively great, and your skills determine your job and income; see Economics for more information.

Personal wealth is rated in 'wealth levels.' A level of 'Average' costs no points, and lets you support an average lifestyle for your gameworld. The rest of these rules apply if you are unusually poor or wealthy, have a source of income that does not require you to work, or are in debt.

Wealth: Variable
Above-average Wealth is an advantage; it means you start with two or more times the average starting wealth of your game world. Below-average Wealth is a disadvantage; it means you start with only a fraction of average starting wealth. The precise meaning of each wealth level in a particular game world will be defined in the associated worldbook.

Dead Broke: You have no job, no source of income, no money, and no property other than the clothes you are wearing. Either you are unable to work or there are no jobs to be found. -25 points.
Poor: Your starting wealth is only 1/5 of the average for your society. Some jobs are not available to you, and no job you find pays very well. -15 points.
Struggling: Your starting wealth is only 1/2 of the average for your society. Any job is open to you (you can be a Struggling doctor or movie actor), but you don't earn much. This is appropriate if you are, for instance, a 21st-century student. -10 points.
Average: The default wealth level, as explained above. 0 points.
Comfortable: You work for a living, but your lifestyle is better than most. Your starting wealth is twice the average. 10 points.
Wealthy: Your starting wealth is five times average; you live very well indeed. 20 points.
Very Wealthy: Your starting wealth is 20 times the average. 30 points.
Filthy Rich: Your starting wealth is 100 times average. You can buy almost anything you want without considering the cost. 50 points.
Multimillionaire: 'Filthy rich' doesn't even begin to describe your wealth! For every 25 points you spend beyond the 50 points to be Filthy Rich, increase your starting wealth by another factor of 10: Multimillionaire 1 costs 75 points and gives 1,000 times average starting wealth, Multimillionaire 2 costs 100 points and gives 10,000 times starting wealth, and so on. 50 points + 25 points/level of Multimillionaire.

Wealth and Status
In some game worlds, Status is closely tied to Wealth. In a setting like this, if you are Wealthy or better, you get +1 Status for free. This bonus increases to +2 at Multimillionaire 1 and to +3 at Multimillionaire 2. No one may claim more than +3 Status from Wealth.

Independent Income: 1 point/level
You have a source of income that does not require you to work: stock portfolio, trust fund, rental property, royalties, pension, etc. Your monthly income is 1% if your starting wealth (adjusted for wealth level) per level of this trait, to a maximum of 20%. If your income derives from investments, you need not specify their value; this trait assumes that you cannot or will not invade your capital.

This trait is unrelated to wealth level. A Filthy Rich heiress has Independent Income... but so do an Average pensioner and a Poor welfare recipient.

Independent Income most often means your occupation is something like dilettante, retiree, or welfare recipient - not an actual 'job'.

However, you can have Independent Income and a job; just add the income from both sources. If you are wealthy, this allows you to work less than full time (e.g., 10 hours per week instead of 40, for 1/4 the usual salary) and still make a good living.

Debt: -1 point/level
You owe money. This could represent a loan, back taxes, child support, or alimony... or 'hush money' paid to blackmailers... or 'protection money' extorted by gangsters. You must make a monthly payment equal to 1% of your starting wealth (adjusted for wealth level) per level of this trait, to a maximum of 20%. Debt can accompany any wealth level above Dead Broke; plenty of multimillionaires owe significant amounts of money!

Your monthly payment is deducted from your monthly earnings at your job. If your job cannot cover your Debt, you have to pay out of your cash reserves, take a second job, or steal.

If you cannot pay - or choose not to pay - there will be trouble. For bank loans, this means repossession of your worldly goods. For alimony, child support, fines, or taxes, this means a court date. And if you owe money to the mob, you might end up being strongarmed into criminal activities... or staring down the barrel of a shotgun. The GM should be creative!

It is assumed that you cannot easily rid yourself of this obligation. It takes more than money to buy off Debt - you must pay off the points and work out a logical in-game explanation with the GM.

Starting Wealth

'Starting wealth' covers both money and property. Start with the amount of money your wealth level entitles you to for your game world. Buy the possessions you want to start with. Any unspent money is your 'bank account'.

Realistically, if you have a settled lifestyle, you should put 80% of your starting wealth into home, clothing, etc., which leaves only 20% for 'adventuring' gear. If you are a wanderer (pioneer, knight-errant, Free Trader, etc.), or Poor or worse, the GM might allow you to spend all your starting wealth on movable possessions.

The GM should not allow wealthy PCs to bankroll their poorer associates. This makes below-average Wealth little more than 'free points.' The GM might allow rich characters to hire poor ones. If so, he should make it obvious - through such means as NPC reactions ("Oh, so you're the hired help?") - that the poorer PC is earning his disadvantage points by giving up some of his independence.

Trading Points for Money
If you need a little extra money, you may trade character points for it - either at the time of creation or in play. Each point yields 10% of the campaign's average starting wealth. Money obtained this way can be saved, invested, gambled, spent on equipment, etc. You are free to spend as many points as you wish, but if you plan to spend more than 10 points, you would be better off just buying Wealth!

Unlike Wealth, points traded for money do not appear on your character sheet - they are gone. If you exercise this option during character creation, you are worth fewer points than your associates (but you are better equipped!)

You can also spend points on specific equipment, if it's key to your character concept. See Signature Gear.

Later Earnings
You can depend on your adventures to bring in money... or you can get a job. Remember that in many worlds, unemployment is cause for grave suspicion and bad reaction rolls.

If a poor PC becomes wealthy, the GM should require the player to 'buy off' the advantage with character points.

Tech Level and Starting Wealth
Tech level determines starting wealth, as technologically advanced societies tend to be richer. Below is a comparison of TLs and suggested starting wealth.

TL0: Stone Age (Prehistory and later). $250.
TL1: Bronze Age (3500 BC+). $500.
TL2: Iron Age (1200 BC+). $750.
TL3: Medieval (600 AD+). $1,000.
TL4: Age of Sail (1450+). $2,000.
TL5: Industrial Revolution (1730+). $5,000.
TL6: Mechanized Age (1880+). $10,000.
TL7: Nuclear Age (1940+). $15,000.
TL8: Digital Age (1980+). $20,000.
TL9: Microtech Age (2025+?). $30,000.
TL10: Robotic Age (2070+?). $50,000.
TL11: Age of Exotic Matter. $75,000.
TL12+: Whatever the GM likes! $100,000.

GURPS gives wealth and prices in '$' for convenience. The $ can stand for 'dollars', 'credits', 'pennies', or even units of barter. In a contemporary setting, $1 is a modern U.S. dollar. In other periods, $1 equates roughly with the amount of local currency needed to buy a loaf of bread or equivalent staple - not with historical U.S. dollars.

For example, in a high medieval society, each $ might be a copper farthing. In WWII-era America, each $ would convert to $0.10 in deflated 1940s-era dollars. And in a cyberpunk world with hyperinflation, each $ might equal $1,000 in grossly devalued 2030-era dollars! The GURPS $ is a constant, however. Variations in starting wealth by TL reflect increased prosperity due to civilization's progress - not inflation.

Worldbooks might give starting wealth, wages, and prices in local currency - historical U.S. dollars, British pounds, pieces of eight, etc. In such cases, they will always give a conversion factor to constant $.

Tech Level and Equipment
You enter play with 'starting wealth' appropriate to the campaign TL. If you are from a higher TL, you may start with access to the equipment of your personal TL. However, the price of an item of equipment is doubled for every TL by which its TL exceeds that of the campaign!

For instance, a TL8 character in a TL3 game world starts with the same $1,000 as everyone else at TL3. If he wants a TL8 assault rifle that normally costs $1,500, it costs him 32 times as much (five TLs of difference results in five doublings, or a factor of 32) - or $48,000 - since the rifle is far more valuable in a low-tech setting. He'd need to start with some Wealth!

There is no guarantee that high-TL adventurers will continue to have access to high-tech gear in play. If you want a piece of gear, then you should buy it when you start out. If your TL8 adventurer is dropped into a TL3 world with 100 rounds of ammunition for his assault rifle, then he had better use it wisely. Once it's gone, it's gone...

Reputation

It is possible to be so well-known that your reputation becomes an advantage or a disadvantage. This affects reaction rolls made by NPCs. A reputation has four elements: Details, Reaction Modifier, People Affected, and Frequency of Recognition.

Details
The details of your reputation are entirely up to you; you can be known for bravery, ferocity, eating green snakes, or whatever you want. However, you must give specifics. Reputation is, by definition, something noteworthy; there is no such thing as a 'generic' reputation.

Reaction Modifier
Specify the reaction-roll modifier that you get from people who recognize you. This determines the base cost of your reputation. For every +1 bonus to reaction rolls (up to +4), the cost is 5 points. For every -1 penalty (up to -4), the cost is -5 points.

People Affected
The size of the group of people who might have heard of you modifies the base cost:

Almost everyone in your game world (but not those from other universes - at least, not until they have met you!): x1.
Almost everyone in your game world except one large class (everyone but the French, everyone but Elves, everyone but offworld visitors): x2/3 (round down).
Large class of people (all people of a particular faith, all mercenaries, all tradesmen, etc.): x1/2 (round down).
Small class of people (all priests of Wazoo, all literate people in 12th-century England, all mages in modern Alabama): x1/3 (round down).

If the class of people affected is so small that, in the GM's opinion, you would not meet even one in the average adventure, your reputation isn't worth points. This depends on the setting; for instance, mercenary soldiers are rare in some game worlds, common in others.

Frequency of Recognition
Either your name or your face is enough to trigger a 'reputation roll' to see if the people you meet have heard of you. Roll once for each person or small group you meet. For a large boost, the GM may roll more than once if he likes. The frequency with which you are recognized modifies the cost of your reputation:

All the time: x1.
Sometimes (roll of 10 or less): x1/2 (round down).
Occasionally (roll of 7 or less): x1/3 (round down).
Of course, your reputation extends only within a certain area. If you travel far enough away, the GM may require you to 'buy off' the disadvantage points you received for a bad reputation. (There is no corresponding bonus for losing a good reputation.)

Multiple Reputations
You may have more than one reputation, and your reputations can overlap. The GM should check each one before determining how an NPC reacts to you. Your total reaction modifier from reputations cannot be better than +4 or worse than -4 in a given situation.

Multifaceted Reputations
A single reputation can give different reaction modifiers with different groups, provided the groups do not overlap. Set the reaction modifier for each group, modify the cost for the size of the group, and then add up the resulting costs. Modify this total for frequency of recognition. The reputation is an advantage if the net point cost is positive, a disadvantage if negative. The final point cost may be 0, but you should still record it on your character sheet!

Example 1: Sir Anacreon has a reputation for fearless monster-slaying. This earns him a +2 reaction from those who recognize him. Everyone has heard of him (no modifier), and he is recognized on a roll of 10 or less (x1/2). He has a 5-point advantage.
Example 2: The Green Dragon has a reputation as a crimefighter. He gets +3 reactions from honest citizens - which is almost everyone except the large class of dishonest citizens (x2/3) - for 10 points. He receives a -4 reaction from the underworld - a large group (x1/2) - for -10 points. The net point cost for his reputation is 0 points. If his player wished, he could specify a frequency of recognition, but the final cost would still be 0 points.

Importance

Your formally recognized place in society is distinct from your personal fame and fortune. To influence others through established channels (as opposed to relying on popularity or bribery), you must purchase one or more types of social rank, each of which has unique benefits and drawbacks.

Status: 5 points/level
Status is a measure of social standing. In most game worlds, Status levels range from -2 (serf or street person) to 8 (powerful emperor or god-king), with the average man being Status 0 (freeman or ordinary citizen). If you do not specifically buy Status, you have Status 0. Status costs 5 points per level. For instance, Status 5 costs 25 points, while Status -2 is -10 points. Status also costs money to maintain.

Status is not the same as personal popularity (see Reputation) or the popularity of your racial or ethnic group (see Social Regard and Social Stigma). Status can sometimes influence others' reactions, but its main effect is to spell out where you stand in the social pecking order. In short, Status represents power.

High Status
Status greater than 0 means you are a member of the ruling class in your culture. Your family may be hereditary nobles (e.g., Plantagenet, Windsor), successful businessmen or politicians (Rockefeller, Kennedy), or some other type of big shots. You may even have achieved Status by your own efforts. As a result, others in your culture only defer to you, giving you a bonus on all reaction rolls.

High Status carries various privileges, different in every game world; your GM will give you this information. Note that any high-Status person is a likely target for kidnappers and social climbers, and that some criminal types hate 'the ruling class.'

Low Status
Status less than 0 means you are a serf or a slave, or simply very poor. This is not the same thing as Social Stigma. In medieval Japan, for instance, a woman could have high Status, but still get a -1 on reactions due to the Social Stigma of being female. A modern-day criminal could theoretically have any level of Status in conjunction with the Social Stigma of a criminal record.

The interaction of Status, Social Stigma, and Reputation can give interesting results. For instance, a person who is obviously from a lower social class, or even a disdained minority group, might earn such a reputation as a hero that others react well to him.

Status as a Reaction Modifier
When the GM makes a reaction roll, the relative Status of the characters involved can affect the reaction. The GM can roleplay NPCs as he likes, of course, but here are some general guidelines:

Higher Status usually gives a reaction bonus. When dealing with a social inferior, apply the difference between your Status levels as a reaction bonus - except, of course, when dealing with someone who resents Status. For instance, if you have Status 3, those of Status 1 react to you at +2, and those of Status 0 react at +3.

Lower Status may give a penalty. If you are dealing with a higher-Status NPC who is basically friendly, your Status doesn't matter (as long as it's positive). After all, the king has a far higher Status than his knights, but he reacts well to them... most of the time. But if the NPC is neutral or already angry, lower Status makes it worse ("How dare you, a mere knight, tell me my battle plan is foolish?"). Again, apply the difference in Status levels as a reaction modifier, but in this case it gives a penalty.

Negative Status usually gives a penalty. If your Status is so low as to be negative, those of higher Status always react badly to you. Apply the difference between your Status and the NPCs as a reaction penalty, but no worse than -4.

Recognizing Status
Status only affects reaction rolls if it is obvious to those around you. In some settings, your bearing, dress, and speech communicate your Status. Indeed, if you have very high Status, your face may be easily recognized - or perhaps the gaggle of servants that surrounds you gets the message across.

In other societies, you will have to produce physical proof (ID cards, signet rings, etc.), pass a test, or submit to ultra-tech or magical scans before you will be recognized. Status costs no fewer points in such societies; you may get fewer reaction bonuses, but you can also live a normal life, and it is far more difficult for someone to impersonate you.

Rank: 5 or 10 points/level
Specific sectors of society - e.g., the civil service, the military, and certain powerful religions - often have internal ranking systems, distinct from Status. If an organization like this has significant social influence, or access to useful resources, then its members must pay points for their rank within the organization.

Rank comes in levels. Each Rank has authority over those of lower Rank - regardless of personal ability. In most cases, there are six to eight levels of rank. The GM should determine the highest Rank available to starting characters, usually Rank 3-5.

Unlike Status, Rank costs no money to maintain. On the other hand, almost all forms of Rank come with a Duty. Rank often has stringent prerequisites, too - typically one of the traits given under Privilege or a minimum skill level. These things have their own point costs, not included in the cost of the Rank.

In a given society, there are usually several systems of Rank; the precise varieties depend on the game world. In most cases, you may hold more than one kind of Rank, although the GM is free to rule that holding one sort of Rank precludes holding another.