"Poor" standard of living?

[Stormcrow]

I can see in certain circumstances how a character could run out of funds and be unable to pay their way.

That is also the case for the Frugal standard of living, so during an adventure there is no functional difference if a Frugal character dropped to a Poor state.

[zedturtle]

They immediately went after the bandits with sticks and staffs to reclaim the lost property. They managed to steal back some of the equipment, but not any money, so they remaind poor.
Later they got a reward for helping Ceawin, and everybody spend their treasure to regain missing armour and pocket money, so I'd say that they really hated being poor!
It was flavour mostly, not so many mechanical effects, but they had to cope with being without armours for a while...

I'll use the reduction again, if a situation warrants it, because it was fun seeing the creativity when they were crafting makeshift weapons and foraging for food

That does sound like fun!

I think I'd probably try to make sure that the heroes got themselves into at least one situation where they really feel the lack of money (so that they need to rent ponies or boats, or cross the Old Ford or something) but I also agree that you've got to give them a way to get their gear back in short order, because keeping things that they've paid XP to get is not fair.

[Valarian]

A character would become Poor if they became an outcast from their culture, losing access to their culture's resources. They would have treasure to fall back on, but once that runs out they'd be impoverished.

[Indur Dawndeath]

They immediately went after the bandits with sticks and staffs to reclaim the lost property. They managed to steal back some of the equipment, but not any money, so they remaind poor.
Later they got a reward for helping Ceawin, and everybody spend their treasure to regain missing armour and pocket money, so I'd say that they really hated being poor!
It was flavour mostly, not so many mechanical effects, but they had to cope with being without armours for a while...

I'll use the reduction again, if a situation warrants it, because it was fun seeing the creativity when they were crafting makeshift weapons and foraging for food

That does sound like fun!

I think I'd probably try to make sure that the heroes got themselves into at least one situation where they really feel the lack of money (so that they need to rent ponies or boats, or cross the Old Ford or something) but I also agree that you've got to give them a way to get their gear back in short order, because keeping things that they've paid XP to get is not fair.

The special items were claimed by the Bandit Leader, the rest were split between the bandits, because I agree there should be a way to get those rewards back. A stealthy Hobbit managed to slip into the leaders quarters while they were all drunk and celebrating the success...

All in all a very fun scene

[gazery]

From the wording of the description on Poor Standard of Living (pg 120 of revised Core book):

'Impoverished people are probably suffering from a bad harvest season, a fell winter, or the aftermath of a disease or war. They struggle every day to find what they need to survive, and have no time or resources to look for anything beyond the bare necessities, let alone equip themselves for adventure.'

I always assumed that adventurers could not come from a Poor background, especially from that last part. And so there couldn't be a playable Culture with Poor as its Standard of Living.

[Glorelendil]

From the wording of the description on Poor Standard of Living (pg 120 of revised Core book):

'Impoverished people are probably suffering from a bad harvest season, a fell winter, or the aftermath of a disease or war. They struggle every day to find what they need to survive, and have no time or resources to look for anything beyond the bare necessities, let alone equip themselves for adventure.'

I always assumed that adventurers could not come from a Poor background, especially from that last part. And so there couldn't be a playable Culture with Poor as its Standard of Living.

That's a setup for an Adventure: you and your people are Poor until you can resolve the condition that is causing it.

[gazery]

Same thing occurred to me as I was writing it!

[zedturtle]

I agree with Rich H about the need to future-proof and have Standards of Living outside the range of the heroic cultures. In fact (when working on fan rules that would have made it relevant) what the SoL beyond Rich is... Princely? Kingly? Wealthy?

[Indur Dawndeath]

I agree with Rich H about the need to future-proof and have Standards of Living outside the range of the heroic cultures. In fact (when working on fan rules that would have made it relevant) what the SoL beyond Rich is... Princely? Kingly? Wealthy?

I think the next level beyond Rich is represented nicely with Treasure. Because if you have pocket money as a Prince, why would you need Treasure to buy a draft horse, or pay for some improvements to travel equipment in Laketown.
A wealthy hero could have some Treasures in coins or gems at 1 encumbrance.

That would be my solution...

[zedturtle]

I appreciate what you're saying, but I guess what I'm talking about are mechanisms to (permanently) upgrade your personal Standard of Living. A Martial character can become Prosperous, but what happens when a Rich hero upgrades herself? Producing Treasure instead is not a bad answer, but I was looking more for a descriptor than anything else.