[mcv]

I'm thinking about a system where you slowly accumulate stress and money, and you need to spend the money (on carousing, helping the poor, or other expensive habits) to get rid of the stress.

My goal would be to have lots of money moving through their hands without them being able to hold onto it for long.

I also remember an article from the 1980s that recommended having thieves steal their money if they got too rich. That sounds a bit unfair to me, although maybe it could work as part of a system there they stay at increasingly more expensive lodgings in order to keep their accumulating wealth safe.

[jstarfish]

> an article from the 1980s that recommended having thieves steal their money if they got too rich. That sounds a bit unfair to me, although maybe it could work as part of a system there they stay at increasingly more expensive lodgings in order to keep their accumulating wealth safe.

IIRC this was a frustration of mine with Rimworld. It was annoying and made wealth very toxic. The more you had, the more frequently (and more powerful) thieves showed up and wrecked your shit.

I didn't even have nice things, I just polished the floors so colonists wouldn't be so miserable with bunker life but apparently that raised collective wealth to the point of inviting raids.

[LaffertyDev]

Check out Blades in the Dark -- it has _exactly_ this mechanic! (And is also my favorite RPG system)

[mcv]

I've played Blades in the Dark, and while you accumulate stress, you roll to get rid of it. I don't think it costs actual money, although they do call it vices. My plan was to really tie it into the excessive accumulation of money in D&D-style games, which is a problem BitD wouldn't have even if it didn't have the stress mechanic.

Money in BitD is very abstract, and a single coin represents a serious amount of money. And you don't buy stuff with it because you can only take so much stuff with you, and what that is depends on your character. Instead you use it to upgrade your lair or bribe people, I think.

So it's not quite what I was thinking of, although it certainly has some of the elements. Maybe it has shaped how I'm thinking about it now.

I remember how longer ago, I was thinking of a Robin Hood game where character progression depended on how much money you gave to the poor. That way you can still buy stuff for yourself and not level up, or give to the poor and level up.

[LaffertyDev]

For the games I've DM'd there's almost always been too much Stress and not enough Downtime Actions. The players would spend a good chunk of their Payout on downtime actions for stress reduction/healing. I don't know if I ever saw a player actually put a coin into their retirement stash.

A game centered around moving money, but not acquiring it, could be very interesting. You could tease out a few interesting scenarios and have meta-progression where helping others can create a network of skills. (i.e. you helped the baker pay her debts, now she will bake bread for you at cost.)

[mcv]

Can you get extra downtime actions for coin? I don't think I've ever done it. If I start spending it on that, I'll never accumulate any coin. Because to be honest, that stress mechanic is giving me stress. It really felt to me like a game that you're always going to lose. But maybe spending coin on it helps.

[LaffertyDev]

Yup! RAW.

https://bladesinthedark.com/downtime-activities

> A PC can make time for more than two activities, at a cost. Each additional activity from the list costs 1 coin or 1 rep. This reflects the time and resulting resource drain while you’re “off the clock” and not earning from a score. When you complete a new score, you reset and get two “free” activities again.

Spending coin on stress reduction certainly helps. If a player gets a 2-coin reward for a score, I'd hope they stashed one and burned one on something.

[breischl]

>having thieves steal their money if they got too rich

Money attracts that kind of thing, even in the real world. There's a reason rich people have guards. Also bodyguards - I was just listening to a podcast about how a fairly rich (and flashy) drug dealer got kidnapped and ransomed because he didn't think about what a target he was. Obviously more challenging when you're talking about heroes who are personally formidable, but think about friends, family members, retainers, etc.