The thing about wealth

[pblackcrow]

Here is the same wall I am running into time and time again. As a player, I like to keep so much (75%) of my money in circulation past 4th level...So I will invest money into something start with inns, ships, inventions, a few guilds, and expositions. Then at 7th level I like to buy land, build factories; mills; smithies; towers/forts; towns; city-state; schools; etc, and position myself.

The other players want to do is spend, spend, spend the second they get into town! And yet they get majorly ticked and resentful when I start requesting adventures to find out about one of my investments and am now pay them to do my bidding while I run a city and command a small army in solo games. The GM usually winds up taking most of the bull from the other players. They don't ask to invest! Like, this last time, every time I said something to them about investing they were all like, "Dude, don't do it...it's a bad idea. Remember the orcs are invading." They didn't grasp that the orc invasion was exactly why I wanted to give the dwarves land for forges. Logically, not only could I supply my own men, but also supply some to the king's army and I could get in good with him and also a tax brake.

[Library Ogre]

I wound up working out a system for investing for Hackmaster to allow this kind of thing. It lets people keep their money in use, and, well, if they die, someone got a windfall.

[pblackcrow]

I wound up working out a system for investing for Hackmaster to allow this kind of thing. It lets people keep their money in use, and, well, if they die, someone got a windfall.

Cool. Risks, short comings, winfalls, contract example, etc?

I would like to see it to add it to the already huge Hackmaster gm shield, which I have expanded on.

[Cinos]

I have a lot of my players invest when they can, though it at times depends on their characters. I had a group do a lot of work (some of it for free) to help an skilled (but not fiscally adept) alchemist set up shops in areas they would operate in so they'd always have access to his work, whom they'd commission their best weapons and armor from (at one point he even made a -massive- siege golem to help defend a major city). Others have started inns, or hospitals, though in one game their assets became major liabilities and targets for their enemies. One started up a series of churches across the world with his excess funds.

As far as I'm concerned, after a point, you're not doing it right if you're not setting up investments and getting that support outside of combat on at least one or two characters in the group.

[kiralon]

Breweries, Wineries and Inns are the things my players invest in the most.

[Library Ogre]

I wound up working out a system for investing for Hackmaster to allow this kind of thing. It lets people keep their money in use, and, well, if they die, someone got a windfall.

Cool. Risks, short comings, winfalls, contract example, etc?

I would like to see it to add it to the already huge Hackmaster gm shield, which I have expanded on.

This is new Hackmaster, which doesn't have a shield out yet.

Here's the link to it; the basics is that you roll 2d8*10, and that's the percentage of investment you get back. Roll a 9? Then of your 100gp investment, you get back 90gp.

[pblackcrow]

This is new Hackmaster, which doesn't have a shield out yet.

Here's the link to it; the basics is that you roll 2d8*10, and that's the percentage of investment you get back. Roll a 9? Then of your 100gp investment, you get back 90gp.

My friends and I love the shield. And wish they one for PF. Anyway...I usually roll 3d100s for a return. I have rolled as low at 10% as high as 230-something%.

[Jerell]

Don't forget with investing there is also the chance for a loss. Not to mention nationalization of the private sector (seizure by the crown, like in cases of Kingdom security or emergency, or Marxist rebellions, ect). That could make for an interesting plot twist on it's own.

Depending on the character I'm running, I'll invest coin in the town and area I take up residence in. A knight or mage or something like that I get to invest in the city/village. If I run a Palladin the money usually goes to armor, horse and weapon upkeep, plus a travel fund and rest goes to The Barracks of Rurga or what have you. Mercs I've ran kept their money close and spent on personal stuff for fun or personal advantage. I had a pirate once save up for a ship. It really does depend on the type of person your character is.

I like RPing a little home town intrigue weather I'm invested in it or not. In the current PF game I'm in, we're trying to set up an 'Adventurer's Guild' and a sort of spa on some natural hot springs where the Old Kingdom River and Mountains come together. The problem has been neighboring clans and towns sending raiding parties (bloody Old Kingdom barbarians!). Hopefully they'll at least give us a break for a while since the last time a raiding party attacked my Zodiac Mage went mad with power throwing lightning down from the central tower on a Ley Line.

[glitterboy2098]

one advantage of investing.. you don't have to lug around all that coinage.. gold, silver, and other precious metals are heavy.. carrying more than a pouchful around would get pretty tiring very quick. but what to do with that dragons hoard or the contents of that paychest you just obtained from your last adventure? too heavy to lug it around, so you invest it. spend what you need to get useful supplies or new stuff from the local community, then leave the rest with people who can use it over a longer term, with a contract for a cut of the profits later. or drop it off with an existing wealthy merchant or lord in excahnge for a letter of credit you can use somewhere else..

you know, like how business has worked for 6000+ years in real life.

[Alrik Vas]

Investment is amazing, but GM's need to learn to make proper use of pitfalls. Not every business venture can end well, not everyone likes new players in the market that have magic swords and heroic legends about them.

[pblackcrow]

Don't forget with investing there is also the chance for a loss.

Yeah, that's true...I lost or done poorly in about 45%.

Not to mention nationalization of the private sector (seizure by the crown, like in cases of Kingdom security or emergency, or Marxist rebellions, ect). That could make for an interesting plot twist on it's own.

How true!!! And yeah, you're right. Plus there is also: Lost or looted ships. Guilds making it hard to sell or buy stuff in an area. A fiefdom in financial turmoil pays orc pirates to sink ships and seizes goods at their port on free market day so that they can lay claim to all salvage rights, all so they can pay their overdue taxes. By the way, yes, they can do that since it happened at their port. Yeah, I dealt with that last one recently, while dealing with a small army of orc mercenaries that kept doing hit and run tactics to try and keep me busy and from worrying about my ship until they could salvage my ships that I had sent to get the gold and supplies. By the way, the pirates were promised one of my ships as a reward.

[pblackcrow]

Investment is amazing, but GM's need to learn to make proper use of pitfalls. Not every business venture can end well, not everyone likes new players in the market that have magic swords and heroic legends about them.

True...Nor new nobility that are outshining the existing houses in lands claimed, deeds done, and/or impressing the ruling house.

[Cybermancer]

You know when it comes to Palladium Fantasy, I can't recall ever having a player try to invest their money in anything besides magic or perhaps a piece of land with a stronghold on it.

As a player, I have invested a characters loot in establishing a Merchant house in Bizantium. It took years of in game time to get it to the point where it was paying for itself (over five, I think). And even after it was paying its own way, there would be the occasional lost ship as well as losses to piracy. Still, it became a pretty good investment. I got back all I invested into it and then some. Plus it gave the GM new adventure hooks (punishing pirates and so forth).

[Alrik Vas]

And the wealth itself can be a useful tool...

[Razzinold]

After reading all theses posts I want to run a PF game even more now. I have never played and I've wanted to try it. I hope my players do stuff like this as well.

[pblackcrow]

After reading all theses posts I want to run a PF game even more now. I have never played and I've wanted to try it. I hope my players do stuff like this as well.

If you do it on line, please let me know. I would like be interested.

[Razzinold]

After reading all theses posts I want to run a PF game even more now. I have never played and I've wanted to try it. I hope my players do stuff like this as well.

If you do it on line, please let me know. I would like be interested.

Online as in Skype or a PbP ?

[pblackcrow]

Either one.

[Jerell]

After reading all theses posts I want to run a PF game even more now. I have never played and I've wanted to try it. I hope my players do stuff like this as well.

When it comes to players, you never know. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

[Thinyser]

Strange that I've never really encountered this in a game. We all hoard it in various caches and once we "retire" we use it to buy a tavern/inn or go off and build a cabin/tower in the woods. I did once started a loan sharking enterprize and when I once I wanted to go adventuring again I handed it off to an underling for a cut of the (huge) profits.

[pblackcrow]

After reading all theses posts I want to run a PF game even more now. I have never played and I've wanted to try it. I hope my players do stuff like this as well.

When it comes to players, you never know. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

True, and if they don't neither should you. LOL