If you’re walking in on the middle of the advanced fantasy dungeon series, there’s an index here.

A brief diversion. I’m trying to figure out how to manage living expenses or lifestyle (as they’re called in various editions) is a challenge, because there are problems with the very concept, such as the implication they are choice, the name “lifestyle” being problematic at best when one choice is “poor”, the lack of fun and roleplaying opportunity brought by it, and the unnecessary bookkeeping associated with it.

My first question is, given that historically, your “lifestyle” is tied to social station, and social station is self-sustaining (the rich spend their money on being rich, the poor spend their money on being poor, and mobility is difficult and unusual), why do we need living expenses?

Your station provides for your basic necessities such as housing, food and drink, animals, servants, upkeep on belongings and adventuring consumables such as ammunition and torches. A PC or NPC can be poor, work-folk, gentry or noble. When you make a reaction roll it is with disadvantage if they are not if your station, if station is applicable.

In addition: If you are poor, you have connections amongst the downtrodden and petty criminal; if you are work-folk, you have connections among clerks, servants and white collar criminals;if you are gentry, you have connections among knights, advisors, and merchants; if you are nobility, you have connections at court, through marriage, and between nations.

You cannot simply change station. You can only become work-folk by keeping 500 GP hidden safely away; can only become gentry through owning property and can only become nobility through royal decree. Your station can be lost in a similar manner. When you change station, you previous connections are unlikely to persist unless you have invested significant time in them, and even then will likely be affected negatively by the change.

We revise reputation, to match these new rules. We add the +1 is a reward for a significant contribution to a specific place (the Village of Homelethe), or a specific domain (the Criminals of Lathegard), but now we have a reason to roll with disadvantage. NPCs station (or lack thereof) becomes important information. There’s a concrete impact to “acting above your station”, which is a neat variable to introduce drama into the game.

When you encounter a new NPC or group of NPCs, the GM makes a reaction check, modified by your reputation. If you have bardic influence, roll with advantage, and if they predisposed against you or are not of your station, roll with disadvantage. The NPCs reaction is determined by the result:

1-2. Positive (friendly, welcoming or receptive)

3-6. Possibly positive (amiable or deliberating)

7-15. Uncertain (indecisive or neutral)

15-18. Possibly negative (suspicious or skeptical)

19-20. Negative (hostile, fleeing, or unreceptive)

Once starting reaction has been determined, it is not rolled again once the NPC knows the party, and their reaction remains stable between meetings. In-world choices can effect change the NPCs disposition towards the party, but rolls (for example, a charisma check) cannot.

Reputation is awarded (+1) for a significant contribution to a location, profession or faction, or for being of the same station, and is effective only in that context. It is recorded on your character sheet.

But Cultivate Relationship remains the same, because modifiers remain obscured:

Cultivate Relationship: You may cultivate a relationship. Relationships are always consecutive branching clocks, with at least four ticks per clock. For friendships, these clocks are Acquaintances, Associates, Friends, and Intimates. For romantic relationships, these clocks are Attention, Flirtation, Tryst, Lovers, Paramours. The GM can create clocks for specific relationship or relationship goals, for example Prove My Worth to Captain Urutangi might be Suspicious, Neutral, Deliberating, Receptive, reflecting Captain Urutangi’s disposition when first encountered. Because Captain Uturangi is starting as hostile to the PC, the first clock may be eight steps or be walled with a specific quest before it can progress. Relationship often have walls that cannot be advanced past without a specific way to deepen the bond. One might also take a free tick for something that occurs outside of downtime that deepens the bond. To advance the clock on a relationship, the player says how their character is strengthening the bond between them. The GM will judge if this makes sense.

This has been a part of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeon Series! Let me know your thoughts on station as a replacement for living expense. if there are questions left unanswered, whether I’ve overlooked anything glaring, or anything of the sort!

Idle Cartulary

11th May 2022