This is by way of a companion post to my earlier post about "Target 20" Modern, since I've been chewing over some thinks about TTRPGs set in the "modern" era. The most direct way I can put the problem that's been eating at me is thus:
Now, one can probably argue the point that fantasy settings don't have capitalism; they certainly have much larger and more universal cash economies than were present in the historical periods they tend to be based on. However the players' characters are not generally expected to work for wages and pay rents. In a modern setting it would be extremely strange if the players' characters did not do these things.
d20 Modern's method of dealing with this problem was...not to? The d20 system's abstract mechanic of Wealth checks has very little to do with the actual mechanics of wage work and paying bills. WotC either didn't give the question much thought or they thought that representing capitalism with more fidelity would take away from the cinematic mood of the game. So, in cinematic fashion, our actual economic system is more or less not represented.
The same can be said for modern or universal games like GURPS that, in an effort not to bog down play with fiduciary details or require players to take up double-entry accounting, abstract everything away to fixed lifestyle costs that are deducted from your income.
I felt that a financial mechanic could make the game feel more grounded in the modern day. So, I've endeavored to create a mechanic to use wages and rents to mark the passage of in-game time, somewhat after the fashion of what is described in this excellent blog post, but with an emphasis on finances instead of noteworthy events. What follows is an economics system with only the bookkeeping elements (and those greatly simplified); you won't find any price lists for consumer goods and services.
Home Economics
There are two social classes: one sells their labor to earn wages, and the other collects the revenues from properties or enterprises they own. The assumption is that heroes belong to the working class; if they belong to the owning class, we may presume that they have people who take care of their money for them, and not concern ourselves with it.
As time passes, keep track of the cash savings of each home. Savings, wages and rents are all measured in bills, whose translation into actual currency depends on the time and place. Add together the total wages of everyone in the home; the ref will tell you your rent which includes other recurring costs as well, simplified to a single number. If you own a home outright, your rent will likely be low; mortgage payments, however, are still considered rents because, if you fail to pay, you may still lose your home.
Steady work should pay no less than 2-3 bills a month; more highly-regarded jobs will pay more, perhaps 3-4 for a union job, 5-6 for a manager and 7-10 for a professional. Most steady work comes with insurance. The wages of shift of gig work depend on availability; as a rule of thumb, roll a 1d3 for every month for day laborers, gig workers, street vendors or similar. Shift work does not come with insurance.
A bed in a boarding-house or hostel has a rent of 2, a room or small apartment a rent of 3, a larger apartment or flat 4-5, a private house 5 or more (depending on its size). When buying a home, one may negotiate the rent, so long as one has savings for a down payment (100 bills or more for a single-family home), has steady work and isn't too disreputable for the bank. Characters from marginalized groups or whose living arrangements are too different from the nuclear family may simply be unable to buy homes at all, and may be unable to rent in many places.
The unit of time that we track is the week. For the purposes of gameplay, the months are made up of weeks like so:
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1-5 | 6-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-23 | 24-27 | 28-31 | 32-35 | 37-40 | 41-44 | 45-48 | 49-52 |
How often unexpected costs come up depends on lifestyle. Each person in the home making repairs, keeping an eye out for deals and generally economizing is considered one thrift. Each dependent in the home, each person who buys ready-made meals or drinks in bars is considered one expense. Owning a home is also considered an expense, on account of the responsibility for upkeep and repair.
- Roll one die, plus one for ever thrift and every expense.
- For each thrift, discard the lowest die.
- For each expense, discard the highest die.
- The remaining die indicates how many weeks pass before the next bill comes due. If the home has insurance, only costs with 3 weeks or less between them reduce savings by one bill. Otherwise they all do.
If savings run out, you had better figure out somewhere for the money to come from before rent is due. Rent is due at the beginning of the month and wages are paid at the end of each month. Thus, unless you have savings equal to your rent, you will not be able to pay it on time. Every time you are late with your rent, you must re-roll your landlord's reaction, with a circumstance bonus of 8 for a first time, 4 for a second, 2 for a third, 1 for a fourth and 0 if this is common. On a hostile reaction, you may be evicted.
Characters without a home cannot gain any benefit from resting and may find it very difficult to find a job or a home; those struggles are perhaps best played out in-game.
Simulator
Enter your information into the simulator below, and watch your household fortunes unfold. At present, it assumes steady work and insurance.
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