So, we're in the pre-game stage and are buying a load of gear we'll need for the mission. As a result I'm reading the Aquisition rules a lot closer than I have for a long time. There's a LOT of stuff you can do with high earnings. Most OTT idea I came up with was basically hiring 'Alfred' (a Lifestyle TN16 FOC3, Maintenance 8 Butler) to manage your finances and personal life. Then using him to be the majordomo of a house full of similarly skilled specialist staff (both real and virtual). Professional services seem rediculously cheap if you have time (between campaigns) to set them up. Hiring a TN13 FOC3 X (whether real or Quantronic) is R3 3+7N, Maintenance 6. By taking a couple of days to find one even an Earning 3/4 Middle Income status character can afford to have one on retainer. What other crazy things have you seen rich characters do / propose?
I think thats a problem about leaving your players alone with the rulebook. That didnt work well in Shadowrun and other games where characters can have to much money. Its just something you should keep under control as GM. Talk about this with your players and establish a power level from the beginning on which your campaign is set. Its realy a problem if you let your players losse with dice and lists without control.
Yup. It's also, I think, that you should feel ok - as a GM - going "Yeah, I'm going to struggle fitting a hyper-rich character into my game. Why would your 'trust fund kid' be slumming it with this crowd AND still have access to their family credit line?" Explaining that is either going to create a cool backstory, or you can modify it easily at character creation. That being said, in an environment where the character is Hyper-rich, their having a staff at their palatial home is entirely reasonable.
I've had a Hyper-Elite character with bonkers Lifestyle and Persuade in my game from day 1. It's been a trial to manage at times, but to be honest T2 ammunition is far more game breaking. Of course, by this stage he's kitted out basically the whole team with TO Camo, MSV+BioVisors and Power Armour. But that's actually fairly easily managed by making using them socially (and politically) unacceptable for the majority of the time. Sure, when they are "going in hot" they can really load themselves out, but that's not most of our game. I think the best use of his money which I've seen was when they needed to get information on Bakunin and he threw a "Morats and Myrmidons" themed party, inviting the entire upper social strata of the ship just so that they could get "one on one" time with a couple of key assets.
Ýou have an ingame / background example for such a carakter: Miranda Ashcroft, so i think it could be ok, but its a bit of a challenge to fit in. Personly i think its mostly about knowing your players and what kind of adventures you want to play. As any p&p RPG you play with other people so, let someone do such a thing just for easier gear grinding would be a no go for me as a GM. The question here is, will the player abuse it or will he use it more for roleplaying.
You’ve got to ask yourself, does it matter? Does it take away from the fun? I’ll share a little anekdote : I was player in the old Call of Cthulhu campaign - Horror on the Orient Express. Where 4 out 5 characters rolled up to be filthy rich - the final character an old mentor/anthropology professor had ruined his finances on balancing his mind between Laudanum and Cocaine. It actually took an interesting turn, as the campaign turned troupe-style with the characters hiring henchmen and hangarounds to do their dirty deeds and face unimaginable horrors - a sort of Lovecraft and Agatha Christie lovechild. And soon the entourage was filled with internal strife, as Tzarist bodyguards faced off with Italien anarchists, and people were thrown off trains. The only thing it takes, is for characters to have different motivation from to go kill rats on the promise of gold pieces. ADD: Of course, if it is possible for a 3/4 middle income to hire skilled retainers, then the rules just might need a little tweaking. As those characters would probably demand a suitable lifestyle.
The other angle is to simply send your players to places where there's no infrastructure. If they are on an unexplored planet then they aren't buying anything, and if they are on a "Security Clearance Infinity" mission then they aren't bringing "retainers" along for the ride. It's not great to do all the time, but it certainly helps constrain things for a while. But they aren't totally shafted, as they can always buy up before they go, leaving them (hopefully) feeling ok overall about their investment in their abilities paying off.
i think the approach to characters who are wealthy is to make their wealth both their advantage and their Achilles heel. having lots of money is fine, but there can always be people trying to maneuver them out of their wealth, whether it be Rutger Hauer in Batman or a more literal body double a la Candy Double. something along the lines of more money, more problems might balance out any issue of "player abuse"
