MET LARP SRD

There are many ways to acquire goods, services, property, and luxuries in the World of Darkness, but ready access to money is one of the oldest and most reliable. Vampires often maintain some kind of cash flow, though they must do so either through mortal proxies, alternate identities, or other subterfuges, and even then they must be wary of attracting the wrong kind of attention: they cannot afford to trigger an audit from government financial institutions, or become the focus of a securities fraud investigation. The Resources background measures your character’s purchasing power, available credit, accumulated assets, and liquid cash reserves.

Resources may be actual cash, but as this background’s rating increases, it is more likely that the character has significant investments in stocks and bonds, real estate, or hedge funds than piles of cash sitting around. At the upper end of the background, she may gain money by exerting control over a corporation, criminal syndicate, or religious institution; or she may own a large amount of land, live off a trust fund, smuggle precious objects d’art, control a massive criminal infrastructure, or receive significant tithes from control of the church. A character with no dots in the Resources background is impoverished. She has enough clothing and supplies to survive, and she may live in a cheap motel or a small apartment (or something similar). Characters without Resources have little or no liquid cash and cannot afford luxury items. They rarely, if ever, pay their debts.

The Resources background provides a guideline for a general standard of living. It shows wealth and buying power in mortal equivalents; most vampires who have Sufficient Resources do not pay taxes, for example, and almost none earn an income from holding down a regular job. The gulf between each dot of Resources widens considerably the farther up the scale you go, but the exact amount of cash your character has on hand should be decided by the Storyteller. You must also work with your Storyteller to detail exactly where your character’s money comes from and how it can be accessed.

The Storyteller should also adjust the details of this background so that it is appropriate for her setting and chronicle. Standards of living can vary markedly between geographic areas, and what’s acknowledged as Comfortable in one community might be considered Sufficient in another.

* Sufficient: You can maintain a typical working class residence: a small house or condo. You can afford an economical car, you pay your bills on time, and you can purchase simple luxuries like good-quality electronics or occasional vacations to other countries. Through careful management of your finances, you may spend up to $1,000 in liquid cash per month.

** Moderate: You can support an upper-middleclass lifestyle and home with the occasional lavish gift or conspicuous indulgences such as multiple vehicles or a time-share condominium in addition to your comfortable home. You can employ a servant or personal assistant, or hire temporary help as necessary. You can spend up to $2,500 in liquid cash per month.

*** Comfortable: You are a prominent and established member of your community with land investments, a large, luxurious home, and at least one second home in a fashionable vacation destination. You likely have more money tied up in investments and property than you do in ready cash. You can spend up to $20,000 in liquid cash per month without much concern.

**** Wealthy: You rarely touch cash, as most of your assets exist in tangible forms that are themselves more valuable and stable than paper money, such as gold, diamonds, and gems, or in massive credit reserves based on these holdings. You hold more wealth than many who would claim to be your peers, but it’s likely they underestimate your true total net worth. At this level of wealth, banks and government institutions closely monitor how you convert your money to cash. You can easily spend up to $100,000 in liquid cash per month without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

***** Extremely Wealthy: You are the model others wish to emulate, at least in popular opinion. You have vast and widely distributed assets, perhaps tied to the fates of nations, each managed by large, specialized staffs and supported with connections to every level of society through a region. Corporations and governments sometimes come to you to buy into stocks or bond programs. If there is something you want, and it is possible to buy, you can purchase it without the cost affecting your bottom line. At this level of wealth, the banks, the IRS, and other agencies closely monitor how you convert your money to cash. You can easily spend up to $250,000 in liquid cash per month without attracting the wrong kind of attention.