One of the things that I was hoping would get addressed in the 2024 version of the Core Rules was how lifestyle (and the cost associated with them) affected characters in game mechanic terms. Since it has not, I'd like to implement a house rule regarding lifestyle costs and benefits. Below is what I've come up with, and I would love your feedback! The Benefit/Detriment column shows how the character is affected after a Long Rest.
Lifestyle Benefits
Lifestyles are important to a character's overall health and how others view them. To represent this, the following table establishes the benefits/costs of Lifestyles. In general, lifestyles can be paid upfront a month at a time however, that monthly pattern can be overridden, usually by paying a higher lifestyle cost than a character's default for the day. Lifestyle costs are paid for before the effect of the Lifestyle is conferred. The effects of a Lifestyle reset after a Long Rest (e.g., Kronk pays for a Wealthy Lifestyle on day 1 and receives the benefits of that Lifestyle, but on day 2 he only pays for a Modest Lifestyle -- the benefits of the Wealthy Lifestyle are not conferred on Day 2).
Lifestyle
Cost per Day/Month
Benefit/Detriment
Wretched
none
Exhaustion* Level 3
Squallid
1/30 sp
Exhaustion* Level 2
Poor
2/60 sp
Exhaustion* Level 1
Modest
1/30 gp
none
Comfortable
2/60 gp
Inspiration
Wealthy
4/120 gp
Inspiration, +2 on Social
Aristocratic
10/300 gp
Inspiration, +4 on Social
*Exhaustion from lifestyles does not accumulate day-to-day but instead resets each day. Typically, only one level of exhaustion can be cleared after a Long Rest. As written in the 2024 Core Rules (refer to the rules for the Condition of Exhaustion), enduring a Wretched lifestyle for three days would lead to a character's death. For the purposes of these rules, however, the Exhaustion Level resets after a Long Rest to reflect the Lifestyle cost incurred the previous day.
In a survival campaign with low magic, this could be one way to interpret it.
But I feel like its fair to mention that lifestyle danger and benefits are explained in the Lifestyle Expenses in the Compendium.
Wretched: High risk of getting robbed, mugged, or murdered in your sleep. Limited likelihood of being noticed implies it's difficult to find well-paying missions.
Squalid: Risk of disease, attacks by vermin, and a moderate risk of getting robbed, mugged or murdered. Insanity is also an implied risk, or at least encountering mentally unstable people who may wander into your hut. You'll also at a higher risk of contracting a disease.
Poor: "You benefit from some legal protections, but you still have to contend with violence, crime, and disease. People at this lifestyle level tend to be unskilled laborers, costermongers, peddlers, thieves, mercenaries, and other disreputable types."
Moderate: No real penalties, except the cost. And you encounter people who may have quests for you. "families, laborers, students, priests, hedge wizards, and the like"
Comfortable: Aside from needing to protect the loot your store in your cottage, you don't have any real risks. You'll also encounter "merchants, skilled tradespeople, and military officers" who have higher paying quests, and are more comfortable with hiring someone of your obvious stature.
Wealthy: You have servants who tend your home (and theoretically manage your businesses) so there's a chance of passive income that isn't exclusively reliant on your adventuring skills. Also, these servants can (presumably) be brought along as hirelings. Influence is also implied. You can speak with the local aristocracy and claim the big bounties.
Aristocrat: Aside to access to nobility and royalty, hirelings at your disposal, and plenty of storage for your amassed treasure horde, there's a stated likelihood of being drawn into political intrigue. The city subplots that a player could get into alone could determine the fate of the entire city.
Honestly, i think it could have been left out entirely. Seems like unnecessary book keeping.
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
If nothing else, it helps provide some benchmarks for the comparative value of currency: 60 silver is one to two month's wages to a lower class worker but only a week or two's worth to someone who's comfortably middle class. Now, as I find myself saying far too often about the new PHB, they could certainly have stood to elaborate a little more on the concepts rather than give the most dry and barebones summation possible.
The exhaustion & inspiration aspect is so arbitrary, it does not seem accurate. If you have to try to earn enough silver, to be squalid/wretched, then exhaustion makes sense. But not if you are just hanging out in those conditions. No idea how living wealthy like gives inspiration.
Honestly, i think it could have been left out entirely. Seems like unnecessary book keeping.
As my various DMs have said, Lifestyle costs soak up the loot that a PC 'liberates' from a dungeon.
And as various DMs including myself have said "This is a game about magic and treasure finding, the only time rent will come up is if i am introducing an 80's movie villain style antagonist who is going to foreclose an orphanage." well maybe i am the only who says it that way.
The majority of the people i have played with didn't find it interesting or specifically picked background features that let them skip it. I have found that a lot of people don't like or use it, and have not met anyone in person who does.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
The exhaustion & inspiration aspect is so arbitrary, it does not seem accurate. If you have to try to earn enough silver, to be squalid/wretched, then exhaustion makes sense. But not if you are just hanging out in those conditions. No idea how living wealthy like gives inspiration.
I get some of the logic behind the rule. But i am in full agreement with your stance.
It is assuming that "Wretched" and "Squalid" has no access to food beyond barely staving off starvation, and Poor is undernourished.
the social parts are " People respect the rich more easily" kind of thing.
But as i have said in previous posts, i don't use this system, and i don't know any DMs that do. It does feel Arbitrary even when i can parse out the logic behind it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
If your campaign likes to gloss over mundane concerns such as balanced, nutritious meals and adequate sleep in a warm, safe bed (that is NOT a Mimic!), then feel free to ignore the Lifestyle issue.
If your campaign does not care about Lifestyle issues, then you probably do not to worry about having a Bastion or a manor house.
That is the kind of fussy "rules for rules sake" that was popular in the 80's. The DM can set story penalties or complications for living a poor lifestyle, and really what adventurer is that short of gold after a couple of adventures anyway?
That is the kind of fussy "rules for rules sake" that was popular in the 80's. The DM can set story penalties or complications for living a poor lifestyle, and really what adventurer is that short of gold after a couple of adventures anyway?
As I have commented before, life style expenses are a way to soak up the loot that you haul out of a dungeon plus it gives you an incentive to become a Patron of a sort to some of the local NPCs.
One of the things that I was hoping would get addressed in the 2024 version of the Core Rules was how lifestyle (and the cost associated with them) affected characters in game mechanic terms. Since it has not, I'd like to implement a house rule regarding lifestyle costs and benefits. Below is what I've come up with, and I would love your feedback! The Benefit/Detriment column shows how the character is affected after a Long Rest.
Lifestyle Benefits
Lifestyles are important to a character's overall health and how others view them. To represent this, the following table establishes the benefits/costs of Lifestyles. In general, lifestyles can be paid upfront a month at a time however, that monthly pattern can be overridden, usually by paying a higher lifestyle cost than a character's default for the day. Lifestyle costs are paid for before the effect of the Lifestyle is conferred. The effects of a Lifestyle reset after a Long Rest (e.g., Kronk pays for a Wealthy Lifestyle on day 1 and receives the benefits of that Lifestyle, but on day 2 he only pays for a Modest Lifestyle -- the benefits of the Wealthy Lifestyle are not conferred on Day 2).
*Exhaustion from lifestyles does not accumulate day-to-day but instead resets each day. Typically, only one level of exhaustion can be cleared after a Long Rest. As written in the 2024 Core Rules (refer to the rules for the Condition of Exhaustion), enduring a Wretched lifestyle for three days would lead to a character's death. For the purposes of these rules, however, the Exhaustion Level resets after a Long Rest to reflect the Lifestyle cost incurred the previous day.
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
Seems a bit extreme and unrealistic, and unfun starting out, but after an adventure or two, irrelevant.
In a survival campaign with low magic, this could be one way to interpret it.
But I feel like its fair to mention that lifestyle danger and benefits are explained in the Lifestyle Expenses in the Compendium.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Honestly, i think it could have been left out entirely. Seems like unnecessary book keeping.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
If nothing else, it helps provide some benchmarks for the comparative value of currency: 60 silver is one to two month's wages to a lower class worker but only a week or two's worth to someone who's comfortably middle class. Now, as I find myself saying far too often about the new PHB, they could certainly have stood to elaborate a little more on the concepts rather than give the most dry and barebones summation possible.
As my various DMs have said, Lifestyle costs soak up the loot that a PC 'liberates' from a dungeon.
The exhaustion & inspiration aspect is so arbitrary, it does not seem accurate. If you have to try to earn enough silver, to be squalid/wretched, then exhaustion makes sense. But not if you are just hanging out in those conditions. No idea how living wealthy like gives inspiration.
And as various DMs including myself have said "This is a game about magic and treasure finding, the only time rent will come up is if i am introducing an 80's movie villain style antagonist who is going to foreclose an orphanage." well maybe i am the only who says it that way.
The majority of the people i have played with didn't find it interesting or specifically picked background features that let them skip it. I have found that a lot of people don't like or use it, and have not met anyone in person who does.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
I get some of the logic behind the rule. But i am in full agreement with your stance.
It is assuming that "Wretched" and "Squalid" has no access to food beyond barely staving off starvation, and Poor is undernourished.
the social parts are " People respect the rich more easily" kind of thing.
But as i have said in previous posts, i don't use this system, and i don't know any DMs that do. It does feel Arbitrary even when i can parse out the logic behind it.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
If your campaign likes to gloss over mundane concerns such as balanced, nutritious meals and adequate sleep in a warm, safe bed (that is NOT a Mimic!), then feel free to ignore the Lifestyle issue.
If your campaign does not care about Lifestyle issues, then you probably do not to worry about having a Bastion or a manor house.
If so, then simply ignore this entire topic.
That is the kind of fussy "rules for rules sake" that was popular in the 80's. The DM can set story penalties or complications for living a poor lifestyle, and really what adventurer is that short of gold after a couple of adventures anyway?
As I have commented before, life style expenses are a way to soak up the loot that you haul out of a dungeon plus it gives you an incentive to become a Patron of a sort to some of the local NPCs.
Plus, again, it helps give some reference point for the value of money outside of buying gear and magic items. Helpful for various parts of roleplay.