Hi,

Looking through the luxury lifestyle it mentions you have a mansion for a house. What else does a luxury lifestyle include besides an AMEX black card?

Do you have a retinue with you at all times? Do you also have to deal with daddy's empire? Does your going to the local restaurant involve flashbulbs popping as the paparazzi take pictures fo you on the carpet?

Can you get into every club, by simply flashing your smile? Does the police stop you just to get an autograph? Do your ex-boyfriends/girlfriends sell your dirty laundry (both metaphorical and literal) for frontline space a movie, and a tell-all book deal?

-Chrysalis

just because you live in luxury doesn't mean you are known to the entire world?

at least in my opinion, of course there is a reason for you having the money to have such a lifestyle, but maybe not having the entire world or even locals know why you got them.

I would say it is to decide between Gm and the player with luxury.

side note, I dont personally fanc having a guy/girl working in the shadows worth 100k a month:P think it would endanger the team more then normal:P

Luxury Lifestyle ?
most everything is for Free(equipment and licenses), you have few Cars ,your own Bodyguards and (do you call it Posse or Entourage ? )well.... People working for you
( lots of free Contacts 'cause you pay them with your Lifestyle)
You're going to meet Mr.J in a fancy Disco/Club?Get yourself a VIP Lounge with Security from this Disco/Club

with a luxurious Dance
Medicineman

You think flashy because you see all the movie and music stars on tv. However, how often do you see the multi-millionaire businessmen on tv? There are people worth more than any movie, sport, music star yet they aren't all over the tv. Think about Michael Jordan, other than Hanes commercials when you do you see him anymore? Yet last I heard his business was worth $500 million (probably less with the current troubles, but still in the hundreds surely.) That is someone who used to be in the news a fair bit, yet now nothing really. So if it is possible for someone like him, then should easily be possible for a normal businessman much less a shadowrunner.

Also you have to remember that the mega-corps don't want big huge news coverage of shadworunners. There might be stories about a job that was done, but there aren't interviews with the guys/gals that did it. They don't want people like that talking. So if you are a shadowrunner pulling in 100k+ a month, or you saved up enough to buy your luxury lifestyle the corps that control news outlets probably quietly make sure reporters don't hound you. If you amassed that kind of money you got big time dirty laundry on multiple corps. They don't want that aired out, and at that point you probably don't want to try to air it out either.

So if you are a regular at a club, then sure the employees and other regulars know you have money. They probably don't know how you came by it, the might suspect but they don't know. Same with restaraunts, vacation spots, etc. People working for you may or may not know. It probably isn't their first job working for someone with money, so weird security measures a runner would take probably are fairly normal for them to deal with.

I'm 100% positive with it, there's difference betwen wealth and fame, you can be the big thing of the moment, being worshiped by the masses and living in the luxury one week, and be left with the scraps when the next big thing hits the chart; the one that makes the money is the one that holds the copyrights over your work, he might be famous but might be unknown to the most as well. Also consider that rich people usualy protect their privacy so you must be part of the circle to know who someone is (meaning his/hers life story) and how he had made his money; if you are not you are going to know that he has the money to pay for luxury, and you might or might not know his/hers name.

If you want to be famous take the quality

with a famous dance
Medicineman

I like the expanded lifestyle rules in Runner's Companion, because they give more variety. The descriptions under each category are great if you want to break down, specifically, what a Luxury lifestyle gives you. But you can also make lifestyles for a street samurai who lives in a run-down place but hits the high-roller clubs and parties like a rock star, or the mage who lives in a place that seems average, but has an aspected domain and an attached workshed that can be used as a magical lodge.

QFT
Advanced Lifestyle rules are great (not perfect but undeniably great), it's a shame that there are people that just ignores them because it's more bookeeping as they give a whoole additional level of realism, and more options for roleplaying and character definition.

How is it more bookkeeping, you just desing your life style and calculate the monthly cost in chargen and then you pay that amount every month just like standart lifestyles.

If you put effort into being a socialite. Money opens certain doors, and let's face it - go look at the posturing wanker section (the social pages) of your local metropolitan paper. Have you ever heard of these people? No, but people still do the flash bulbs.

Sorry my brainpower is limited, what would it mean?

I think he's pointing out the celebutants, like Kim Kardashian who have no money of their own or accomplishments of note but get attention from the media.

I agree with those posters who've already noted the difference between luxery and fame. If you want, a luxery lifestyle can mean the glittering world but that's kind of hard to be and still run the shadows. I mean think about it,
"Can you Identify the woman who hit you?"
"Yeah she looked just like Paris Hilton."

or look at how Britney Spears melt down was compeltely covered by the media as she was taken away in a rubber truck.

BUT luxery lifestyle can mean all the perks without the cameras. I mean look at htose travel shows when they say how much the luxery villas/hotel suite/ship's cabin costs. You htink these are all getting rented out by Brad Pitt and robert Redford? Nope, there are lots of people with LOTS of money who do not raise a blip on the general consciousness except maybe as the occassional glimps in the background as the media frenzy swarms around the starlet of the momment.

Celebrities rely on fame and notice to make their living. But most people with bucks don't need to be known by the genral public. Think about it, until his plan fell apart how many people had heard of Bernie Madoff but the man lives in a $7 million dollar penthouse in Manhattan and stole 50 Billion dollars.

Early SR modules like Queen Euphoria and Mercurial do give examples of luxery lifestyle as do things like the tranvel channel, Cribs and Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless, but I do really like the break down of lifestyles in the suppliment. Even if you decide you don't like the book keeping as too much trouble, it gives you examples of what the differnet levels give you.

As for an entourage, do you need one? Celebrities need someone to track their belongings and make their appointments and tell them they're wonderful. maybe, MAYBE you need a secretary but do you really want someone that lcvose to your business if you're still running? Keep the personal admin aid at a distance, like on the phone. "Yuki I need a flight to Paris in the morning, thanks."

By comparrison look at James Bond in the movie Casino Royal, he has no problem driving his own car, finding a htoel and getitng pretty darn good digs all on his and before any of you say "but he's a super spy" if you're a shadowrunner who can afford luxery lifestyle, then you're doing pretty darn good too!

A lot of the entourage is people who suddenly gained fame and money want people around them who they think they can trust and lots of people who knew them are looking for the meal ticket.

Any runner with the classic entourage is insane. Possible a security team might work for some situations, but very low profile. Though you could have the entourage be the PC runners...

Batman has Alfred !

with Batdance
Medicineman

Agreed on the big difference between wealth and fame. Hell, I personally know some rather rich people, even extremely so...but they are otherwise quite average. They have nice-ass houses, cars, and perks, but they can walk to a bar and have a drink, and the only way they might be ''famous'' is in a circle of friends because they buy a lot of rounds for the table.

If someone wanted a luxury lifestyle, I'm sure they might be ''kinda known'' at their favorite high-end clubs, maybe, by the doormen(for giving good tips), or the bartenders(always buying expensive stuff), but I wouldn't call them ''famous'' by any stretch of the word. On the same side, they could take ''Fame'', and not be rich at all(washed up old child actor who squandered their money, but damn, EVERYONE knows who they are!)

The only problem I have as a GM is trying to get a balanced income going for a party. In the case of, say, 5 members, 1 has Low, 3 Middle and one High, I try to give enough payment that everyone can cover their lifestyles. The Middles and the Low end up with more cash per month, though-but that's a benefit, IMO, to living more reasonably. The High person blows their pay on keeping their nice pad, while the others blow the nuyen on other things, and don't care as much where they live.

Throw a Luxury into the mix, though, and it's tough to go handing out 100,000 a month to the party. The reasonable folks will BLOW ahead(where otherwise, they're only making out with a bit more ''free spending money'' in the situation above.) I was working on a kind of system that might allow someone who wants a Luxury lifestyle to sort of do some investing/etc, and the like, and of course if they come to me with ideas of how they wish to make money when they aren't running, I'm all ears. I've never had to deal with anyone who actually took the Luxury yet, though. Yet. I'm sure someone will some day.

A great example of this is in the old fanfic on Winterhawk's page.

Winterhawk is a prime runner, but he also definitly has the luxury life style. He has a condo in Seatle and a mansion in the UK with an estate, large library and a housekeeper. He has at least 2-3 cars that he has between the UK and Seatle. Add on to that he has is nobility and has enough cash that he doesn't NEED to run, but still does.

He does date famous women, but the papers always talk about Lord Stone. They never make the connection between Winterhawk the runner and Dr. Stone thy guy who teaches freshman thamaturgy.

my PC in one campine had a luxyary lifestyle but swaped it in for a street/low level one. But keept the 100K a month trust fund XD. Long plat arch he lives quite well but bearly ever spends any thing. but blows the big bucks almost randomly. THis is because he spends most of his time roughting it in extrem places or working as a merc.

Well, to set the record straight, 'Hawk didn't really have Luxury lifestyle until the end part of his career. Before that I'd say he had High--yeah, he had the manor in England, but he barely had enough money to keep it running with one caretaker and half of it boarded up because they didn't want to pay to restore it. The title was really a bit of a joke--his father had it so he inherited it, but it was so minor that it didn't mean squat in the real world (and he refused to acknowledge it anyway)--and he only dated one famous woman (she was an in-joke too--she was an NPC that appeared in a game that Mike Stackpole ran for us back in the early '90s, and he told me I could do whatever I wanted with her since he had just made her up for that game session).

I still remember one time somebody wrote an absolutely scathing parody of one of my stories--I've still got it somewhere--where 'Hawk ended up as a bad Batman wannabe. The funny thing is, it never really occurred to me that there were a few parallels until somebody pointed it out.

Sorry to hijack--just popping in because I'm bored today and it's nice to see that people still remember 'Hawk.

My main question is why would someone with a luxury lifestyle be a shadowrunner? Shadowrunners tend to be people that have nothing to lose and thus can do illegal work for/against the different corporations. If a mega-corp (even a single A) found out you had a luxury lifestyle you can be sure that it will be a pile of rubble withing the hour.

I always had players retire Shadowrunners that were able to get a Luxury lifestyle (they've made it and don't need the shadows anymore). Even a High lifestyle is pushing it IMHO.

Did you not read that diamond heist article?

And why would a megacorp care what lifestyle you lead? Shadowrunners are an asset to hire and use, rich or poor. They paid you that lifestyle presumably because you're that good. Smoking pile of rubble - why would they blow up the hotel suite they're renting you?

Criminals often attempt to live beyond their means. Renting executive suites and showering their women with expensive jewelry and goods. Living large is what it's all about - next week you may be back in the gutter or dead. Spend it while you got it.

I normally do rule that players starting with a luxury lifestyle have some other source of income and only let them pay for high per month.
The reason those people have for shadowrunning were either simply thrill seeking or a huge favour they owe to another player so far.
I do have much more trouble with characters that started low or medium and later can afford a permanent high lifestyle during the game then with someone starting out rich.

The standard "runners live their own life, and meet for runs" set up can run into trouble with such diverse income brackets. But a runner team based upon a luxury lifestyle - one member is the rich sponsor, or leader of sorts, the rest the entourage, maybe posing as staff, or hanger-ons, or such, and given a slightly-persuading goal (recover the lost whatever, avenge your dead parents once you find their elusive kilelr, lead your private war against corporation Y, etc.) for the rich leader can work very well.

Usually it's about thrill seeking. Everything has been tried except being a criminal. Living a padded life makes you want to feel the rush of adrenaline.

Besides which he could be a successful day trader or a bored hausfrau.

-Chrysalis

yeah if we get to where we can buy a high lifestyle we've usually retiured the character. The other way this works though is if you want some part of your life to be 'luxery'

As for who would want it, from litterature I'd take robert Parker's hitman 'Hawk" and James Bond- a senior civil servant who enjoys osme of the finer things.