Full Version: What to spend money on
| QUOTE (Eyeless Blond) |
Karma is really just life experiences, and family's a good way to rack up the character building.  |
You must have met my significant other's family...
Karma is also overcoming adversity, which is where *my* family comes in. 
karma is also xp per kill, which is where my--wait, no.
I usually make cash for karma make scene.
Eg. Expensive ritual components that make learning a spell easier, or expensive personal trainers that will teach you the skill you want to learn.
Edward
Eg. Expensive ritual components that make learning a spell easier, or expensive personal trainers that will teach you the skill you want to learn.
Edward
You might seriously think about retroacively paying a little more per Karma point. I have never heard of anyone paying less than 5k for a Karma Point. Hell, I played in a game once where the ratio was 100,000 nuyen per point of Karma.
5k for a karma point?
Sheesh... So someone breaks into a compound, nicks a nice, custom cyberdeck, pawns it off and learns enough to raise a new skill from 0 to 5?
Sheesh... So someone breaks into a compound, nicks a nice, custom cyberdeck, pawns it off and learns enough to raise a new skill from 0 to 5?
| QUOTE (Aes) |
| 5k for a karma point? Sheesh... So someone breaks into a compound, nicks a nice, custom cyberdeck, pawns it off and learns enough to raise a new skill from 0 to 5? |
Beats the 1k nuyen that mfb was talking about.
What is the exchange rate in your game? Personally, I usually set the cost at around 25k/point.
Well, if they're willing to pay 25k for a karma point when they ask, I *might* settle for throwing something heavy at them rather than kicking them in the gonads. Buying experience with money is silly.
Karma should be coveted. Simply buying experience with stolen goods cheapens it.
Karma should be coveted. Simply buying experience with stolen goods cheapens it.
There is always the requirement that some kind of logical reason for any such exchange exists.
You are entitled to your opinion, but Cash for Karma (and it's reverse) are included as optional rules in the game, and in my experience, and from what I've read here (and elsewhere), are a relatively common in most games.
You are entitled to your opinion, but Cash for Karma (and it's reverse) are included as optional rules in the game, and in my experience, and from what I've read here (and elsewhere), are a relatively common in most games.
Well, you did ask for my opinion. Would you rather I had lied?
I'm fully aware it is a common optional rule, operative word being optional.
I'm fully aware it is a common optional rule, operative word being optional.
In my former campaign it was 35,000 nuyen for 1 point of karma. It was a high-powered campaign: all the chars had at least 200 karma earned and the normal pay for a run was 100,000 per person.
In my current campaign it's 5,000 for 1 point of karma. But the usual pay per runner is between 15,000 and 20,000 nuyen (that's why my ex-cop sells drugs...).
We had the house rule not to buy more than 2 points of karma per month. Worked out fine. Our mage bought herself a real big mansion with a huge park, both totally run-down. Spend nearly 2,000,000 nuyen to repair all damage at the house and get a nice park. My ki-ad wasted a lot of money each month of drugs and nights in clubs. We never had too much money despite the high pay.
In my current campaign it's 5,000 for 1 point of karma. But the usual pay per runner is between 15,000 and 20,000 nuyen (that's why my ex-cop sells drugs...).
We had the house rule not to buy more than 2 points of karma per month. Worked out fine. Our mage bought herself a real big mansion with a huge park, both totally run-down. Spend nearly 2,000,000 nuyen to repair all damage at the house and get a nice park. My ki-ad wasted a lot of money each month of drugs and nights in clubs. We never had too much money despite the high pay.
erm..... can i change my answer?
GUNS!
cant get enough guns, especially after the last run we did!
torz x
Yeah, most Cash for Karma (and vice versa) rules come with some sort of roleplaying and limit-per-time period stipulation. 5k nuyen is a hefty price in most of the campaigns that we run... rarely do the shadowrunners earn more than 5-10k each per shadowrun (depending on the job), and even with the possibility of stolen goods, none of them have ever earned the coveted "1 million nuyen to retire" except in one of the first campaigns we ran back in high school. What ends up happening is that all the Mages buy Karma (and are dead broke) and all the mundanes end up coverting Karma into Cash (mostly to make the monthly lifestyle and upkeep payments).
I never played a mundane who converted karma into nuyen. Not worth the effort. For me improvements are much more worte than the nuyen one got for a single point of karma. Its much better selling stolen cars, drug or organs to pay the upkeep for your lifestyle.
| QUOTE (Grinder) |
| I never played a mundane who converted karma into nuyen. Not worth the effort. For me improvements are much more worte than the nuyen one got for a single point of karma. Its much better selling stolen cars, drug or organs to pay the upkeep for your lifestyle. |
Depends on what your GM will let you get away with, I guess. In our games, stealing cars/mojo/organs/drugs/etc. brings the ire of various parties down on the character's contacts, and eventually the character (when the character's contacts sell him out because of the heat). Fencing stolen goods counts for the Wrong Party rolls, basically. Besides, if the character can make that much cash from stealing items/paydata, then why the heck is he a shadowrunner in the first place?
Cash for Karma is "scot-free" money in our games, representing winning at a casino (we are currently in Vegas, so its entirely appropriate) or other windfalls. Also, we allow Cash for Karma in situations in-game where the PCs have to organize and gain cash in a fairly quick manner... pulling favors from friends, markers, liquidating stocks, pulling out that savings bond, or even outright extortion, etc.
I've never had a PC in my games that has traded Karma for Cash either.
I've never had a PC in my games that was sloppy enough stealing a car to get ire brought down.
~J
~J
One thing I haven't seen yet that has always been a cash drain for mages in our games.
Elementals, lots of elementals, and long lasting watchers. Always have the maximum number of elementals and watchers on call.
Say for example you're a charisma 6 mage, why not have six force 6 elementals on call, (36,000 nuyen in ritual materials) and have a pack of six force 3 watchers with six week long lifespans (another 36,000 in ritual materials) on hand at all times, and be a magical/astral one man army!
Elementals, lots of elementals, and long lasting watchers. Always have the maximum number of elementals and watchers on call.
Say for example you're a charisma 6 mage, why not have six force 6 elementals on call, (36,000 nuyen in ritual materials) and have a pack of six force 3 watchers with six week long lifespans (another 36,000 in ritual materials) on hand at all times, and be a magical/astral one man army!
| QUOTE (Edward) |
| What to spend money on ... What else is there to spend money on? |
Whores and booze.
| QUOTE (Catsnightmare) |
| One thing I haven't seen yet that has always been a cash drain for mages in our games. Elementals, lots of elementals, and long lasting watchers. Always have the maximum number of elementals and watchers on call. |
One reason is because you can use Enchanting during the downtime to make this pretty much a non-issue.
| QUOTE (Fortune) | ||
One reason is because you can use Enchanting during the downtime to make this pretty much a non-issue. |
Not to mention the money-generator that is Enchanting... 44,000 nuyen of radicals suddenly becomes 6 to X units of Orichalcum, worth 88,000 nuyen a pop. Let the cheese and wine flow!
Heres a money sink inspired by a recent thread:
Begin research into Teleportation.
A good GM can also use that for any number of plot hooks to send you off on wild goose chases. Your team will positively love you.
Begin research into Teleportation.
A good GM can also use that for any number of plot hooks to send you off on wild goose chases. Your team will positively love you.
| QUOTE (Fortune) | ||
One reason is because you can use Enchanting during the downtime to make this pretty much a non-issue. |
I didn't think you'd have time for enchanting after spending 36 hours summoning elementals, or more time than that adding servcies to existing elelmentals.
I tried doing esoterically research almost certain to produce no benefit.
A free spirit told me about the kernels of true elements affect on spell casting and I acquired (briefly) some scrolls on elemental magic from the previous age of magic so I am trying to make some kernels of the true elements (as he described them to me). Unfortunately I used resources at my initiatory group for the research and now they are funding me. The cost of an enchanting shop is big to me (as I would be buying it on the street) but compared to the value on the off chance I actually pull this off it is nothing. I figure I can blow up 3 labs before I have to start paying for them.
Edward
A free spirit told me about the kernels of true elements affect on spell casting and I acquired (briefly) some scrolls on elemental magic from the previous age of magic so I am trying to make some kernels of the true elements (as he described them to me). Unfortunately I used resources at my initiatory group for the research and now they are funding me. The cost of an enchanting shop is big to me (as I would be buying it on the street) but compared to the value on the off chance I actually pull this off it is nothing. I figure I can blow up 3 labs before I have to start paying for them.
Edward
| QUOTE (Catsnightmare) |
| I didn't think you'd have time for enchanting after spending 36 hours summoning elementals, or more time than that adding servcies to existing elelmentals. |
I guess that depends on how much downtime you have, and how many runs you go on per month. Seems to me that with characters needing time for training/initiating/recovery from surgery (voluntary or otherwise), you should have the time required to at least use Enchanting to make Conjuring materials.
| QUOTE (hahnsoo) |
| Depends on what your GM will let you get away with, I guess. In our games, stealing cars/mojo/organs/drugs/etc. brings the ire of various parties down on the character's contacts, and eventually the character (when the character's contacts sell him out because of the heat). Fencing stolen goods counts for the Wrong Party rolls, basically. Besides, if the character can make that much cash from stealing items/paydata, then why the heck is he a shadowrunner in the first place? |
It's ok for our GM when our chars to some illegal trades besides the run as long as they don't start to become big players in town. When they're selling here and there a car and on ocassion some organs they make a nice profit but don't come into the fields of the bigger players. They can't make enough money out of their trades and don't want to become member of a syndicate so they continue running.
mfb:
You could buy infusion foci now. 6 karma and 300kY (including street index) per hot-swappable adept power point.
You could buy infusion foci now. 6 karma and 300kY (including street index) per hot-swappable adept power point.
| QUOTE (Rev @ Feb 24 2005, 02:29 AM) |
| mfb: You could buy infusion foci now. 6 karma and 300kY (including street index) per hot-swappable adept power point. |
Where are those listed.
Edward
SOTA:64. it's not a bad idea, but hilariously enough, i don't have enough cash on me just now. they're on my shopping list, though.
SotA '64
They're pretty cool, but way too expensive. But so the ki-ads have a way to spend their money. 
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.