Hey all. I’m a big fan of Uncharted Worlds and really like it, but there is one aspect that bothers me. I really don’t like how the only factor that can affect wealth rolls is cargo contained on a ship; it feels very reductionist to me.
Has anyone used an alternative wealth system or know a good one to recommend?
I’ve played with a credit system where you can spend 1-3 credit on a purchase in place of cargo, and can sell cargo for credit (1 per Class).
The players once ended up with a barrel of “condensate” – a super technical fluid that was the most expensive material in the world. They sold it for 8 credits.
Hmm. And turning cargo into credits didn’t unbalance the game for you? In that case, I may do that.
What sort of balance do you think the game has?
The same balance that prevents the GM from just saying to the players, “Do whatever you want, you automatically succeed.” The balance created by the 2d6 roll and varying degrees of success.
If turning cargo into credits means the players can ultimately buy anything and everything, then that neuters any challenge that can be overcome by finances.
This is a game based primarily around principled GM fiat. There is no game balance.
Having infinite money only matters if your game is solely about money. Factions, for instance, probably don’t give a shit about the paltry credits of some ship crew. And not everyone takes bribes.
I would argue that there is game balance, based on a default range of stats, a parity in skills (or playbooks, in other settings), and a structured form for moves, both for players and GMs. You can read more about game balance in PbtA games via Google and it’s also mentioned in Vincent Baker’s AMA. Really, if there was truly no game balance whatsoever, I would have zero interest in running PbtA games.
Even so, to each his own. It’s good to know your perspective on such things as it informs me as to the usage of credits — I think we have differing GMing styles, and so I’m not sure that credits would really work for me.
Skip Olivares you’re talking about specifics of the mechanics of the game, which isn’t the same as “game balance” in the traditional sense.
On a 2d6 roll, a +5 makes it impossible to fail. So most PbtA games will cap the bonuses at +4. Traditionally UW caps at +3, as does my original comment – players can spend 1-3 credits to purchase a thing. Spending 3 credits is not a guaranteed success.
You should NOT be letting players roll repeatedly for the same task and even a failure should move things forward.
And finally, you can take away credits on a failure. On any failure as long as it fits the fiction. Perpahs the guy the player just punches in the bar works for MegaComm Bank and Trust, has him arrested, and locks his accounts. Boom, no more credit.
A month or so ago, I mentioned a Requisition system that was tossed around on a PbtA forum – it’s down the page, and uses Influence to get resources from your faction, instead of cargo.
Other than that, I definitely like Aaron’s Credit idea – after all, not all games are PCs-as-free-traders, which is a rather annoying assumption to build into the baseline mechanic for acquiring assets.
As for its “balance?” In brass-tacks terms:
* Cargo takes up weight and space, can be physically stolen, can be traded up if you’re a travelling merchant, and you can at least try to use it for acquisitions anywhere.
* Credits are weightless, are stored with a Faction and can be frozen if you piss them off, aren’t negotiable in primitive Markets without access to the SectorNet, and MAY not be negotiable in an enemy Faction’s Markets.
It adds a new factor to juggle but, unless you can use more than 3 Credits on an Acquisition (which, Aaron mentioned, you can’t), doesn’t break anything.