Lifestyles

Character Lifestyle and Income

In the rimward areas of the solar system, operating under the new economy, most people go without want as they have access to food, shelter, and other basic needs. In the inner system, these basic survival necessities must be purchased, and the higher one’s standard of living, the more expensive things get. This raises several questions, such as how much does a character’s lifestyle cost? How much does a character earn from work, assuming they have a job? The following system offers a simple and fungible system for handling such matters. These rules are optional, however, as they do require a greater degree of bookkeeping from the players and gamemasters.

Buying Lifestyle

Lifestyle refers to basic living expenses: a place to live and stash your stuff, food, getting around, and so on. When using these rules, characters in old and transitional economies (or Extropian ones) must purchase their lifestyle on a monthly basis. Cost and details for each are provided below. The type of morph a character is sleeved in may impact their choices. BASICS (TRIVIAL COST)

Basics (Trivial Cost)

It is possible to survive on almost nothing. Biomorph: Most habitats offer a few public makers and fabbers that provide basic food, beverages, and clothing, though the taste and quality is often quite poor. On Mars, you get by on the streets in the souks or rough it in the Martian countryside. Everywhere else, you sleep in public areas or out-of-the-way maintenance corridors. You walk, bike, or rely on cheap public transit to get around. Your vagrancy may be illegal, putting you in a state of tension with the local police. Synthmorph: You live in the darkest recesses of the habitat, in areas reserved for the clanking masses—or on the actual physical outside of it. Infomorph: You exist entirely on public mesh servers and avoid the paywalled simulspaces.

Low (Low Cost)

Poverty is just a small step up from living on the street. Luckily, augmented reality filters can make it seem a lot better. Biomorph: Habitat space is limited, but you have your own coffin-sized living capsule. On Mars, you might even have a yurt or one part of a converted shipping-container dwelling. You rely on cheap public transport. Synthmorph: You actually have a small private storage pod for downtime and to keep a few possessions. Infomorph: You pay for private space on a cloud server and access to a few cheap simulspace environments,.

Moderate (Moderate Cost)

Your living conditions are modest and frugal, but far from terrible. Some polities offer this lifestyle as a basic income guarantee to all citizens for free. Biomorph: On a habitat, you have a private dwelling, though it is little more than a glorified closet. On Mars, you have a studio apartment, share a small apartment with a roommate, or have a small shack out in the dust. Your budget allows for occasional vehicle rental and eating out once in a while. Synthmorph: You have more space available to you than a biomorph of an equivalent lifestyle, as you do not need to budget for food and clothing. You can afford regular maintenance and upkeep. Infomorph: You pay for space on a private server and access to some of the best simulspaces available.

High (High Cost)

You live a comfortable, privileged existence. Biomorph: On a habitat, you have a private dwelling equivalent to a decent-sized apartment back on Earth. On Mars, you have an actual house. Your budget includes vehicle expenses. You can afford real food in addition to the vat-grown stuff. Synthmorph: As an equivalent biomorph, but with more of an allowance for recreational and luxury goods and services. Infomorph: You pay for space on an enhanced server and access to exclusive, top-of-the-line simulspaces. ===Luxury (Expensive Cost) You are among the elite. Biomorph: On a habitat, you have a luxurious house-sized space or private section. On Mars, you have an actual luxury condo or mansion. Your budget includes multiple vehicle and bot expenses. You eat real food cooked by transhumans. Synthmorph: As an equivalent biomorph. Infomorph: You rent space on an enhanced or specialized server, which includes private simulspace environments.

Autonomist Lifestyle (Free)

In (non-Extropian) autonomist strongholds, characters do not need to purchase a lifestyle. Everyone equally enjoys a lifestyle based on the resources available to their habitat, usually roughly equivalent to the Moderate lifestyle described above. Autonomist characters, however, must contribute to the well-being of their community if they want to remain on good-terms with their neighbors. This requires the equivalent of a few hours a month helping others or the expenditure of a Moderate favor once a month.

Making Money

Characters living in old, transitional, or Extropian colonies can work to bring in income. Most people are assumed to work on a freelance basis. They might have a regular set of employers that feed them work, or they may auction their services online through a variety of mesh-based job markets to hypercorps that need someone with their skill set (or just an extra set of hands) for a temporary basis. Characters belonging to criminal networks (g-rep) take a cut from various black market activities based on their rank and involvement. To gather income, a character must devote one week to work. This is best handled as downtime in between scenarios. The amount gained from a week of work is based on the character’s rep score in a network appropriate to their situation. This will be c-rep for most, but characters involved in artistic or media work can use f-rep, scientists and technologists can use r-rep, Extropians can use @-rep, and criminals can, of course, rely on g-rep. Their Reputation Level in this network (see the Reputation Levels table) determines their income for each week devoted to work, as noted on the Income table.

Income
Reputation Level	Weekly Income (Credits)
1	50
2	125
3	250
4	1,250
5	5,000

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