How to run a KUP game #8 - Adventuring and PC management

With reference to the time allocated to both adventuring and character’s management, there may be opposing forces among the players: those who want to have plenty of time to manage their assets (in a downtime period), and those who want to have no downtime at all and resume the adventure as soon as possible. In this sense, the GM must be able to find the right combination and not disappoint anyone: for the most critical cases, it is always possible to work it out with offline sessions (ideally via email between two gaming sessions) to satisfy even those who consider the non-adventure phases important. Special attention should be paid to equipment, especially non-magical and perishable equipment, in order to make the situation plausible: a player should not neglect this detail by assuming that his character's equipment is always in perfect condition and never needs maintenance. It is always necessary to be able to find someone who can repair a leather armor or a dull sword: this should not be a player self-harassment who has always to ask if and how to repair his equipment, but it should not be neglected at all either.  From time to time, the GM should make the player aware that not everything is automatic, perhaps by introducing a small difficulty that has no in-game impact, but makes the player think that the in-game is complete. For example, when the character arrives in a town, the only blacksmith is sick and there is no alternative.

On the subject of resource management, I resume an idea I mentioned my last post: in order to have a generally streamlined approach that favors adventuring time at the expense of PC assets management, I have devised a solution that allows the management of PC assets in a few simple moves, since the GM still has to define, track and regulate the resource consumption of the characters. This can be done analytically, leaving all the calculations to the GM, or it can be done with a more streamlined approach: each PC defines a standard of living they wish to maintain, and based on that, the GM determines the PC's level of consumption. This way, a monetary output equal to the PC's chosen standard of living is guaranteed on a monthly basis, and this at the same time guarantees the benefits appropriate to that level of expenditure. The table below shows the two extremes of living standards (and a solution in between):

The difference between the momentary inflows and these standards of living determines if the character has enough money to keep on living in that way. This approach has an impact on the equipment of each PC, especially when adventuring: quality of food, availability of light sources, tents and camp beds are all a function of the standard of living. Downtime activities are also affected: taverns with food and drink, clothing, and so on. Once the PC's standard of living has been set, the player is given by the GM the total amount of expenses the character will have to incur each month; if the player does not take this into account, the character may go into debt to maintain the chosen standard of living (if income is less than expenses). The player can always decide to change the standard of living, but this will not solve the problem of accumulated debt, and in any case the benefits of the change will take effect with a delay of one month.