STEP SEVEN: ROUND OUT THE HERO

Additional Details

Fill in the following details on the pulp hero sheet:

• Name
• Birthplace
• Gender
• Picture
• Cash and Assets
• Equipment

Cash and Assets

The following amounts, in US dollars, by period, denote the wealth of a hero. Cash is readily available to the hero (day-to-day regular expenses, like rent and food, are already deducted from the hero’s available cash), whereas wealth that is tied up in assets can only be spent if time is taken to realize the capital. Look up the hero’s Credit Rating on Table 7: Cash And Assets to determine the available cash, assets and spending level.

Equipment

The final step is to write down any important items, weapons or equipment your hero possesses. There’s no need to write a detailed list of everything your character owns—just list the notable items.

In some cases, starting heroes don’t really have anything exceptional or worth writing down in the way of equipment. Items that fit the profile of your hero’s living standard do not need to be paid for—you simply own those. Any items standard to the hero’s occupation can be considered to be owned (with the Keeper’s consent). A player may buy additional items, if available for purchase.

TABLE 7: CASH AND ASSETS

Key

Cash: not necessarily carried on the person. The Keeper may ask where it is being kept.

Spending Level: this is an arbitrary amount below which, for ease of play, no record keeping is required. A character can spend up to his or her spending level with no expenditure of cash. In theory, a hero could spend any amount just below their spending level every day, but in practice it should be used only occasionally—if the Keeper feels a player is exploiting this financial abstraction, a use of assets may be called for.

Assets: assets are the things that your hero owns at the start of play and the dollar amount on the chart is the total value of those things. The player should note down the dollar amount and decide what form it takes, usually property or investments, or perhaps shares in a business. The standard list of possessions is included within the various brackets of living standards. If your living standard includes a house and car, those things constitute a part of your asset value.