Jobs

Jobs

The GM determines what jobs are available in the game world, either on his own or by encouraging the players to come up with ideas for jobs suited to their characters' talents. In a historical campaign, the GM can reduce his workload by inviting the players to research and submit reliable information about the jobs they want!

Regardless of whether the GM or the players come up with the job's description, the GM assigns its prerequisites, job roll, monthly pay, and wealth level. The next few sections explain these things.

Description

This includes the job's title, and tells exactly what kind of work the job entails. The GM should give hours, risks, guild or union affiliations, etc., and point to the occupational template (see Character Templates) for the job, if any.

Prerequisites

A job's prerequisites are the skills – if any – needed to do the job. Most jobs specify a minimum required level in each prerequisite skill. This might be absolute ("Administration at 12+") or relative ("Administration at IQ+2 or better"); the former is likely if the employer requires testing, the latter if the employer awards jobs on the basis of experience. In either case, candidates must have at least one point in the skill – default skill will not suffice! Some jobs also require specific advantages, or forbid certain disadvantages.

Job Roll

At the end of every month in which a character works, he must roll against one of the prerequisite skills for his job. This is called a job roll. For jobs with multiple prerequisite skills, the GM should specify whether the worker uses his best prerequisite, his worst prerequisite, or one specific skill at all times. This roll might be at a bonus for an easy job, at a penalty for a difficult one.

For jobs without prerequisites, the GM should specify either a flat success roll (e.g., "All characters roll vs. 12.") or an attribute roll (e.g., "Roll ST.").

Most jobs offer a fixed wage or salary. On anything but a critical success or critical failure, the worker collects the monthly pay for the job (see below). On a critical success, he gets a 10% permanent raise.

Other occupations are more variable; for instance, freelance jobs and work on commission. For these jobs, the worker earns the monthly pay if he makes his job roll exactly. For greater success, increase that month’s income by 10% times the margin of success; a critical success triples the month's income! On a failure, decrease that month's income by 10% times the margin of failure.

For any kind of job, a critical failure is always bad. At best, the worker will earn no pay for the month. He might also face demotion (at least a 10% reduction in monthly pay), lost savings (due to damages, fines, etc.), loss of job, on-the-job injury (due to an accident – or possibly a fight, if the job is a violent one), or arrest (especially at a criminal "job"). The GM should be creative!

Monthly Pay

Each month on the job, a worker earns his monthly pay – modified for his job roll, as described above. Time spent adventuring is usually not "on he job," although the GM might wish to make exceptions for vacations, work done while traveling, etc. The GM may set any pay he likes. The first table at right suggests a fair monthly pay for someone of Average wealth working at a "typical" job for his tech level.

Actual pay at each TL varies within a range bracketed by the typical monthly pay of the previous TL and that of the next TL; e.g., from $2,100 to $3,600 at TL8. Unless the economy is under some sort of stress or outside control, jobs near the high end of this range will be difficult (significant penalty to the job roll), dangerous (severe consequences on a critically failed job roll), or highly trained (many or high-level skill prerequisites).

Campaign Tech Level	Typical Monthly Pay		Campaign Tech Level	Typical Monthly Pay
0	$625		7	$2,100
1	$650		8	$2,600
2	$675		9	$3,600
3	$700		10	$5,600
4	$800		11	$8,100
5	$1,100		12	$10,600
6	$1,600

Job's Wealth Level	Monthly Pay Multiplier	Typical Status Level
Poor	1/5	-2
Struggling	1/2	-1
Average	1	0
Comfortable	2	1
Wealthy	5	2
Very Wealthy	20	3
Filthy Rich	100	4
Multimillionaire 1	1,000	5
Multimillionaire 2	10,000	6
Multimillionaire 3	100,000	7
Multimillionaire 4	1,000,000	8

Wealth Level

The monthly pay numbers above are for workers of Average wealth. Assume that those of lower Wealth normally have jobs that pay less than this, while those of higher Wealth usually have jobs that pay more. Multiply the average pay and pay range for jobs suitable to a given wealth level by the starting wealth multiplier for that wealth level (see Wealth).

Example: "Comfortable" wealth doubles starting wealth; therefore, Comfortable jobs pay twice as much. At TL8, this means that monthly income for those of Comfortable wealth is typically $5,200, but can range from $4,200 to $7,200.

The more a job pays, the higher the Status it can support. The second table at right sums this up.

If a PC lands a job associated with a higher wealth level than his own (which isn't easy – see Finding a Job), the GM should let him earn the usual pay for that job. Most employers cannot get away with paying poorer workers less! However, if the PC's savings reach the starting wealth of the next-highest wealth level, he must pay the points to buy up his Wealth (see Adding and Improving Social Traits). This continues until his personal wealth level equals that of his job.

Likewise, a wealthy PC may work at a job below his wealth level. He gets the usual pay for that job; he does not receive extra pay simply because he is wealthy! Such people often have Independent Income as well as a job in order to meet the cost of living for their (usually high) Status.