Fate: Resources for Adventurers

Fate Core's Resources skill doesn't feel right for adventurers. I want to create the feeling of limited supplies slowly depleting over time. The wealth track from the Fate SRD is a good start, but still didn't fit quite right. 

Here's my alternate wealth system for the ever-fluctuating wealth of adventuring characters.

 

Wealth Track

Money is a fleeting thing for adventurers. This is represented by the wealth track. The wealth track is based on your skills. Any significant purchase checks off one or more boxes. 

So how many boxes on a PC's wealth track? The SRD version suggests a number equal to your Resources skill. The only problem with this, is that PCs with Mediocre (+0) Resources are going to have no boxes to check off. This is fine for some games, but some characters will be disconnected from this part of the game. If you give everyone an extra three boxes, it'll keep everyone involved in the ebb and flow of money.

If you're not using a resources skill, you can base the track length on an average of two skills. I use Crafts and Contacting in my fantasy game. Crafts for the ability to maintain your gear, and Contacting to navigate the barter-heavy medieval economy.

Weekly Expenses

Adventurers have expenses. Not just room and board, but maintaining all your intrepid adventuring gear, and constantly honing your skills. Check off one box a week to represent all these expenditures. This means minor purchases can be hand-waved away as part of these expenses. More importantly, it means there's a steady pressure to find the next big score.

Equipment in the Field 

Shopping trips are usually too dull to play out. If the PCs had a chance to prepare, they can simply mark off a wealth box to pull needed equipment out of their packs.

If it’s in doubt whether a PC would have foreseen the need for something, roll an appropriate skill. Roll Fighting or Shooting for a backup weapon, Crafts for a tool, Rapport for just the right gift, and so on.   

Don't fret too much over costs. Clearly some things should cost more than others, but the differences can be mostly ignored.

Recovering Wealth

Everyone's wealth track restores to full when the team gets paid. This can be a literal payout from a patron, or just making it back to a safe place with some loot to sell.

Treasures

But what about serious money? Occasionally your party may come across a treasure, something so valuable it could potentially change a character's life? If they sell it, they can get enough cash to give the whole team a payday.

But that's the boring option. It's much more interesting to trade a treasure for something the PC's want. Something game-changing, like buying a new base of operations.

Currencies

Here's a clever trick for a GM. Since purchases fall into three large categories - trivial, standard, and treasure -  a game can use different currencies for the different categories. This lets you communicate without breaking character.

In fantasy, you can use copper, silver and gold coins. In a modern game, use ordinary money for low and middle tiers, and use something like gold krugerrands or crypto-currency for the high tier. Sci-fi treasures are frequently rare materials, like dilithium crystals or beskar ingots.