Credit Rating

• Credit Rating 0: Penniless
  • A person who cannot even afford the level of ‘poor‘ is considered penniless.
  • Accommodation: such a person would be living on the street.
  • Travel: Walking, hitchhiking, or stowing away on a train or ship.
• Credit Rating 1-9: Poor
  • Able to afford the bare minimum of a roof over their head and at least one meager meal each day.
  • Accommodation: restricted to the cheapest rental housing or fleabag hotel.
  • Travel: Public transport of the cheapest sort. Any transport possessed will be cheap and unreliable.
• Credit Rating 10-49: Average
  • A reasonable level of comfort, three meals a day and occasional treats.
  • Accommodation: an average home or apartment, either rented or privately owned. Expect to stay in moderately priced hotels.
  • Travel: Standard forms of travel can be used, but not first class. In a modern-day period, this person would be likely to own a reliable car.
• Credit Rating 50-89: Wealthy
  • This level of wealth affords luxury and comfort.
  • Accommodation: a substantial residence, perhaps with some domestic help (butler, housekeeper, cleaner, gardener, etc.) Possibly a second home in the country or abroad. Stays in expensive hotels.
  • Travel: First class. This person would own an expensive car or equivalent.
• Credit Rating 90+: Rich
  • This level of wealth affords great luxury and comfort.
  • Accommodation: a plush residence or estate with abundant domestic help (butler, servants, cleaner, gardener, etc.). Second homes in the country and abroad. Stays in top hotels.
  • Travel: First class. In the modern day this person would own numerous luxury cars. There is no requirement to make any account for accommodation, food or incidental travel expenses so long as an investigator’s spending falls within the bounds of his or her living standard. Refer to Table II: Cash and Assets if the investigator wishes to make more significant purchases.
• Credit Rating 99: Super Rich
  • As Rich, but money is really no object. Individuals in this category are among the richest in the world

Notes:

• Cash: Not necessarily carried on the person. The Keeper may ask where it is being kept. For example, if the investigator is travelling abroad, are they keeping it in a money belt or is there someone back home who can wire money to them when requested? This will have an impact if the investigator is robbed or loses their gear.
• 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 an investigator could spend an 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. The spending levels exist purely to ease the flow of the game; no one wants to track every penny.
• Assets: Assets are the things that your investigator 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 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.
• Example: Harvey begins the game with a Credit Rating of 41 (Average). This affords him an average living standard; he may stay in moderately priced hotels, eat out(economically) and take the occasional taxi. In addition he may spend up to $200 per day, all with no loss of Credit Rating or bookkeeping on the player’s part. His cash is $1640 (41 x 40) and he has $41,000 (41 x 1000) worth of assets. The average 2019 Living Standard indicates Harvey might own his home, or at least part of it. Thus by default, his $41,000 is tied up in his home.