This article presents alternate rules for Purchase Difficulty Class (PDC) to cash-value conversions and for comparing Wealth bonuses to lifestyles.

The PDC to cash table was set by pegging PDC 2 to $10, and setting each +8 in PDC as x10 value. This pegged PDC 10 as $100, PDC 18 as $1000, and so on. The +8/x10 increase meant that all other values were easily derived as averages. The average of PDC 2/$10 and PDC 10/$100 is PDC 6/$55, the average of PDC 2/$10 and PDC 6/$55 is PDC 4/$32.50, and so on.

The '$' sign on the PDC table can represent modern dollars or any other value the GM chooses for their campaign. Some sample currencies are Victorian-era shillings (Twenty shillings to one pound), one silver piece in a vaguely realistic medieval setting (Twenty silver pieces to one gold piece), one gold piece in a wealthy fantasy-medieval setting, or interstellar decicredits (Ten decicredits to one credit).

DC	$ Range (Average Value)
2	$9 - $19 ($10)
3	$20 - $29 ($21.25)
4	$30 - $39 ($32.50)
5	$40 - $49 ($43.75)
6	$50 - $59 ($55)
7	$60 - $69 ($66.20)
8	$70 - $79 ($77.50)
9	$80 - $89 ($88.75)
10	$90 - $190 ($100)
11	$191 - $292 ($212.50)
12	$293 - $393 ($325)
13	$394 - $494 ($437.50)
14	$495 - $596 ($550)
15	$597 - $697 ($662)
16	$698 - $798 ($775)
17	$799 - $899 ($887.50)
18	$900 - $1900 ($1000)
19	$1910 - $2920 ($2125)
20	$2930 - $3930 ($3250)
21	$3940 - $4940 ($4375)
22	$4950 - $5960 ($5500)
23	$5970 - $6970 ($6620)
24	$6980 - $7980 ($7750)
25	$7990 - $8990 ($8875)
26	$9000 - $19 000 ($10 000)
34	$100 000
42	$1 000 000
50	$10 000 000
58	$100 000 000
66	$1 000 000 000
74	$10 000 000 000
82	$100 000 000 000
90	$1 000 000 000 000

PDC Plus/Minus And Cash Multipliers/Divisors

For prices given as PDCs, when you change some part of the purchase (Quantity, quality, or adding a new function to equipment) the change in price is given as a plus or minus to PDC. If you know the cash value of an item but want to know how a PDC plus or minus would change that cash value, you can find the cash amount multipliers on the following tables.

DC +	Multiplier
+1	x2
+2	x3
+3	x4
+4	x5.5
+5	x7
+6	x8
+7	x9
+8	x10
+9	x21.25
+10	x32.5
+11	x43.75
+12	x55
+16	x100
+20	x550
+24	x1000

DC -	Multiplier
-1	x0.89
-2	x0.78
-3	x0.66
-4	x0.55

Wealth Bonus and Lifestyle

To get a general sense of a character's lifestyle at any given Wealth level, check the table below:

Wealth Level	Lifestyle
+0	Dead Broke (PDC 10)
+1 - +3	Poor (PDC 13)
+4 - +6	Struggling (PDC 16)
+7 - +9	Middle class (PDC 19)
+10 - +12	Comfortable (PDC 22)
+11 - +15	Wealthy (PDC 25)
+16 - +18	Rich (PDC 28)
+19 or higher	Filthy rich (PDC 31+)

The PDC given in brackets is the monthly cost of living, including bills, home payments, and basic food and clothing costs. The GM may want to ignore this cost.

This table is a guideline rather than a hard and fast rule. Many people live more lavish or more modest lifestyles than they can realistically afford.

For modern Northern America, 'middle class' assumes a small home - A bungalow with two-three bedrooms and one bathroom, or a condo or townhouse with similar space (Probably on a split-level floor plan). If the place is rented it might be a little larger or cost a little less, but the renter has less freedom to modify their living space. Housing costs assume a long-term mortgage with a substantial down payment, and that the people living there aren't overly aggressive with AC, heat, or water use. It also assumes the home-owner doesn't have an expensive vehicle habit: They own one older-model car or truck per household. Change those assumptions and you're looking at someone trying to live a comfortable lifestyle on a middle class income.

Cost Of Living Options

If the character lives at a lower lifestyle than they could otherwise afford, they're saving money. Take the lowest value of the PDC range of their base lifestyle, and subtract the highest value of the PDC range of their actual lifestyle. On a successful Profession check (DC 15) the difference is how much cash they save. A comfortable lifestyle typically costs $4950 (PDC 22) per month. If a character with comfortable Wealth lives a middle-class lifestyle (PDC 19 = $2920 per month), they can make a Profession check to save $2030 per month. On a failed check they slip back into old spending habits and don't manage to save any money. People living 'below their means' are likely to lose contact with old acquaintances and friends. They suffer a -1 Reputation penalty per month of living a lower lifestyle. This penalty is restored at 2 points per month after they return to their normal lifestyle.

If a character lives at a higher lifestyle than they can really afford, they're building debt. Take the lowest value of the PDC range of the lifestyle they're trying to live, and subtract the highest value of the PDC range of the actual lifestyle of their Wealth bonus. On a successful Profession check against the lifestyle PDC, the difference is how much debt they build. On a failed Profession check, they build twice that much debt for the month. If a character with a middle-class income (PDC 19 = $2920) tries to live a comfortable lifestyle (PDC 22 = $4950), that character builds ($4950 - $2920) $2030 debt per month on a successful lifestyle PDC check. On a failed lifestyle PDC they build $4060 debt.