Analysis: tech and wealth level

Analysis article - considerations of the Coriolis background

Checking on the Coriolis Discord, I read that the publishers are OK with players recreating tables, figures and data from the RPG source material where the only purpose is the facilitation of playing their game and I hereby promise this is my only intent with this article. The living standards and items are from the Coriolis RPG; the analysis and maths is my own content - Doctor Weather

Here I'm trying to get a clearer picture of the technology level of everyday life in the Third Horizon. On the surface it seems easy: oridnary level technology is available to everyone and advanced level is only available to those with a lot of money; but if you look at computing tech, simple tabulas cost twice the monthly income of even a stationary individual and computers more than a year's income.
So, what technology is really available to someone on a daily basis? Do people cook with automatic ovens or still need fires? Do people have smart houses that cater for their every whim or do they have to fetch and carry, hide in the shade and do everything for themselves?
I get the impression that at least the plebeian, if not stationary, people live a life as you might see on Tatooine in Star Wars: people have a technology in their lives that fulfills a particular, necessary function for their survival or occupation but then need to make up the rest of their lives with stone, cloth, oil and so on. I'm assuming this is because the average person can afford a certain amount of technology for an important thing but then have to resort to cheaper materials for the rest of their everyday living.
Here then, I'm trying to see if I can establish that a little more clearly.

Comparing the lifestyles to the costs of items

Beginning with the lifestyle data taken from table 6.1, page 106, of the Core Rules, the amount of money needed to pay to keep up someone's standard of living is:

LIFESTYLE	PRIMITIVE ENVIRONMENT	ORDINARY ENVIRONMENT	ADVANCED ENVIRONMENT
Spartan	50 birr	500 birr	500 birr
Normal	100 birr	1,000 birr	2,500 birr
Luxury	500 birr	5,000 birr	10,000 birr

...which state that these are the 'monthly' expenses of the different living standards.
Let's take Coriolis station as the benchmark and assume that an average person's upbringing can be approximately matched against one of the lifestyles above:

• Plebeians live in 'spartan' conditions
• Stationary live in 'normal' conditions
• Privileged live in luxury

Then let's assume that:

• A month is a segment - not sure if that's important but it makes me feel better to establish it
• Coriolis station is an 'ordinary' environment
• Plebeians aren't usually able to save money, so their expenses are roughly equal to their income at 500 birr
• Stationary and priviledged people will be able to save money and their income is, respectively, higher and a lot higher than the expenses listed - if I need to work out how much higher I will but I'll see how I go extrapolating from the plebeian income first

To pay for their lifestyle then, the various upbringings must have access to - at least - the following income:

• Plebeians: 500 birr
• Stationary: 1,000 birr (but will be higher)
• Privileged: 5,000 birr (and will be a lot higher)

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People can therefore access...

Taking those incomes I can compare them to the cost of 'everyday items' (from the Core Rules, table 6.3, page 107) to see what the average person could have regular, consistent access to. I've worked on this scale:

• Common use - everyone has one
• Accessible - everyone could have one but you'd have to save for it a little
• Family only - can only be afforded if the family clubs together
• Rare - your family is known on the street for this extravagance
• - (i.e. not affordable)

I've done this mostly by price comparison but I've given a little leeway with some items that the Core Rules suggest are more common just because they are more likely to purchased through practical need in the background (i.e. tags and transactors) or simple desire (the drug entries).

Item - birr	Plebeians	Stationary	Privileged
Arrash - 25	Common use	Common use	Common use
Communicator, personal - 200	Family only	Common use	Common use
Communicator, short range - 500	-	Accessible	Common use
Communicator, long range - 1000	-	Family only	Common use
Communicator, pulse function - 1000	-	Family only	Common use
Computer - 10,000 / 15,000 / 20,000	-	-	Accessible
Holograph 1,500 to 7300	-	Rare	Common use
Kambra - 250	-	Accessible	Common use
Language unit - 10,000	-	-	Accessible
Modulator - 12,000	-	-	Accessible
Musical instrument - 100 to 1000	Accessible	Common use	Common use
Opor - 50	Accessible	Common use	Common use
Proxy helmet - 500	-	Accessible	Common use
Proxy trip - 100	-	Accessible	Common use
Tabak - 25	Common use	Common use	Common use
Tabula - 2000	-	Rare	Common use
Tag - 50	Common use	Common use	Common use
Talisman - 50	Common use	Common use	Common use
Transactor - 100	Accessible	Common use	Common use

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Access summaries by lifestyle

These are lists of what the average person PCs meet will have access to.

Plebeian

Personal, common	Personal, precious	Family owned
Arrash; tabak	Opor	Communicator, personal
Tag and maybe transactor	Musical instrument
Talisman

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Stationary

Personal, common	Personal, precious	Family owned	Rare
Arrash; opor; tabak	Kambra; proxy helmet; proxy trip	Communicator, long range & pulse function	Holograph
Communicator, personal	Communicator, short range		Tabula
Musical instrument
Tag; transactor
Talisman

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Privileged

The privileged can afford to personally own all items on the list above but the following items would be more precious to them through the expense:

• Computer
• Language unit
• Modulator

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First-come vs. Zenithian, ordinary vs. advanced

Bonus discussion on the development of advacned technology in the Third Horizon, just because the timeframes and historical events can make things confusing.
Who's the most advanced?
Short answer: no-one. The current First-come and Zenithian cultures are just as advanced as each other where they have access to Horizon-wide trade.
But the First-come have had almost a thousand years to develop whilst the Zenithians were in stasis?
So, I'm assuming that the First Horizon, Second Horizon and also the Third Horizon before the Portal Wars developed beyond the Zenithian capabilities at the point they arrived in Dabaran. In the Third Horizon though, the Portal Wars happened and it went really, really badly for the people there. During the Long Night the Third Horizon lost access to a lot of its science and technology (I'm assuming everything I wrote for their lost knowledge of history can equally be said for their knowledge of tech and science).
But the Zenithians think of themselves as more advanced?
They were the ones responsible for reconnecting the systems of the Third Horizon and therefore had the greatest access to all the lost science and tech of the old places. They made themselves more advanced by getting hold of all the old First-come tech that many of the First-come had lost access to themselves. Many First-come won't even appreciate there was a time of great archaeology (arguably tomb robbing?) as by the time they met the Zenithians the newcomers had already advanced themselves through the scientific archaeology (tomb robbing) already done. Further, there's nothing saying the Zenithian even owned up to not already having all that tech - want to check the Zenith?
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Ordinary vs. advanced tech

Advanced tech comes from First-come and Portal Builder locations
I'm assuming that ordinary tech represents things both First-come and Zenithians have always had throughout and that generally speaking no-one ever forgot this. Advanced tech by contrast has been developed from finds from First-come locations lost in the Portal Wars and Portal Builder locations - arguably the former has been re-developed, recovered from having been forgotten, and only the Portal Builder finds are truly new.
Thought for adventures
Many societies might live within or nearby places whose tech the locals have lost access to but which incoming scientists - or player characters - might be able to use.
Rules considerations
Something we're testing out within the Whispers to the Star Singer campaign tries to give the advanced technology greater impact on the game is improving the bonus dice that (A) level technology grants:

• Modern tech derived from insights into First-come or Portal Builder science: bonus dice are d8s
• Items found in archaeology digs (tomb robbing) that were made by the First-come before the Portal Wars: bonus dice are d10
Items left behind by the Portal Builders themselves: bonus dice are d12

For example:

• Advanced tools are tech tier (A) and grant +1 dice - bought in a Coriolis bazaar, the extra 1 dice is a d8
• A thermal pistol recovered from a three hundred year old First-come location grants a +1 Bonus to attack - it's tech tier (A) and was built by the pre-Portal-War First-come, so the extra 1 dice is a d10

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Note to reader: this purposefully long analysis article
CC61, segment of The Deckhand

Contents

• Comparing the lifestyles to the costs of items
• People can therefore access...
• Access summaries by lifestyle
• Plebeians
• Stationary
• Privileged
• First-come vs. Zenithian, ordinary vs. advanced
• Ordinary vs. advanced tech

Related articles:

• Analysis: Coriolis system
• Analysis: cultural diaspora
• Analysis: how history became lost