Affluence and Wealth

The buying power in Zephyr - Tales from the Void is different than most traditional RPGs. Between actual currency, credit, and trade, the ability to acquire things is not always limited to the coin an Agent has on-hand. As a result, players do not have to worry counting coins and amassing gold as they might in other RPGs.
Instead, characters have two scores that determine both their purchasing power and their ability to acquire find things to purchase. Your Affluence attribute is similar to other character ability scores and determines not only whether or not people have heard of you, but also your ability to use that renown to find and acquire things. The second score is your Wealth score which is an indication of your liquidity, or your on-hand purchasing power. In other words, Affluence determines whether or not you have the connections to find something, while Wealth determines whether or not you can afford it.

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Wealth

Money is not easy to come by in the Commonwealth. The vast majority of people have just enough to scrape by and support their family in a very modest way. One way many people can find their way out of poverty is through work with the syndicates, but that usually requires some level of skill that many just do not possess. Manual labor is always in demand, but even then the types of jobs available are often dangerous and short-lived. 

The average unskilled job in Rynmark pays roughly the equivalent of 2 Wealth per month, while a Synner - or someone working for the Syndicates - can expect to earn twice that, on average.
While it varies from city to city, an individual can expect to survive on roughly 2 Wealth per month, while a family might require a 4-6 Wealth just to make ends meet. What might be considered comfortable living for an individual would range from 4-8 Wealth per month, and up to 12 Wealth for a family.
Someone with a Wealth score of 0 is living hand-to-mouth, unable to really purchase anything. They are perhaps (or even likely) homeless and might even be forced to beg for food. On the other hand, someone with a Wealth score of 20 is quite well off and comfortable. Depending upon who they know and where they work, they can often acquire things without really affecting their overall liquid wealth. A Wealth score of 40 would be considered rich in the eyes of most, while a Wealth score of 100 would be beyond the imagination of most people across the Commonwealth.

Remember, Wealth does not directly correlate to cash on hand, but a character's available resources, to include things they might already own. When combined with Affluence, it represents their ability to get items and services they need, when they need it. 
Use the table below to get a rough idea of the correlation between Wealth and Affluence for a character.

A character's starting wealth is determined by the Tier a player selects for them during character generation. A character's Wealth increases by receiving Mission or other awards or even penalties from the Mastermind. Additionally, a character receives +1 at each character level as their overall success increases.

Affluence Attribute

One of the new attributes in Zephyr - Tales from the Void is called Affluence. A character's affluence adds up to more than just their monetary wealth. Instead their score represents social influence, family or personal renown, and even political clout. The phrase "it's not what you know, it's who you know", it a good way to describe the Affluence attribute. Examples of when a character might use their Affluence is when they are attempting to gain a meeting with important figures; when they would like to influence groups and organizations, and when they would like to acquire things through their network of friends and contacts.
When looking to acquire something, a character rolls a d20 + Affluence Attribute Bonus + Proficiency Bonus against the Availability DC of the item or service in order to determine if they can find it or, even better, get a good deal.
See Equipment & Kit for more information.
Improving Affluence
Affluence can be increased or decreased just like any other attribute. A character gains (or loses) the benefit from the attribute change immediately. Some occasions where Affluence might also change include events such as:

• An extremely successful mission for a powerful syndicate or agency (+1 Affluence)
• Defeating a well known rival (+1 Affluence)
• Extreme gain in Wealth of +10 or more at one time (+1 Affluence)
• Every 20 Wealth possessed (+1 Affluence)
• Every 20 Wealth lost or spent (-1 Affluence)
• Loss of a major artifact or relic (-1 Affluence)
• Failure of a high profile mission (-1 Affluence)
• Random Family high profile events (+/- 1 Affluence)

Credit

When a character is forced to reduce their Wealth score, they can instead gain a point of Credit in order to retain their Wealth. Credit is a way for characters to keep up their purchasing power, but comes with its own potential pitfalls.
For every 5 points of Credit a character possesses, the Availability DC of anything they are looking for is increased by +1.
There is also an increasing danger of attracting creditors and bounty hunters during a game session if a character's credit is getting too high. Each session, a Mastermind secretly rolls a d20 + the character's credit. If the roll is 21 or higher, the character will be approached regarding payment on their debts. If the roll is 30 or higher, bounty hunters will be on the lookout for them and may attempt to waylay them during the next session.