I'm currently working on writing up notes for the first adventure for my group (pirate-like shenanigans), and the thought of wealth popped up. Normally, I have a general idea of how much cash players should get for something; being a bodyguard nets a set amount, this particular Syrneth Ruin nets another, etc.
But now we have Wealth Points, which I've always had a love/hate relationship with when used in other games. I'm trying to determine just what sort of numbers need to be said to keep things in character in order to inspire a greedy character/party to action.
For example: one of the characters is a Lord's Hand, while another is concerned about profit for her ship. If they are hired by a Vodacce Prince to retrieve missing cargo (in this case, an explorer with a small, pocket-sized artifact), I don't think telling them "You'll recieve this chest of Guilders" is fitting (although in character).
I've been trying to reverse engineer it, but without luck. Buying a ship costs at least 6000 Guilders in the 1st Edition (30,000 for the most expensive ship point-wise), while it costs 8-10 Wealth Points in the 2nd Edition. Buying a normal horse is 60 Guilders (with War and Racing horses getting closer to the 1000 guilder mark), yet only cost 1 Wealth Point for a "trustworthy horse."
I'm not up for reinventing the wheel or having to go back to the large collection of charts for gear, but knowing what a Wealth Point is worth in-game to get a characters attention wouldn't hurt.
Anyone have any input as to how they are handling it?
"Smilies exist because no one's bothered to create a sarcasm font." --Lost_Heretic
Phrase it as "enough money to buy X"
You can offer them enough to buy a fine horse or enough to buy a small home or enough to buy a small estate in the country.
Possibly, they need enough to sail back to their homeland and ruin their rival.
Being narrative now, we can work in terms of "Enough". The players will come around to it soon. And it will get fun when they stop worrying about "How Much More" they need.
Also keep in mind that "enough" does not necessarily factor in things like tarriffs, unexpected complications and diversions along the way. You can run a fine session mid journey when enough suddenly runs short.
With your Lord's Hand and Captain, perhaps the offer is Enough to cover your expenses and that upgrade you have been eyeing. Along with getting the job done will have the Prince looking kindly on the Hand's needs. (for that character, favors are the best currency)