I've been messing around with making "WEALTH" the social class (including purse strings, influence, fame, etc.) . It can be modified as people rank up (just another thing to spend xp on). To rank up: EACH WEALTH RANK COSTS TWO POINTS.

Broke - Add 1 purple die to all relevant social checks (never a benefit, even when dealing with ex-cons)

Poor - Add 1 black die to relevant social checks

Comfortable - Add 1 white die to all relevant social checks

Affluent - Add one yellow die to relevant social checks

There was also an interesting chart in an old AD&D supplement called Mighty Fortress that I thought about expanding. Here's the gist of it:

Social Standing Background Roll (was on a d20 chart) (from AD&D p55 Mighty Fortress)
Broke
Social Outcast
Poor farmer, craftsman, servant, or peddler

Poor (Commoners)
Successful farmer, clergy, craftsman, or peddler
Well-to-do farmer, craftsman, or clergy or servant

Comfortable (Middle Class)
Poor soldier, merchant, landowner
Successful soldier or merchant
Successful landowner or clergy
Well-to-do soldier or merchant
Well-to-do landowner or clergy

Affluent
Impoverished squire* or knight
Well-to-do squire* or knight
Wealthy squire* or knight
Impoverished titled nobility**
Well to do titled nobility**
Wealthy titled nobility**
* or constable, sheriff, mayor, burogmeister, or military officer
** Titiled nobility: Baron, viscount, count, earl, duke

I was thinking of employing a similar method.

I was going to use 1 misfortune die per degree of difference between the two characters for the 'under dogs' social tests and one fortune per degree of difference for the 'dominant' characters tests.

I like the idea of linking "wealth" to social class / rank in nobility / etc and having these as character development options paid for with XP or as plot rewards (a character could be rewarded with a very minor rank of nobility or social / political position and be granted a very small stipend as in character creation).

Alp

Mighty Fortress, Man O War, the 2e books, goodness, Em, any chance we'll see your MASSIVE gaming collection pix?

So you cannot be socially adept unless you have money..? Also the black/purple dices will make social careers more difficult, because you would have to put more points to wealth specially if its 2 points per rank. Don't get me wrong though, I find buying wealth with creation points lacking also.. but this would make it suck even more points.

Another point i'd like to make is that a wealthy person wouldnt necessary get along better in a harbor tavern for example. He'd more likely just get robbed....

I think the best way to do this - if you have to - is to make 4 classes or something:

Mutant/zealot/crazy hobo-class (or something) - rare insane/uncivilized people
Lower Class - rat catchers, bone pickers, servants, etc.
Middle Class - Burghers, merchants, scholars, etc
Upper Class - nobility, very rich merchants, higher level clergy & wizards, diplomats, etc.

And add 1 misfortune die when dealing with someone one step outside your own class and 1 challenge die if dealing with someone 2 or more steps from your class - though I don't think there should be a penalty to physical violence (unless you are puny or something).

That way actual money won't enter into it as a broke noble will still be treated much much better by other nobles than a broke rat catcher.

the character background, including wealth, dictates white/black dices during social scenes to me. There's no constant rule about it. As said, a rich guy is ok with nobles but isn't in a dirty smelly tavern.

In my opinion, dice should be added based on roleplaying. It may be necessary to remind a player that he purchased level three wealth, so he probably shouldn't steal something, but adding dice based only on how many points they spent at creation...

The different skills and action cards add dice to social encounters. If someone wants to play a social character, they can choose appropriate action cards and skills. This house rule may lead to more min/max'ing, and less party "roundness."

While I agree, flashing a fancy heraldric sword, wearing the most up to date Bretonnian fashion or bribing the right people can grant bonus dice to social roles in certain circumstances.

The movie Barry Lyndon has some good (although often morally vacuous) examples of how people buy fame and reputation.

I don't think having wealth tied to social actions is a good idea. The wealthiest rat catcher is still going to be at a disadvantage talking to the poorest noble. Social standing isn't a matter of money, it's a matter of birth in the Empire. Granted, they have a burgeoning middle class that defies some of those conventions but it still isn't something that can be bought and sold universally. I'd suggest having a social standing associated with each career (ala 1st edtion) and using those like you would any opposed check (adding challenge dice for the difference in class). The nice thing about the 1st ed rules is that it gave you a bonus for intimidating someone beneath you and a penalty for charming someone above you.

For those who don't know (or remember) the 1st edition social standing (from Apocrypha Now) it was on a scale of A, B, C, D with each career assigned a social standing via a table. It wouldn't be hard to create such a table for this addition and just change the scale to 1-4 so that you could use the normal opposed checks rules.

This was discussed over in the Rules Questions a while back.

3e already has Social Classes, they are described in the rule book.

The Gold tier, your rich folks, who spread around the gold, here status is everything. Nobility, rich merchants, the social elite. As an adventurer you can expect to make gold, at some point, but have gold, and being Golden, and part of the Gold tier are not so easy. A Rich Gold tier merchant may have a well made sword, as deadly a blade as can be bought, but he won't sell it to that adventurer who might actually use it, even though he has the money for it, because he wants to sell it to some noble, to keep his wares "exclusive" so its a status symbol, so he can charge his next customer even more so that they are the social equal of his first.

The Silver Tier, where the real wealth of the realm lies, this is where your movers and shakers are. Merchants who move crops and cattle. Who get supplies to where they are needed in the realm. They form the life lines, and the Gold tier nobility are getting woried because the balance of power is slowly shifting away to these folks,

The Brass Tier, labor class folks, folks who work hard for a living, they work, hard, and know how to enjoy a get cup of brew at the end of the day as well. These folks don't have a whole of of creature comforts, but they appricate what they have, and are willing to share with those who have less than they. If the Silver tier is the life lines, the veins and arteries of the realm, then the Brass tier are the arms and legs, they get the work done, without them there are no crops in the fields, the walls don't get built, and good don't get moved.

Squallor, they don't really have a name for this in the rule book, but they do talk about it, there are those who can't afford a few brass coins for food and drink, they don't have a roof over their head, they sleep in allies, and under stairs, or even worse, in the deadly sewers of Altdorf. These folks have nothing save the tattered rage on their back to their names, sometimes they don't even have names.

Now the problem with the "Rich" or Social elites always have bounuses to social rolls is, that the hard working folks of the brass tier, don't care much for the presumptuious arrogant nature of the nobility, so though a noble may get some respect in a low class tavern, it is mostly out of fear of reprisal than respect, that noble won't have much headway trying to convince folks here to see thing their way. Nor will a dock laborer fit in at a high class restaurant, even if he just found a sunken treasure and has thousands upon thousands of gold to his name, he's just not part of the "In" crowd and will not be accepted, even if he tolerated so that others may relieve him of his gold.

It is for this reason that role playing, character background, and GM call should be the only determining factors for bounuses or penalties to social rolls, evey situation is different, and there doesn't need to be static modifiers, what may be an advantage one day, may put you at odds the next.