Debt

Debt System

A system created by the Political and Economy Departments to document when a character is financially indebted to various entities in the setting, ranging from governments to individuals to organizations, as well as the consequences surrounding it, interest, and other related aspects. Note that this is an early iteration specifically focused on a limited scope of debt, and may be expanded into a more general system later on.
When a Player Character is put into debt, either by Downtime Activities or events that occur in RP, that debt is noted by the Economy and Political Teams. You do not have to be out of money to go into debt, as it simply represents a believed failure to pay, whether from a known loan or an accidental slight.

Payment

Currently, debts may be paid at any point so long as a character is not Inventory Locked or more broadly RP Locked. To pay towards a debt, please post in ⁠player-trading using the following format, pinging the Economy Department and Political Department. The labels have been shortened below for ease of auto-completion:

@Economy @Political
Character: <NAME>
Debtee: <Organization/Person>
Paying: <$$$>

Debt Types

In this initial release, standard debts are classified into reputable and criminal debts. There may be other special forms of debt on a case-by-case basis, gained through certain interactions, but they are not standardized and should have their specific traits handled by whichever runner gave it, such as modified grace periods, interest, and potential consequences.

Reputable

A debt to individuals or organization legally recognized by or operating within the Region the debt is gained in. Debts of this kind decrease your Influence with the debtee by your Proficiency Bonus at the end of each Time Period after the one in which you gained the debt. They may also decrease your Regional Influence with the Region the debt is in, should the debt and debtee be significant enough. Examples: Bank Loans, borrowing money from a citizen or noble, failing to pay Living Expenses. Should you reach Negative Influence with a person or organization you owe a Reputable Debt to, they may begin to hire bounty hunters or debt collectors to obtain payment, or otherwise resolve the debt through legal means, which may result in large Regional Influence losses or forms of special debt. The probability increases with the amount and duration of an unpaid Reputable Debt.

Criminal

A debt to individuals or organizations, which would generally be considered criminal within the Region the debt was gained in. Debts of this kinds will usually result in hostile actions taken by the NPC(s) at any point after a full Time Period has passed since incurring it, not including the remainder of the Time Period in which you gained the debt. They may also decrease your Influence with the debtee, depending on the amount. Examples: Borrowing from a criminal organization, perceived debts from disrespecting a gang, someone believing you cheated them.

Interest

Due to the system being in testing, interest is currently a flat percentage across both types of standardized debt. The conditions and amounts may vary for special debts. At the end of each Time Period after the one in which a debt was incurred, at least 15% of the debt present at the start of the Time Period should be paid off, or interest is gained. Currently, interest increases the remaining debt by 10%. This occurs alongside Debt effects like decreasing Influence.