Lifestyle

Even though it may sometimes seem that many Shadowrun characters live in a bar, that is not so. Each character has a unique lifestyle, and the following information can be used to flesh out events that might occur in their life in between adventures. Most important is the effect a character's lifestyle has on healing.

Lifestyle measures the quality of the character's daily life and his or her living expenses, including shelter, food, entertainment, clothing, and so on. It does not cover technical resources, weapons, magical equipment, professional hirelings, or other major impersonal items. The player and the gamemaster can also make other decisions about interesting details of the character's lifestyle.

Almost infinite variations are available. For example, a character might live in an abandoned building, but install enough conveniences to qualify as having a Luxury lifestyle. Keeping all those gadgets running, buying security, maintaining water supplies, and keeping a low profile will cost as much as a mansion in a ritzy neighborhood.

A character living a Middle lifestyle or higher can support guests at a rate of 10 percent above his own cost of living per guest. A host can also keep a guest at a lower lifestyle than his own by paying 10 percent of the lower cost of the guest's lifestyle. Servants are often maintained in this manner.

Base Lifestyles

Luxury

This lifestyle offers the best of everything: spacious, ritzy digs, lots of hi-tech toys, the best food, and you-name-it. The character has a household staff or a maid service or gadgets to do the mundane chores. He has a powerful car, maybe even a hot sports model or a chauffeured limo. Whether it's a big house, a snazzy condo, or the penthouse in a top hotel, this is the life for the high-stakes winners in the business: top executives, government big shots, high-level yakuza, and the shadowrunners who pull off the big scores.

Cost: 100,000¥ a month and up-up-up!

High

A High lifestyle offers a roomy house or condo, good food, and the tech that makes life easy. So what if the character does not have the same perks as the big boys, but neither does he have as many people gunning for him. Their home is in a secure zone or protected by some good solid bribes to the local police contractor and gang boss. There is housekeeping service or enough tech to take care of most chores. A luxury commuter car is at their beck and call. This is the life of the well-to-do on either side of the law: mid-level managers, senior yakuza, and the like.

Cost: 10,000¥ a month

Middle

The Middle lifestyle is not the best of everything, but is far from the worst. It offers a nice house or condo with lots of comforts. So characters eat some nutrisoy as wall as natural food, but at least the autocook has a full suite of flavor faucets. Characters also have a commuter car or first-class tube pass. The is the lifestyle of the ordinary successful ware-earners or criminals.

Cost: 5,000¥ a month

Low

With this lifestyle, the character has an apartment, and nobody is likely to bother him much if he keeps the door bolted. Meals are regular. The nutrisoy may not taste great, but at least it's hot. And power and water are available during their area's assigned rationing periods. When those of the Low lifestyle travel, they ride the tube. Factory workers, petty crooks, and other folks stuck in a rut, just starting out, or kind of down on their luck tend to show up here.

Cost: 1,000¥ a month

Characters at this Level
Mac
Nine
Kambei

Squatter

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Life stinks and most of the time, so does the character. He eats low-grade nutrisoy and yeast, adding the flavors with an eyedropper. Their home is made-over building, converted into barracks, divided into closet-sized rooms, or maybe he just rents out a coffin-sized sleep tank by the night. The only thing worse than Squatter lifestyle is living out on the streets.

Cost: 100¥ a month

Characters at this Level
Maniac
Saturn

Streets

The character lives on the streets! Or in the sewers, steam tunnels, condemned building, or whatever flop he or she finds for the night. Food is where he finds it, bathing is a thing of the past, and the only security is what he creates for himself. The bottom of the ladder, inhabited by down-and-outers of all stripes.

Cost: Free

Special Lifestyles

Hospitalization

This is a special lifestyle, applicable only when a character is sick or injured. The character is confined to a hospital, be it a real one, a clinic equipped at a hospital, or a private location with the necessary equipment installed. Characters cannot own this lifestyle. They only pay for it until they get well or go broke, whichever comes first.

Cost: 1,000¥ per day

Lifestyle and Healing

Individual Strikes

#	Condition	Recovery	Temporary Lifestyle Cost
0	None	-	-
1	Winded	short rest	-
2	Exhausted	long rest	-
3	Minor Injury	a day at low lifestyle or better	100¥
4	Moderate Injury	a week at middle lifestyle or better	1,500¥
5	Serious Injury	three weeks at high lifestyle or better	7,500¥
+	Deadly Injury	a month of hospitalization	30,000¥

Temporary lifestyle costs only need to be paid if the character isn't already living at the listed lifestyle. For instance, someone at a middle lifestyle does not face any additional cost for a moderate or less-severe injury.