In Real Life: giving PCs agency between missions
A linked set of houserules for Sprawlrunners and Savage Worlds
Characters complete a mission, and receive compensation in the form of a Payout
In-game, Payouts might be hard currency, nuyen, financial instruments like bearer bonds, or barterable assets such as advanced pharma or even nonpublic information of value to someone the characters know.
After the mission, the characters launder the Payout through various channels into untraceable liquid cash.
Lifestyle
Most of this cash is used to fund their Lifestyle. This represents not only their day-to-day living but also Lifestyle Perks, which can help during missions. All “legal” property and activities are done under a cover identity with a good quality fake SIN – the character’s Legend.
Gear
Other funds go towards Logistic Points (LP), which are used to acquire black market gear. This pool represents not only the money it takes to buy theese things, but also the character’s level of access to arms dealers, talismongers, hot-car dealers, and so forth. Any gear acquired via LP is completely untraceable back to the PCs’s Legends, insulating them from revenge.
Liquidity
Liquidity represents the character’s on-hand slush funds in easily transferrable forms such as certified credsticks. These are used when the character needs some filthy lucre to grease the wheels - bribes, kickbacks, payoffs, infomation, covert travel, etc. Gear purchased with Liquidity has to be done under the character’s Legend and leaves them very exposed to being traced and their cover identity being Burnt.
Between missions, the characters have Downtime
R&R
During Downtime, they can spend their time Downtime Actions. They can rest, recuperate, carry out side hustles, and prepare for the next mission. The bigger the Payout, the longer the Downtime, and the more Downtime Actions they can do.
Change the world
Downtime is also where they can do a little good in the world – for whatever their personal value of “good” may be. Pick a pet cause and champion it, and maybe you can bend the world to your will.