I was looking at my Social Status table document. Of course, it was made for a homebrew D&D game, but I figured it was unfair to deprive everybody of the brilliant prose I used to define the levels in the archaic social class table.
Obviously, any talk of "levels" or Diplomacy Skill Checks wouldn't apply in Runequest (although an RQ GM may use Influence Skill Checks and the levels in the MRQ rulebook for equivalent purposes). Prices may also be adjusted.
The social levels in the archaic table are:
Outlaw (3). Whether you are guilty or whether you are innocent, you are wanted by the law, and there is a price on your head, dead or alive. (The reward for bringing you to justice can be determined by multiplying your level by your charisma modifier -- minimum of +1 -- times 10 gold pieces.)
Slave (4). You are an escaped slave. Someone may or may not be looking for you. Or you may be a serf with no legal right to leave your farm, unless you can avoid the authorities for a year and a day.
Debtor (5). You are in debt. You are so far into debt that you are never going to get out. Think of what Han Solo owed to Jabba the Hutt. Your creditor will be expecting regular payments, or else. To determine your debt, multiply 3d6 by the normal starting gold of your level. As far as how much you have to pay to keep the debt collectors from collecting your kneecaps, the answer is whatever they can get away with. Roll again to determine what your actual social status is. Your debt is assumed to be high enough that it absorbs whatever wealth you may inherit from your actual social status, but debt collectors may let you keep a fraction of your income, if they like you. (You may make a Diplomacy Check to convince the debt collectors to keep that percentage of your income for living expenses.)
Impoverished (6-7). You are poor. You are so poor you do not get any starting money. You are so poor you have to buy used food. You are so poor, your bologna does not have a first name.
Destitute (8-9). Every once in a while you get to see money. Sometimes you are even allowed to touch money. Sometimes you can afford to eat, but if it was not for charity you would die of cold or starvation.
Poor (10-11). With careful management, you can afford to eat most days, and sometimes you even have enough money to make your rent payment on time. Being able to buy new clothes is a luxury that you can barely imagine -- if you do not absolutely need it to survive, you probably can not afford it.
Commoner (12-13). With careful management you can eat every day, and maybe meat once a week. You have enough money to keep the landlord happy, and can even afford to treat yourself or someone you like to a small present like a toy or candied pastry. Over a lifetime, those copper and silver pieces you manage to save may add up to something.
Professional (14-15). You no longer have to carefully ration every copper piece, as long as you can keep your spending somewhat under control. Maybe you can not afford anything really fancy, but you can buy decent clothes for yourself and your family, and can afford to accumulate possessions.
Well-Off (16). You have enough money that you do not have to worry about having enough money, as long as you do not get carried away with your spending. You can afford good clothes, good food, and good furniture for a nice living space. You may even have a summer and a winter home. You have a tendancy to round prices off to the nearest gold piece.
Aristocrat (17). You have so much money, that it is getting difficult to keep track of it all. Fine food, fine clothes, fine women; you are used to these things. There will always be some things you can not afford, but you have the cash to buy things that less well off men spend an entire lifetime saving enough money to afford.
Noble (18). You have a rank of nobility, albeit perhaps one of the lower ranks. Anybody can exhaust their wealth, but you would really have to work at it, although much of your wealth may be in land or buildings or other non-liquid assets.
