Backgrounds

Aside from their basic game functions, there are two mechanics around backgrounds that are important to understand for play on From The Ashes: pooling and taxing.

Pooling Backgrounds

Backgrounds may be pooled by groups that have reasons to do so. Packs, Cabals, and Motleys automatically have this ability, though they will still have to justify the specific methods by which the pooling is taking place. Most pooled backgrounds are additive (Totem, Node, etc.).

NOTE: Any member of the group may freely tax pooled backgrounds. Pooling involves trust, and staff will not be policing internal policies. Groups whose members violate internal agreements must be dealt with ICly.

Once a background is pooled, it becomes difficult to separate the pool again, and doing so may incur damage or taxation to the relevant backgrounds. Some backgrounds may not be unpooled once pooled, (totem and node in particular) and in the event of the group's dissolution, the background will be lost.

Pooling the Resources Background

Due to the non-linear nature of the Resources background, a special system is needed.

Members of a group that is pooling their Resources tax their resources dots for the duration of the arrangement. The first dot taxed off of Resources 5 counts triple. The first dot off of Resources 4, or 2nd off of 5, counts double. The effective Resources rating of the group is determined by the sum of all effective dots contributed, according to the following chart:

Rating	Effective Dots
1	1
2	2
3	6
4	15
5	31
6	56
7	92
8	141
9	205
10	286

NOTE - Pooled Resources backgrounds of 4+ will require increasingly difficult maintenance by someone with dots in the Finance knowledge, as will pools that have large numbers of members.

Taxing Backgrounds

Backgrounds often represent some kind of resource (money, minions, wellsprings of magical power) that can be devoted to projects. The taxation system is used to represent the commitment of these resources and avoid abuse.

When a resource is 'taxed' its effective rating is reduced by the given number of dots. The most commonly taxed backgrounds are Resources, Influence, and Contacts.

Any instance of taxation has a duration, noted in the jnote, and tracked by an Anomaly job with a due date. When the job expires, or the date passes, the jnote is no longer binding, even if staff take a bit to actually remove the thing.

Any time the taxed background is rolled, the taxed dots are subtracted from the background for purposes of defining the pool.

Pooled backgrounds may be taxed.

While the background's effectiveness for general use is disrupted by most instances of taxation, the ability to further tax the background is not; additionally nothing about the character's status quo is significantly changed.

E.g. If a character has Resources 4 and taxes that background by 2 dots, they are forced to "live lean" for the duration, but they do not lose the ability to pay the rent/mortgage on their Resources 4 home, nor do they have their Resources 4 BMW repossessed. They simply can't afford any new toys for a while. If the opportunity comes along to tax their resources again, their resources are considered to be Resources 4 for these purposes, but they may not tax more than the two untaxed dots they have left.

Taxing the Resources Background

Resources is a non-linear background, and so situations that tax it are dependent upon the background itself.

Often, a financial proposition that would require Resources 4 to tax itself a single dot, will not require taxation on a Resources 5 character, and could require a taxation of 2 or even 3 dots from a Resources 3 character.

Loans are a common financial vehicle in our setting. Generally speaking, if a character can obtain a loan (made easier with dots in Finance), then they may treat their resources as if it was one higher - but they endure the taxation for significantly longer than would a character who actually possessed the higher background.

For example: A cop with Resources 2 is offered the ability to purchase a new, larger home. It will require that he taxes his Resources background completely for a period of a year. By securing a mortgage, he can tax his Resources score by 1 dot, but it remains taxed for 4 years, instead. If he'd had Resources 3, he could've taxed that score by 1 dot for a year and been done with it.

Loans are never a means to escape taxation entirely.

A taxed Resources background that is raised through IC events retains should be reviewed by staff to determine what taxed dots are restored, and which tax durations are reduced, to reflect the new financial picture. +request/req for this.