Status (The Alt Version)

Rule 1.  Ignore gp values, character wealth by level and keeping track of gp altogether.

Rule 2.  Can your character justify what they own at 1st level?  No 1st level character owns any sort of outrageous magical gear.

Rule 3. There are seven kinds of wealth: Poor, Lower Class, Middle Class, Upper Class, Wealth, Very Wealthy and Super-Rich.  Only people who are Middle Class or higher can own magic items or create them.  Only those who are Very Wealthy or higher can own artifacts.

1st level characters begin at Poor status.  If a Character takes the Rich Parents trait or the Noble Scion feat, instead begins play at the Upper Class status.  Any character with a rank in a Perform, Craft or Profession skill begins at Lower Class.

Rule 4.  Anyone can only any item, any time.  However, if those of your status are normally allowed to own a magic item or artifact, you don't fear the danger of owning such items.  Anyone lower than Very Wealthy who owns a Artifact have to fear retribution and danger for owning that item.  Anyone lower than Middle Class owning a magic item have to fear retribution and danger for owning that item.

Retribution and danger include: legal disputes over ownership, police investigations, rivals for that item, criminals wanting to take that item away and other consequences.  If your status supports your ownership of a item, then you have no problems- people support your claims of ownership, unless they have a non-societal reason to take that item from you.

I'll repeat this for good measure: Anyone can own any item.  Only those in the right status can own item without fear of the dangers that brings.  A beggar with a magic sword gets arrested as a thief, or a regular fellow with an ancient artifact crown is harassed by criminals and those'll take it from him because he is a easy target without the means to protect it from theft.

Rule 4a.  Magic items come in three values: Least, Lesser and Greater.

Rule 5.  If you find a way to increase your status, you get a roll to do that.  If you make that roll, then you go up a category.

Rule 6.  Your status determines your living conditions too.

Rule 7.  You can take out loans for things.  You can pay them off, but if you don't acquire the right story means to do so, you can't and you face the consequences of that.  So Loans can help you get stuff easier.

Rule 8.  Some places won't let you go there because of your status.  Its a social thing.  Tied to Charisma and your status.  You need both to be able to get in.

Rule 9.  You have a number of NPC sidekicks.  How many?  That's fluid.  Why?  That's up to you to explain why you have a butler or a good friend sidekick.