[LordGrizzle]

Hey!

I am currently struggling with the new ruling on In Debt. It says for every Point I spent to be In Debt I get 5000. Ok, so does that mean for each Point in In Debt do I get 1 Karma and 5000, or do I have to spend this gained Point of Karma to get These 5000 so that I only get 5000?

[8-bit]

You get 1 Karma and 5,000 nuyen.

It's ridiculous to pay off though.

[Jack_Spade]

For low debt it's actually manageable (depending of course how many runs you can do per month).
It can be worth it if you get that one piece of ware in character generation you'd otherwise never really have a chance to find inplay.

[8-bit]

For low debt it's actually manageable (depending of course how many runs you can do per month).
It can be worth it if you get that one piece of ware in character generation you'd otherwise never really have a chance to find inplay.

True, but 25,000 nuyen (5 Karma) is about as high as I would go. 3,750 nuyen a month is huge, probably unsustainable with Middle Lifestyle; it's easier with Low Lifestyle or worse.

[Jack_Spade]

Yeah, anything more and you'll run out of kneecaps.

Trustfund is one of the most useful things you can buy for those 5 karma.

[PinkTrenchCoat]

I'm getting a Decker ready to play in a buddies game with the max In Debt, National Fame, Trust Fund, and Day Job.

As long as I don't lose my job or piss off my trustee, then I should be able to make the minimums with my passive income, letting me apply most of my surplus 'running pay to the principle.

Edit: Oh yeah, to actually answer OP's question. I read that you technically get the karma, but it has to be spent on the 5k each.

"IN DEBT
BONUS: 1 TO 15 KARMA
Whether it came betting the ponies or buying that new
pony, the character owes money to an unsavory third
party. The player and gamemaster must work out the
details, but the happy thing is, for every point of Karma
(up to 15) spent to be In Debt, the character gets 5,000
nuyen to spend during character creation. These points
are spent in place of the normal Karma for extra cash
and extend the possible additional funds to 75,000¥."

I get how it could be read the other way though. I chose to read it in the way that didn't benefit my character, since he's already kind of questionably built.(HORAY DEATHARM)

[Novocrane]

Chances are you'll want to build a better working relationship with whomever your debt is to; if they don't just accept credsticks and nuyen transfers, then you won't necessarily be legless when you're out of cred.

Black Market Pipeline or Made Man will help you there, as will hashing out the kinds of favours they accept as payment / ask for freely because you're in debt, based on the favour rating table. (CRB, p389)