The Flavor of Money [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Flavor of Money [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
soldyne
08-31-07, 02:28 PM how detailed do you get in your games with currency?

in my world I have 5 main nations (3 human, dwarven, and elven). each one has its own currency. there is also a 'United Nations' council in place which mints its own currency and is accepted (although grudingly) by every nation, like the Euro.

The council coinage is your standard D&D cp/sp/gp/pp. each denomination has its own set of symbols printed on them (much like real currency) and also had dates of minting.

The human desert kingdom is known for its proficiency in glass making and has developed a method of creating glass as strong and durable as steel without magic enchantments (rare and costly of course). this speacial glass is used to create small beads with metal strips in the middle (much like a cats eye bead). the metal could be a strip of copper, silver, gold or platinum to determine the denomination of the bead. the beads are also specially designed to be heavier on one end so that the metal strip stands upright and prevents the money from rolling around all over the place.

the human mountain kingdom is known for its leatherworking abilities (as well as blacksmithing). its currency is strips of leather framed in iron with precious metals embossed in different patterns on either side.

the third human kingdom is known for its weaving. its currency is made of specially woven fabrics and soaked with oils and dyes to help retard fire and water damage. the "paper money" is full of intricate pictures and colorful artistry. the oils also make it scented (that new money scent) for a time after it is first created.

the dwarven kingdom uses thick iron coins with precious stones mounted in the center and precious metals melted in the iron to create catchy dwarven sayings about working hard and living a clean life with dirty hands. each denomination is a different geometric shape (circle, triange, square, pentagon). the last dwarven king was blinded in a battle against a kobold army and so the different shapes allowed the king to count his money without help from others.

finally the elven currency is created from special bark which falls off of sacred trees which can only be found in elven protected groves. the bark is treated with oils and dyes and then intricate runes are carved into it and it is suspended by a short string. when struck with a small mallet the "coin" will sing a short tune. smaller coins will have shorter tunes and denote a smaller denomination of value.

In addition to these I also have ancient coins which can be found while dungeon crawling. basically if the area they are in is older than a certain time frame the PC will find ancient currency instead of something more recent. this means that they can't just spend it but instead either have to sell it as art or exchange it by weight, or, better yet, sell it to a collector of rare coins. essentially in older dungeons my PCs never find money directly only things which can be exchanged for money.

I also go so far as to give the different coins different names (always talking about gold pieces gets old after a while):
a cp is a tossit because it is so cheap you can jus toss it into a fountain or well and not miss it.
a sp is a tipit because it is used the most to tip servers and others for odd jobs
a gp is simply shortened to a piece.
and a pp is called a noblet as nobles and merchants are usually the only ones to be seen with them.

elven currency is usually refered to as notes or songs.
dwarven money is called geos (geometric shapes or geodes)
mountain money is refered to as strips
desert currency is called orbs
and plains currency is referened to as patches.

so trading conversations can be over heard like:
"I'll give 5 patches for that dagger"
"I hear in the elven lands you can buy your meal for a song."
"I'm not showing you anything until I see your piece."

the basic exchange rate is fairly simple as each coinage has 4 denominations. but when exchanging currency there is usually 1-5% charge. smaller villages might not be able to exchange currencies and some vendors in small villiages may refuse to accept currency that is not of their nation. when using the standard council currency vendors will generally charge 5-10% mark up.

overall I find that this creates some interesting role playing encounters when traveling abroad and makes treasure much more interesting while dungeon diving ("you open the dwarven tomb to find 5 blocks of elven notes!" why is the elven currency in the dwarven tomb? did this dwarf have secret dealings with elves? was he an adventurer with elven friends?)

how do you handle currency in your game world? are there any other mundane objects that you give more flavor to help spice up your game?
Dog_O_War
08-31-07, 05:12 PM With such varying currency and the option of using a universal one, your flavor is lost amoungst your players as they will unanimously opt for a coinage that they don't have to visit a money changer for. Sorry to be the downer.

Also having currency made out of stuff however cool is just not "worth its weight" in the appropriate category, as that is what the system set up to do. Unless the monetary item can be reused as its base component, then it simply has no value. The real world money system we use today is in place because we don't have wildly shifting economies/countries all the time (well that is a big lie, but the ones that are always changing have worthless currency), and don't have the need to carry the actual mineral around with us. The money we use today are really 'promise of payments' which don't really work in a game that lacks sufficient tracking methods. Again I am sorry to be the downer, but what I will tell you next will lift your spirits.

You simply don't have to worry about the impact of this, as it will work in your game if you say it works. What I have been attampting to do in my own game is introduce names to the coins of each country, with the very hard and daunting task of using the metal type as the letter for each coin (I have seven different currencies. the example is as follows gp(gold): goth, guilder, etc...).
Dog_O_War
08-31-07, 05:14 PM I had to throw this comment out there; In dragonlance dwarves can 'taste the difference' when it comes to metal, and would be able to count their coins even if they were blinded.
Angorath
08-31-07, 05:23 PM In one game, I had different currency systems for each of about six nations. They were all based on gold and silver coinage, but had different coinages, with different names. One nation also had an older and a newer currency system in circulation. The PCs travelled a lot in this game, and whenever they came to a new nation and new currency system, the players briefly paid attention to it and came up with their own nicknames for the coins. So it was successful in helping to give the experience of different cultures in the game world. But the players kept track of their PC's money by just converting it all to the first (and simplest) currency system they'd come across in the game.
yellowdingo
08-31-07, 06:00 PM A TwoPiece and a Seal

The TwoPiece is a 2cn silver rod used by gnomes to pay for the opening of doors to toilet facilities in their secret (and rather mechanized and modern) city.
The TwoPiece comes in a nice wood case containing fifty silver rods sitting vertically. A new Case is bound with a silk ribbon and Redwax Seal.
Outside the the Gnomish Capital a Seal (an unopened case) is used by merchants of the Furn Trading House as a measure of Factor Trading Ability-basicly you (as a merchant of Furn get the Seal on delivery of whatever shipment to another merchant of Fern)-a large number of Seals describes you as a major exporter on a major trading route but is also a measure of what isnt sold locally.

A SEAL
VALUE: 10gp (although it is traded for a shipment of any value)
WEIGHT: 2&1/2LB

A SaltFirkin
Used as a method of payment in certain larger monarchies. instead of currency. A Firkin contains 200lb of salt to a value of 1000gp
Orion__
09-02-07, 07:02 AM Hey, I love your ideas! I tried to do something similar in an older campaign of mine, but failed...
Do you mind if I borrow something here and there to retry the concept in a future?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
soldyne 08-31-07, 02:28 PM	how detailed do you get in your games with currency? in my world I have 5 main nations (3 human, dwarven, and elven). each one has its own currency. there is also a 'United Nations' council in place which mints its own currency and is accepted (although grudingly) by every nation, like the Euro. The council coinage is your standard D&D cp/sp/gp/pp. each denomination has its own set of symbols printed on them (much like real currency) and also had dates of minting. The human desert kingdom is known for its proficiency in glass making and has developed a method of creating glass as strong and durable as steel without magic enchantments (rare and costly of course). this speacial glass is used to create small beads with metal strips in the middle (much like a cats eye bead). the metal could be a strip of copper, silver, gold or platinum to determine the denomination of the bead. the beads are also specially designed to be heavier on one end so that the metal strip stands upright and prevents the money from rolling around all over the place. the human mountain kingdom is known for its leatherworking abilities (as well as blacksmithing). its currency is strips of leather framed in iron with precious metals embossed in different patterns on either side. the third human kingdom is known for its weaving. its currency is made of specially woven fabrics and soaked with oils and dyes to help retard fire and water damage. the "paper money" is full of intricate pictures and colorful artistry. the oils also make it scented (that new money scent) for a time after it is first created. the dwarven kingdom uses thick iron coins with precious stones mounted in the center and precious metals melted in the iron to create catchy dwarven sayings about working hard and living a clean life with dirty hands. each denomination is a different geometric shape (circle, triange, square, pentagon). the last dwarven king was blinded in a battle against a kobold army and so the different shapes allowed the king to count his money without help from others. finally the elven currency is created from special bark which falls off of sacred trees which can only be found in elven protected groves. the bark is treated with oils and dyes and then intricate runes are carved into it and it is suspended by a short string. when struck with a small mallet the "coin" will sing a short tune. smaller coins will have shorter tunes and denote a smaller denomination of value. In addition to these I also have ancient coins which can be found while dungeon crawling. basically if the area they are in is older than a certain time frame the PC will find ancient currency instead of something more recent. this means that they can't just spend it but instead either have to sell it as art or exchange it by weight, or, better yet, sell it to a collector of rare coins. essentially in older dungeons my PCs never find money directly only things which can be exchanged for money. I also go so far as to give the different coins different names (always talking about gold pieces gets old after a while): a cp is a tossit because it is so cheap you can jus toss it into a fountain or well and not miss it. a sp is a tipit because it is used the most to tip servers and others for odd jobs a gp is simply shortened to a piece. and a pp is called a noblet as nobles and merchants are usually the only ones to be seen with them. elven currency is usually refered to as notes or songs. dwarven money is called geos (geometric shapes or geodes) mountain money is refered to as strips desert currency is called orbs and plains currency is referened to as patches. so trading conversations can be over heard like: "I'll give 5 patches for that dagger" "I hear in the elven lands you can buy your meal for a song." "I'm not showing you anything until I see your piece." the basic exchange rate is fairly simple as each coinage has 4 denominations. but when exchanging currency there is usually 1-5% charge. smaller villages might not be able to exchange currencies and some vendors in small villiages may refuse to accept currency that is not of their nation. when using the standard council currency vendors will generally charge 5-10% mark up. overall I find that this creates some interesting role playing encounters when traveling abroad and makes treasure much more interesting while dungeon diving ("you open the dwarven tomb to find 5 blocks of elven notes!" why is the elven currency in the dwarven tomb? did this dwarf have secret dealings with elves? was he an adventurer with elven friends?) how do you handle currency in your game world? are there any other mundane objects that you give more flavor to help spice up your game?
Dog_O_War 08-31-07, 05:12 PM	With such varying currency and the option of using a universal one, your flavor is lost amoungst your players as they will unanimously opt for a coinage that they don't have to visit a money changer for. Sorry to be the downer. Also having currency made out of stuff however cool is just not "worth its weight" in the appropriate category, as that is what the system set up to do. Unless the monetary item can be reused as its base component, then it simply has no value. The real world money system we use today is in place because we don't have wildly shifting economies/countries all the time (well that is a big lie, but the ones that are always changing have worthless currency), and don't have the need to carry the actual mineral around with us. The money we use today are really 'promise of payments' which don't really work in a game that lacks sufficient tracking methods. Again I am sorry to be the downer, but what I will tell you next will lift your spirits. You simply don't have to worry about the impact of this, as it will work in your game if you say it works. What I have been attampting to do in my own game is introduce names to the coins of each country, with the very hard and daunting task of using the metal type as the letter for each coin (I have seven different currencies. the example is as follows gp(gold): goth, guilder, etc...).
Dog_O_War 08-31-07, 05:14 PM	I had to throw this comment out there; In dragonlance dwarves can 'taste the difference' when it comes to metal, and would be able to count their coins even if they were blinded.
Angorath 08-31-07, 05:23 PM	In one game, I had different currency systems for each of about six nations. They were all based on gold and silver coinage, but had different coinages, with different names. One nation also had an older and a newer currency system in circulation. The PCs travelled a lot in this game, and whenever they came to a new nation and new currency system, the players briefly paid attention to it and came up with their own nicknames for the coins. So it was successful in helping to give the experience of different cultures in the game world. But the players kept track of their PC's money by just converting it all to the first (and simplest) currency system they'd come across in the game.
yellowdingo 08-31-07, 06:00 PM	A TwoPiece and a Seal The TwoPiece is a 2cn silver rod used by gnomes to pay for the opening of doors to toilet facilities in their secret (and rather mechanized and modern) city. The TwoPiece comes in a nice wood case containing fifty silver rods sitting vertically. A new Case is bound with a silk ribbon and Redwax Seal. Outside the the Gnomish Capital a Seal (an unopened case) is used by merchants of the Furn Trading House as a measure of Factor Trading Ability-basicly you (as a merchant of Furn get the Seal on delivery of whatever shipment to another merchant of Fern)-a large number of Seals describes you as a major exporter on a major trading route but is also a measure of what isnt sold locally. A SEAL VALUE: 10gp (although it is traded for a shipment of any value) WEIGHT: 2&1/2LB A SaltFirkin Used as a method of payment in certain larger monarchies. instead of currency. A Firkin contains 200lb of salt to a value of 1000gp
Orion__ 09-02-07, 07:02 AM	Hey, I love your ideas! I tried to do something similar in an older campaign of mine, but failed... Do you mind if I borrow something here and there to retry the concept in a future?