50 rods of rope'll run ye tuppence, squire

[Hypersmurf]

If you want to make gold more valuable, then just say all the dnd prices are now in "silver" and make silver the dominant coin. Then create a coin that's crappier than a copper piece.

This way all your really doing is changing the name, the prices don't have to change but the players feel that gold is really special then

Go all the way!

One iron drab.
Five drabs make a brass bit.
Ten bits make a bronze zee.
Five zees make a copper common.
Four commons make a silver noble.
Five nobles make an electrum lucky.
Ten luckies make a gold orb.
One orb and one lucky make a platinum plate.

Decimalised currency is for wimps!

-Hyp.

 

[Chimera]

The problem I have with the D&D economic system is that the value of a GP seems to vary wildly, depending on sourcebook. For most mundane items and regular weapons, it appears to be roughly $50. However, once you get into all these other sourcebooks or start looking at traps, buildings, magic items, then it all gets thrown out the window.

Come on now, 1800 gold for a freaking CR1 Camouflaged Pit Trap???

"Hey Bob, I'll trade you 24 horses if you'll come over, dig me a 10' pit, then throw some sticks and brush over the top of it. Maybe some dirt too."

And don't get me started on the V3.0 Stronghold Builder's Guide.

I was forced to completely throw out the entire economic system and make my own.

 

[painandgreed]

The problem I have with the D&D economic system is that the value of a GP seems to vary wildly, depending on sourcebook. For most mundane items and regular weapons, it appears to be roughly $50. However, once you get into all these other sourcebooks or start looking at traps, buildings, magic items, then it all gets thrown out the window.

If you look in the Arms & Equipment Guide, it grow even wackier as one pound of fish from the local river costs three months wages for a commoner. Barley is ten times as expensive as wheat. 6 GP of almonds and sugar can make 720 GP of marzipan by mixing them together with a mortor and pestle.

 

[Abe.ebA]

If you want to make gold more valuable, then just say all the dnd prices are now in "silver" and make silver the dominant coin. Then create a coin that's crappier than a copper piece.

This way all your really doing is changing the name, the prices don't have to change but the players feel that gold is really special then

I'ts not really that I want players to think of silver as being special. I've played DarkSun where they did essentially this (or at least our DM did.. I don't think I ever actually read the campaign book). The base trade unit was a ceramic triangle, 1/8th of a circle. Eight of those were a ceramic piece, then 10 of those in a copper and etc. on up. We made it up to around 8th level and still only very rarely saw a gold piece. But we still had mountains of cermaic. Same thing would happen if I just change GP to SP and introduce a bronze piece or something below copper. Magic items will still run into the millions of coins of base currency and introducing a new coin at the bottom just means that they'll cost several thousand PP rather than several tens of thousands of PP.


So I propose the following:
4 farthings = 1 copper penny
10 pence = 1 silver shilling
30 shillings = 1 gold pound
1000 pounds = 1 McGuffin
So 1 gold pound = 30 shillings = 300 pence = 1200 farthings

All mundane equipment listed in CP is in farthings. If it's in SP, add 10 and it's in farthings. Anything in GP is in pennies. This way 1 pound coin is worth 1 pound of silver and will, approximately, buy you a masterwork weapon.
The enormously valueable McGuffin at the top end of the spectrum (I'm planning magically purified gold containing a trapped soul for my campaign) gives you a currency for wizards to trade in and makes transactions for high level spells or powerful items manageable without using a cart and horse team to haul your currency.

Not to invoke the dreaded beast, but I really hope they overhaul prices in 4E.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I was forced to completely throw out the entire economic system and make my own.

So... For those of you who have made up your own ecenomics and/or equipment (mundane) and item (magic) pricing... Would you be willing to share that information, maybe in a new thread in the House Rules forum?

Later
silver

 

[Nyaricus]

So... For those of you who have made up your own ecenomics and/or equipment (mundane) and item (magic) pricing... Would you be willing to share that information, maybe in a new thread in the House Rules forum?

Later
silver

I'd be interested in seeing that myself