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D&D 5E alternate coinage, ie "non decimal gold"
- Thread starter Ancalagon
- Start date
So I just looked in the Player's Handbook and the value of 1 Pound of Gold is 50 gp. That's not far from what I said the historic value of the Gold Noble was (approximately 50.5 Nobles to 1 Pound Gold, at the first issuing). You could do something like: 1 gp = 80 sp = 320 cp. That'd line up with 1 gold Noble = 80 silver Pence = 320 copper Farthings.
In terms of contemporary purchasing power, assuming silver as your base of measure, $15.38 per Troy Oz. (yesterday's spot price at close) * 12 per Pound / 3 = $61.52 per gold piece, or $0.77 per silver piece.
So yeah, probably just a huge pain, but maybe worth it. Intriguing, certainly.
delericho
Legend
That's just the non-decimal conversions in use in the UK prior to 1971.
It's honestly not worth it. Especially in a game like D&D where the PCs start with significant amounts of gold and go upwards from there - anything less than 1gp is frankly not worth bothering with.
Reflected_Shadows
First Post
I just change the skin of "money" per the civ theme, and give tribals about 3 "goods" each to simplify things. I like to focus less on "what money system is used" and more on "How does the used money reflect the geopolitical, economic, pragmatic and idealistic elements of the society or culture that uses that money system.
My Egyptian area uses Tuns, which are stained glass coins that are thick, durable and polished smooth. One side has the letter "Ah" (the first letter, also the name of the sun) and the other "Luh" (pronounced Looh, which is the moon and second letter). The money of this culture defined many characteristics about them. They worship the sun/moon directly, they have an intricate glassblowing economy that monetized sand (as some foreigners snarl). The kind of money you use defines a lot about your culture in and of itself.
In my greek/roman type area, I gave them formal banking and banknotes, 80% of their economy is based on credit. They operate as a collective of autonomous merchant city-states. They produce almost nothing but due to their geographic location, they were able to tax, tariff, and extort their way into vast sums of the currencies of many nations, sprawled out thinly enough that no single place has all the money, leaving no "target". Their geography defined money as their only method and they became masters of it.
In my Maori Island area, the people have high quality blackpowder, giant turtle eggs, and rare pigments. They want timber, which is the main thing they lack. They use friendly dolphins and giant tortoises to get around the islands because they don't have boats because they lack timber historically, to have experimented with shipbuilding. They are Animistic. They worship dolphins, and turtles. Their favorite holiday involves painting turtle eggs for scavenger hunts. They also value delicacy as a social value, which is reflected in their colorful egg art. They acknowledge the spirit of water, the spirit of sky. They believe in expression of anger through storms. I took the primary food, trade good, travel method, religion and unified them. So they have no "use" for money, but that is okay. They "use as money" something else which is useful and consumable.
My Egyptian area uses Tuns, which are stained glass coins that are thick, durable and polished smooth. One side has the letter "Ah" (the first letter, also the name of the sun) and the other "Luh" (pronounced Looh, which is the moon and second letter). The money of this culture defined many characteristics about them. They worship the sun/moon directly, they have an intricate glassblowing economy that monetized sand (as some foreigners snarl). The kind of money you use defines a lot about your culture in and of itself.
In my greek/roman type area, I gave them formal banking and banknotes, 80% of their economy is based on credit. They operate as a collective of autonomous merchant city-states. They produce almost nothing but due to their geographic location, they were able to tax, tariff, and extort their way into vast sums of the currencies of many nations, sprawled out thinly enough that no single place has all the money, leaving no "target". Their geography defined money as their only method and they became masters of it.
In my Maori Island area, the people have high quality blackpowder, giant turtle eggs, and rare pigments. They want timber, which is the main thing they lack. They use friendly dolphins and giant tortoises to get around the islands because they don't have boats because they lack timber historically, to have experimented with shipbuilding. They are Animistic. They worship dolphins, and turtles. Their favorite holiday involves painting turtle eggs for scavenger hunts. They also value delicacy as a social value, which is reflected in their colorful egg art. They acknowledge the spirit of water, the spirit of sky. They believe in expression of anger through storms. I took the primary food, trade good, travel method, religion and unified them. So they have no "use" for money, but that is okay. They "use as money" something else which is useful and consumable.
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pukunui
Legend
I find it helps to think of a gold piece as being like a dollar. Then a copper piece is like a penny, a silver piece is like a dime, and an electrum piece is like a fifty cent coin. A platinum coin is the equivalent of a $10 bill.
For my own campaign, I went with a silver standard, just to make gold coins a little more rare. I wouldn't bother with anything more elaborate than that, for reasons others have stated. This is one instance where historical accuracy can go jump in a lake. Unless, of course, everyone in your D&D group likes that sort of thing and actually *wants* a more historically accurate monetary system. Then I'd say go for it.
For my own campaign, I went with a silver standard, just to make gold coins a little more rare. I wouldn't bother with anything more elaborate than that, for reasons others have stated. This is one instance where historical accuracy can go jump in a lake. Unless, of course, everyone in your D&D group likes that sort of thing and actually *wants* a more historically accurate monetary system. Then I'd say go for it.
Ancalagon
Dusty Dragon
Damn it my post disapeared, and I have to go... so very quickly:
a single gp is a fortune. Historically 1 sp = one unskilled labor's wage for a day. So the D&D value of 2 sp = one day's expense for "poor" lifestyle is reasonable. This means that a single gp is worth 5 days of minimal wage labor, or roughly 600$
In warhammer a 10 gp reward is meaningful, and a 100 gp is a *lot*. In D&D it's a pitance. This is a problem IMO.
a single gp is a fortune. Historically 1 sp = one unskilled labor's wage for a day. So the D&D value of 2 sp = one day's expense for "poor" lifestyle is reasonable. This means that a single gp is worth 5 days of minimal wage labor, or roughly 600$
In warhammer a 10 gp reward is meaningful, and a 100 gp is a *lot*. In D&D it's a pitance. This is a problem IMO.
Are there any parts of D&D which are accurate, historically speaking?
Tinker-TDC
Explorer
My system uses base-10 because it's convenient, but the values have been changed.
On character creation you multiply starting gold by 10 and call it silver.
It's 10 copper to the silver, 100 silver to the gold, and 1000 gold to the platinum. Additionally, there are Empirical Papers (EP) which are printed notes worth 10 silver. EP are accepted and converted in all major cities but may not be useful when dealing with remote villages, monsters, outlaws, and other people who have no use for paper only valid in one country. However, EP is weightless, which is great for adventurers who have to move lots of wealth.
Generally only nobles would even see gold, but sometimes rich merchants will use gold for massive trades (such as buying property, buildings, or boats).
On character creation you multiply starting gold by 10 and call it silver.
It's 10 copper to the silver, 100 silver to the gold, and 1000 gold to the platinum. Additionally, there are Empirical Papers (EP) which are printed notes worth 10 silver. EP are accepted and converted in all major cities but may not be useful when dealing with remote villages, monsters, outlaws, and other people who have no use for paper only valid in one country. However, EP is weightless, which is great for adventurers who have to move lots of wealth.
Generally only nobles would even see gold, but sometimes rich merchants will use gold for massive trades (such as buying property, buildings, or boats).
The Grassy Gnoll
Explorer
Yes, dragonborn. If you listen to David Icke, anyway...
Mercule
Adventurer
My experience is that GMs are much, much, much more interested in setting details than players. It's a rare player (and probably someone who spends a lot of time GMing) who bothers with things like coinage, calendars, racial cultures, etc. I've played in games where I made references to setting (Greyhawk) details that the GM didn't care about, like human sub-races (I played a Baklunish character with some cultural impacts).
I don't see a problem with naming the coins. Some players may adopt the names, others won't. Adding extra math will almost certainly cause frustration.
I don't see a problem with naming the coins. Some players may adopt the names, others won't. Adding extra math will almost certainly cause frustration.
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