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<blockquote data-quote="DamionW" data-source="post: 2630521" data-attributes="member: 18649">Spatzimaus, thanks for the good points.&nbsp; I knew the whole obsidian being common would be a problem.&nbsp; I also knew that currency has value because there is a useful substance to back it up.&nbsp; The problem I have is when you look at how several different cultures interact.The air/earth dichotomy is most troubling, but I also didn't like the ocean cultures having a solely metal currency either.&nbsp; For fire, I thought the creatures native to the plane would more likely trade in brass or obsidian or some fire-based material over gold.&nbsp; Particularly with the nomadic Air cultures, they have little use for gold mined by the dwarves they hate.&nbsp; They don't adorn themselves with it, they'd rather use some other form of accessory because gold is a mark of their enemy.&nbsp; So I thought with a desert culture, some kind of glass or quartz would be more appropriate.&nbsp; For the water cultures, I thought pearls or some form of shells might work.&nbsp; Granted, anyone could farm oysters, but I figured this would be seen as a form of counterfeiting there and dealt with harshly.&nbsp; Probably the only oyster farms are government run.I was thinking that in Dark Sun, the currency was ceramic based.&nbsp; Sure, anyone could manufacture ceramic pieces if they forge the mold, but they'd risk the ire of the templars.&nbsp; So, I'm just trying to find a similar medium.All of the info you've contributed is what I was hoping to hear, but it's just the hard point of balancing historic realism and setting continuity with utility of play use.&nbsp; I know I could just jury rig it and set currency values at what I want, but I wanted to pick something that wasn't off-the-wall, because then the players could do the same things you're describing, harvesting obsidian and flooding the market.&nbsp; I just need to find the right thing to use as a medium because while gold will be valuable, I already have the Earth Realms wielding great economic influence and that would tip the scales to the point where they dominate everything.&nbsp; The other cultures would adapt somehow to not be subjigated by them</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DamionW, post: 2630521, member: 18649"] Spatzimaus, thanks for the good points. I knew the whole obsidian being common would be a problem. I also knew that currency has value because there is a useful substance to back it up. The problem I have is when you look at how several different cultures interact. The air/earth dichotomy is most troubling, but I also didn't like the ocean cultures having a solely metal currency either. For fire, I thought the creatures native to the plane would more likely trade in brass or obsidian or some fire-based material over gold. Particularly with the nomadic Air cultures, they have little use for gold mined by the dwarves they hate. They don't adorn themselves with it, they'd rather use some other form of accessory because gold is a mark of their enemy. So I thought with a desert culture, some kind of glass or quartz would be more appropriate. For the water cultures, I thought pearls or some form of shells might work. Granted, anyone could farm oysters, but I figured this would be seen as a form of counterfeiting there and dealt with harshly. Probably the only oyster farms are government run. I was thinking that in Dark Sun, the currency was ceramic based. Sure, anyone could manufacture ceramic pieces if they forge the mold, but they'd risk the ire of the templars. So, I'm just trying to find a similar medium. All of the info you've contributed is what I was hoping to hear, but it's just the hard point of balancing historic realism and setting continuity with utility of play use. I know I could just jury rig it and set currency values at what I want, but I wanted to pick something that wasn't off-the-wall, because then the players could do the same things you're describing, harvesting obsidian and flooding the market. I just need to find the right thing to use as a medium because while gold will be valuable, I already have the Earth Realms wielding great economic influence and that would tip the scales to the point where they dominate everything. The other cultures would adapt somehow to not be subjigated by them [/QUOTE]

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