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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jmarso" data-source="post: 8381100" data-attributes="member: 7032066">I've gone to a 'silver standard' in my home campaign. I feel a silver standard gives 'weight', for lack of a better term, to copper and silver currency.In basic terms, any standard (non-magical) item with a price listed in GP is changed to SP, any price in SP is changed to CP, and any price in CP is changed to 'copper bits,' which I'll elaborate on below. Gem values are converted the same. A 10 GP gem in the rulebooks is a 10 SP gem in my campaign. There are two basic sizes of coin: the 'standard' coin, roughly the size and weight of a U.S. quarter dollar, and they weigh 80 coins per pound. The second is the 'penny' coin, roughly the size and weight of the U.S. dime (10 cents), and weighing 200 coins per pound.With that in mind, the values break down as follows, with the SP (silver standard coin) forming the 'base coin' the way the GP does in regular DND. As a rule, the 'penny' coins carry 40% of the value of the 'standard' coins. (I may make this a straight 50% conversion later, for ease of math) Electrum has been done away with in this system- as a mix of gold and silver, it never made much sense to me because verifying the gold content would be almost impossible by non-magical means, making the alloy an untrustworthy form of currency.1 PP = 5 GP = 250 SP= 5000 CP1 GP = 50 SP = 1000 CP1 SP = 20 CP1 CP = 2.5 Copper Bits (Rounded up or down by merchants depending on the product and the haggle)1 Gold Penny = 20 SP or 50 Silver Pennies, or 400 CP, or 1000 Copper Bits1 Silver Penny = 8 CP, or 20 Copper BitsThe system has a couple of advantages, in my mind. Even in a fantasy setting, in the standard game's system of 50 coins per pound, something like a two-handed sword (not even masterwork!) would cost something like almost TWO POUNDS of GOLD! That seems disproportionate to me and always has, especially in a medieval economy where barter vs. specie is the rule. Plus, carrying around a fortune is almost impossible without using sacks of gold or a portable hole. (Or converting your wealth to gems.)With this system, players could carry one pound of gold pennies (200 coins), which would equate to 4000 SP in value, which in spending power equates to 4000 GP in a 'standard' game. That's a LOT of spending power. Of course, the trick is that gold is the coin of nobles, high level monsters, and the ridiculously rich. My players are getting to be 4th level and they've only just found a smattering of gold pennies as treasure, to say nothing of standard-sized gold pieces.Anyway, we've been having fun with this system, and it makes copper and silver worth something as money, especially at lower levels. Anyone else tried anything similar?</blockquote>

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