Dragonlance Covers (Warning - Big Images)

[jonesy]

Looks really good. But they aren't going to keep using steel pieces as currency, are they? That was always so dumb.

Yes they are. Why dumb?

 

[Stormprince]

Very interesting stuff. In the novels, how did Mystics approach combat?

*hrms* Mystics are sort of strange...because of the way that the SAGA system did things, it was possible for a lot of "cross-classing" going on, hence a lot of people with limited sorcery or limited mysticism abilities...so, in the novels, pure mystics are fairly rare. Those that were inclined to pure mysticism/sorcery tended to rely on their magic...and there are spheres of mysticism that focus on enhancing physicality...

Guess you could say that mystics are a little more combat ready than a sorcerer, but their magic tends to be more subtle in application than sorcery.

Christopher

 

[Stormprince]

Looks really good. But they aren't going to keep using steel pieces as currency, are they? That was always so dumb.

Nope, we're still using the "Steel Standard." It was established as a standard for the time from the Cataclysm to the modern era. There's a good, long explanation for the steel standard in the DLCS. Every game world has its own "system" for naming money...ours just happens to have a slightly different look But, in the end, when it comes down to the "mechanics" of it all, 1 steel piece = 1 gold piece, so there's no need for new tables or charts.

Christopher

 

[Abel Kane]

I like the whole saying of "He ate his pay" meaning that he took a sword in the gut. I like the steel currency. It's no big deal, I suppose, one way or the other but it's the little things that give DL its own unique flavor and add to versimilitude... glad to hear that these 'Krynnisms' are with us for the forseeable future.

 

[Stormprince]

I like the whole saying of "He ate his pay" meaning that he took a sword in the gut. I like the steel currency. It's no big deal, I suppose, one way or the other but it's the little things that give DL its own unique flavor and add to versimilitude... glad to hear that these 'Krynnisms' are with us for the forseeable future.

Yep, they're all there!

Krynn has always had a certain distinctness, a uniqueness that set it apart from either the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk. Some people like these distinctive pieces, others don't, but we're definitely keeping with them...it's what makes Dragonlance...Dragonlance!

Christopher

 

[talinthas]

we were discussing this on the list, and came to the conclusion that after the cataclysm, gold pieces lost value because the country they were based around was currently at the bottom of the blood sea. People needed something more useful to use as currency, and steel has multiple purposes.

Eventually modern countries evolved and started minting their own steel pieces, with the backing of the weight of their treasury. So its not that blacksmiths and knights are the richest people out there, so much as minted steel is valuable because the nation says it is.

 

[Abel Kane]

I tend to agree. In the dark days following the Cataclysm, steel blades would be far more valuable than golden trinkets - and that would have translated into a reversal of the typical understandings of wealth. This would have become the norm and lead to the situation you describe where a 'modern' nation would simply back the steel pieces with it's own treasury.

Nifty, methinks!

 

[Vocenoctum]

Yes they are. Why dumb?

For myself, the part that was stupid was that a weapon smith would accept 15 steel pieces (in 1st edition, that was 1.5 pounds of steel, in third edition, even less) in return for a nice 4 pound longsword.

There has to be a trade value item, certainly, but something with an inherent worth like Steel gets a little silly to me.

I mean, how many steel pieces does 1 pound of steel cost?

Add to that, the steel piece was accepted because it was useful. So it's not unlikely that melting down coins WAS part of the intention.

 

[talinthas]

i'd almost suggest that steel pieces arent made of steel any more, so much as they are just called steel pieces. I'm assuming that governments arent stupid enough to allow their currency to be melted down like that.

Maybe a copper/steel mix or something to make it so that its not worth milling or melting the coin down for its steel value. At the same time, aristocrats could invest in steel futures and stuff.

I always told tracy and margaret that Krynn needed a well thought out economy =)

 

[Stormprince]

i'd almost suggest that steel pieces arent made of steel any more, so much as they are just called steel pieces. I'm assuming that governments arent stupid enough to allow their currency to be melted down like that.

Maybe a copper/steel mix or something to make it so that its not worth milling or melting the coin down for its steel value. At the same time, aristocrats could invest in steel futures and stuff.

I always told tracy and margaret that Krynn needed a well thought out economy =)

Well, originally, the idea was that "steel pieces" were to represent the ephemeral nature of wealth, as steel was more valued than gold during the Age of Despair...a great concept, but one that doesn't easily transfer itself well...

The way that I kind of view it is this: making pure steel isn't an easy process, requiring quite a bit of smelting, mixing in the right amounts of copper (I believe, but my mind's not all here today, so I could be wrong) with iron, and getting out the impurities. If the steel was treated in a special way, such as the folding process used in the crafting of katanas, or mixed with a different alloy to make it useless as a weapon (if it's melted down, it loses its qualities, or the like). A single steel coin could represent twice its weight in actual steel.

Steel is not the oddest currency, not even in our own world. Everything from salt to sea shells have been used. The thing to remember is that in most medieval-type socieites, money is actually uncommon, most trade is done through bartering...which doesn't really translate well into a game... I mean, how many eggs = a chicken, how many chickens = a sword?

All in all, it's a flavor thing. Just as sea shells or coins threaded along strings have represented wealth in other times and places here on earth, in Ansalon, steel coins (whatever their ration of "steel" is) represent a certain amount of monetary value in trade goods. Remember, you're not only purchasing the material in the weapon (such as using steel coins to pay for a steel blade), but you're also paying the craftsman or merchant a portion of the profits as well...which is why it takes 15 steel pieces to buy a 4 lbs. steel sword...

Christopher