Fantasy Banking-

[The Grumpy Celt]

In another thread I asked about fantasy banking and some people seemed to support the idea.

I am toying with the idea of writing a short game supplement – something on the order of 10K words – about banking, trading stocks and insurance in a typical fantasy game setting. I doubt I will get into trying to rectify some of the economic errors created by the system as described in the Player’s Handbook.

That said, banking, trading stocks and insurance all go back to the Middle Ages, if not further back, and so could conceivably be a part of a typical fantasy game setting.

The book would set up a verity of gaming hooks.

Those hooks would be like;
• stock traded in an adventuring company and the person who held the most stock got to tell the company where to go and what to do;
• robbing a bank;
• foiling a bank robbery;
• getting a loan to finance an expedition to the Tomb of Sefwupevofahef the Uber-Zombie;
• trying to get everyone in the party insured before they go to Tomb of Sefwupevofahef the Uber-Zombie;
• being hired by a bank because Sefwupevofahef the Uber-Zombie has defaulted on his mortgage payment and the bank wants to foreclose on his tomb;
• raiding Tomb of Sefwupevofahef the Uber-Zombie only to discover he does not have any gold, at all, anywhere – but piles and piles of stocks, bonds, promissory notes, etc.

This all said, what would you like to see in this kind of book?

 

[diaglo]

coins minted by banks... different from standard.

finding a moneychanger to convert currency

 

[Hand of Evil]

Still think you need some very basic economy stuff, just pluses and minues.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Still think you need some very basic economy stuff, just pluses and minues.

Not to be a smart az, but define "very basic economy stuff..."

A few months ago there where several long-winded discussion threads on how (and way) the economic system decribed in the PHB and the DMG were unworkable and unsupportable.

I don't want to get into that kind of thing. I don't want to get into a 2,500+ word discussion on what is wrong with the system and all the things needed to fix it.

The fantasty banking bootlet should not be deadly dul reading and should open up gaming possibilities.

It should be about get dragon slayer insured, forging money, robbing banks and so forth. Not about how much grain a village needs to surive and the specific interest rates on the grain.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Not to be a smart az, but define "very basic economy stuff..."

A few months ago there where several long-winded discussion threads on how (and way) the economic system decribed in the PHB and the DMG were unworkable and unsupportable.

I don't want to get into that kind of thing. I don't want to get into a 2,500+ word discussion on what is wrong with the system and all the things needed to fix it.

The fantasty banking bootlet should not be deadly dul reading and should open up gaming possibilities.

It should be about get dragon slayer insured, forging money, robbing banks and so forth. Not about how much grain a village needs to surive and the specific interest rates on the grain.

That is just it, I don't know but the weath of a city/country should affect the value of its coin, the same with an expassionist city/country. You also have to think what would the effect be of new wealth being dropped into a city be, does it matter?

 

[Thanee]

One problem would be forgery. Would need some magic to make at least somewhat "forgery proof" documents.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Tonguez]

Dragons have hordes - the gold standard of a country is underwritten by the Horde of its local friendly dragon. Promisory Notes and Bills of Exchange et al are issued by Dragon allied guilds/banKs.

When Dragonslayers slay evil dragons they MUST donate the resultant horde to the local friendly dragon - as this keeps the economy under control. Dragonslayers who do not donate their newly acquired hordes and instead release huge amounts of treasure into the economy are criminals (plot hook)

If your campaign doesn't have ubiquitous dragons then choose another guardian - the Blue goblins, the Church of Mamon, the Guild Merchantile

 

[Tonguez]

Also what happens if Sefwupevofahef the Uber-Zombie has had the foresight to take out Adventurer Insurance for his tomb and puts in a claim after the adventurers have paid a visit - does the Insurance company now set out to recover its cost from the adventurers?

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

…the weath of a city/country should affect the value of its coin, the same with an expassionist city/country.

This I will approach because I offers game hooks, namely one entity (city, cult of mammon, merchants guild) trying to destroy the economy of a city or kingdom of what have you.

You also have to think what would the effect be of new wealth being dropped into a city be, does it matter?

I do not think I will deal too much with inflation or deflation of currency values in this sense. It would get dull and complicated pretty quick, unless it was an infusion of cash on a massive sale.

Also what happens if Sefwupevofahef the Uber-Zombie has had the foresight to take out Adventurer Insurance for his tomb…

You know, I had not thought of that, but its funny. I might just steal… er… use that idea.

Some of the ideas are becoming somewhat cheeky, even if they make sense in a fantasy setting. I mean at a certain level it makes sense for anyone well known and/or rich to take adventurer raids insurance, given the number of adventuring groups roaming around raiding every pile of stones in sight. But the idea of a necromancer trying to collect out of his insurance company because a bunch of clerics just burned down his Black Tower makes me smile.

 

[Whimsical]

Just because every D&D game has a group of adventurers doesn't mean that adventuring groups are common in the game world. In fact, they should be very rare. Because anyone who goes to explore the haunted whatever outside of town would be regarded as insane, suicidal, or stupid by everyone else.

When designing your game world societies, make adventuring group as common as they are in the real world.