Future -- Currency on the Planes

[Dioltach]

Situation: A hundred years from now, a strike team from our world is sent to Carceri (to cut a long story short, they thought they could find Celestials there).

Problem: What do they do when they need to buy things? Obviously, Wealth checks aren't going to be very appropriate. And there's only so much they can barter with their equipment or trade for work and favours. Assuming that the Planes have evolved from the pseudo-Medieval situation described in Planescape, and that the whole idea of gold pieces and so on has been left behind, what kind of cash would be used on the Planes?

Over to the creative minds of ENWorld!

 

[Ymdar]

Hmm. Maybe Mordron Bankhouses that adopted and created planar currency over the times.
Or the interdimensional devilish bankhouse of souls. (banned from most of the planes apparently)

They could use barter as well. Selling off pieces of their superior equipement could shift the status quo over the whole planes. It could even end the Blood War. It could even mean the end of the planes. Eternal peace (angels with gatlings or devil bomb squads)

 

[Dagger75]

Didn't they use kittens or puppies in Angel for currency.

Maybe dragon scales, angel feathers, demon claws or something like that may work.


They find a strange necklace on a fallen foe at home. It has a bunch of wierd teeth around it, demon teeth. The party keeps it, it is interesting. They get to planes and see some one using the the exact same teeth to buy a sword or some such. Well now the party has some money, not much, but they know what to look for now.

 

[Turanil]

The counters / chips (don't know the word) that you use to play in Casinos, except that they are made of precious substances (gold, etc.). In lower outer planes it's impossible to trust paper money, credit cards, or banks of any sort, so characters must carry their cash with them.

 

[Ymdar]

The counters / chips (don't know the word) that you use to play in Casinos, except that they are made of precious substances (gold, etc.). In lower outer planes it's impossible to trust paper money, credit cards, or banks of any sort, so characters must carry their cash with them.

Not to mention that paper money would suffer damage from the enviromental effects of the lower planes.

 

[Dioltach]

Thanks for the suggestions. I went with Ymdar's suggestion of a Modron bank, whose currency is the cubit. Although no electronic money or cash has actually appeared in the game yet, it will probably consist of small squares made from some highly durable material (perhaps developed specially by the Modrons, based on a secret formula known only to the Modron Bank). I've adopted the suggestion I saw somewhere of Mechanus having developed into an infinite circuit board, so the Bank has also created electronic money, using a system of debit cards linking through to the Bank's circuits on Mechanus.

There may of course be other banks on the Planes, but the Modron Bank is the only really reliable one (according to their Marketing division).

 

[WayneLigon]

I guess the first question is: What is valuable to the residents of Canceri? Off hand I dno't remember if Canceri is a Lawful plane; if so there is probably a strong enough heirarchy to support an artificial currency that has no real backing or intrinsic value: it's valuable because the 'government' says it is. Otherwise, it has to be something of value.

Probably not precious metals because what's precious here might not be precious there. It has to be something durable enough to survive in Canceri's environment. It has to be something everyone wants but there is never enough of. It has to be valuable to other things in the Lower Planes, so that trade can occur.

Souls. In White Wolf's Wraith game, all the currency in the land of ghosts was other ghosts who were too weak to defend themselves and so were pressed into coins and furniture and whatnot. The same might be true in the lower planes. Flat black iron 'coins' made of solidified souls. The surface writhes slightly and faces seem to swim in the iron, constantly silently screaming. They are convenient, virtually indestructable by normal environmental means, and if nothing can be traded, they serve as a good snack. They become even more valuable if you're using the various rules for things and spells powered by soul-stuff. Plus, it's certainly a disturbing alien element that should make the strike team members crap their pants. Especially when some guy notices that one of his coins bears the screaming face of his mother....