Money Matters: What Kind of Cash is in Your Campaign?

[AFGNCAAP]

The topic on no Common language got me thinking about this, since it's another aspect of the game which doesn't seem to be thought about much in comparison to some of the bigger mechanics (magic, combat, races, classes, etc.).

What kind of system(s) of currency do you use in your campaign? Do you use the standard 3.X D&D currency system? Do you use an earlier system (1st ed. AD&D, for example)? Do you use a system from another setting or game (like Dragonlance's steel pieces or Dark Sun's ceramic pieces)? Do you have alternate forms of currency (like paper money in a medieval-style game, copper-alloy coins of various sizes and denominations, etc.)? Do you even use money in the game (maybe use the barter system instead, or special trade methods)?

Then again, do you have multiple currency systems IYC? Do your PCs have to concern themselves with exchange rates while on the road? Do prices & coin values fluctuate? Do they have to worry about counterfeiting?

 

[Crothian]

I use printed coins that are backed by the churches. The countries have their own coin system and what the coins are worth, but it's the churches that serve as the banks.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Wooden pieces. With the destruction of the surface world with all its vegitation, wood is now scarcer and more valuable than gold. Rumors of a newly discovered Quaal's Feather Token: Tree have triggered all-out wars in the Underdark, though without real trees such items can no longer be crafted.

 

[Imperialus]

I use a GP based system with different names. These coins are the ones used by the empire of Raddark which is where most of the campaign takes place.

Drachi=1 Copper Peice: A tiny copper nugget weighing about 1/4th as much as a D&D gold peice. Stamped with wolf's head.
Setari=1 Silver Peice: A coin made from Bronze about the size of a moderen day Quarter, it weighs half as much as a D&D gold peice. Stamped with the emporors head on one side and a syalized representation of an imperial knight on the other.
Istara=1 GP: A coin made out of silver plated iron. This is the largest denomination that most people see. It weighs as much as a D&D gold peice with the emporors head on one side and the Imperial Throne stamped on the other.

Coin values in my campaign remain pretty much static however there are a multitude of different currancies due to the different civilizations that have been absorbed into the empire and the minor detail that there is a major succession war going on with no less than 6 factions each of whom is makeing it's own money. And it's a very bad thing to try and pay for something with a coin that has the wrong emprors head on it. It's actually quite common to carry around the sum total of your weath in Drachi simply because there is no face on it.

 

[Speaks With Stone]

I ran a Rolemaster game using real coins. I set up rough exchange rates for different coins depending on where you were. It worked for Rolemaster because the value of coins in that system is much higher. To make it work for D&D requires you to adjust things so that you don't need 1000s of coins to carry around. Perhaps you could use a combination with paper money, too.

I found that I could get gobs of coins on eBay - Central American currency worked rather well in that the coins were very cheap and also fairly small in size, too.

 

[fusangite]

In my current campaign, there is money but no currency system. It's an ice age and people are living on the edge of extinction. Money is useless.

In my last campaign, I became so annoyed by the stupidly ultra-modern decimal system that half-way through, in order to deal with currency devaluation, the government switched the currency into base-12. 12cp to an sp; 12sp to a gp and, just to make things more interesting, 6gp to a pp.

 

[Nifft]

Some people like to keep their money in "liquid" form -- gold, gems, etc. All those things are basically interchangeable. The coinage of many realms are all modeled after the First Empire's coinage, a standard weight & composition.

However, others prefer to bank their money. Several options exist. The "safest" bank is the Draconic Bank of Urracca. You put your gold on a ship, it gets delivered to the island of Urracca, and a dragon sits on it. Of course, you get Banknotes with Arcane Marks equal to your balance. The Banknotes are far more portable than large piles of gold, and all Arcane Marks are protected from forgery by the Goddess of Magic & Death. It's a pretty secure system. Also, every merchant within a day's flight of Urracca knows that it's very unwise to turn down Urraccan Banknotes, unless your shop is fire-proof.

Other states have banking systems, but none so entertaining.

-- N

 

[reiella]

For the most part, just 3.x basic money system of coin pieces.

Although there's a basic abstract money system coming to play soon (one of the stronger Merchant family's IOUs/Credit/Tokens).

I also plan to introduce foreign coins and ancient coinage soon using different types of potential currency such as gems, etc.

This also does remind me I need to work on Coin Shaving.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I vote Nifft's system the funniest.

My campaign is set in Magnamund, so I use that system:
* the Gold Crown is the standard unit of currency throughout the Lastlands; it's roughly equivalent to the D&D GP
* in the Stornlands, the more common currency is the Lune, a silver coin; 4 Lune = 1 Gold Crown
* the Darklords and their tributary states use the Kika, an iron coin; 10 Kika = 1 Gold Crown
* the Shadakine Empire in Southern Magnamund uses jade coins
* the Kingdom of Firalond uses money made of linen

In general, I like to have just enough monetary variance to keep things interesting, but not so much that I annoy the players.

 

[mythusmage]

Haven't really given it much thought. I really must work it out.

To make the world more 'real' to the players I will be using variable systems. One country will have a certain ratio, the neighbors will have another. In addition, coins will have different values depending on where you are.

Then you have money changers. Who pay much less for your foreign coins than they charge to sell them back to you.

With this currency speculation is entirely possible. But there are difficulties in this as well. Restrictions and regulations, guilds and cartels, transportation of goods, stuff like that there.

To make life even more fun, I may introduce inflation, currency devaluation, and currency reform.

But Hell, if a player comes up with a way for his PC to make a good living off the currency trade, let him. And base adventures around his business. Pirates and bandits come to mind. As does raiding dragons and similar coin savvy critters. Taxes, bribery, inflation, and currency reform can add to his troubles. While the introduction of letters of credit or even paper currency could leave him destitute unless he takes steps to take advantage of the situation. For that matter, the discovery of a new source of gold, or the loss of a source of silver, could radically alter the respective values of gold and sliver coins, as an example.

"Let's see... In weight you have 20 ounces of fine gold in 100 coins from the Kingdom of Whython. Whython currency is not recognized here, so we have to deal with weight. At the current ratio of 5 ounces of gold to an ounce of silver, your gold is worth four silver ounces on the retail market. Or twenty silver coins. At a wholesale cost 20% of the retail value, I can offer you four silver for your gold."