Soul coins, or demon money, or something...

[Rel]

I doubt you got it from me unless you've been reading my Story Hour but I did use this idea in my last campaign. The basic format I used was like this:

- The souls of evil individuals are sent to Hell. These mostly take the form of very minor demons and devils (Lemures and such) though in certain cases people will strike a bargain to be embodied as a more powerful infernal being.

- These creatures are gathered up by the Lords of Hell and brought to one of their fortresses. There they are cast into large pens where the conditions are, well, hellish.

- These souls are the property of these Lords of Hell who issue currency against their value. This currency primarily takes the form of "Soul Cents" (worth 1/100 of a soul) and "Skull Gems" (worth a full soul). This currency is paid to demons and devils who perform services for the Lords in question.

- This money is magical in nature and allows the holder to actually summon the Souls it represents to its location (whereupon it dissipates). This is how the lower eschelon demons and devils summon these wretches to them in times of need.

 

[Wonger]

If it was a pretty recent book, it might be the sidebar in Beyond Countless Doorways about Hell Money.

BOO YA! That's where I saw it. I new it was recent, and my recent aquisitions included Eberron and IKCG in hardback...but I also have a boatload of Malhavoc PDF's. "Hell money" - that would have driven me nuts.

Any further expansion, information or thoughts beyond the little sidebar?

Thanks!

 

[BSF]

BOO YA! That's where I saw it. I new it was recent, and my recent aquisitions included Eberron and IKCG in hardback...but I also have a boatload of Malhavoc PDF's. "Hell money" - that would have driven me nuts.

Any further expansion, information or thoughts beyond the little sidebar?

Thanks!

Well, I am betting that Monte has a few thoughts.

I haven't seen it yet, though my copy of BCD is on the way. I do know it is at least vaguely based off Hell Money from Chinese culture.

What kind of stuff were you looking for?

 

[tarchon]

The coins in Wraith were called oboli, or obols. Souls could generally be forged into "Stygian metal," which functioned as the primary construction material for objects in the underworld.

 

[FireLance]

I haven't seen it yet, though my copy of BCD is on the way. I do know it is at least vaguely based off Hell Money from Chinese culture.

The name may be similar, but the concept is way different.

The traditional Chinese belief is that the afterlife is pretty much like the world we know, except that your only source of income and possessions are the offerings given to you by your descendants. Hence, the Chinese would burn paper representations of houses, cars, servants and money to ensure that their ancestors have a comfortable afterlife. This money is known as Hell Money and usually comes in large denominations, often in the millions.

Of course, the afterlife does move with the times, and these days, people also burn paper representations of television sets, DVD players, cellphones and credit cards.

 

[Monte At Home]

Any further expansion, information or thoughts beyond the little sidebar?

Off the top of my head, only that it creates a great moral dilemma for good aligned PCs to find these as treasure and having to decide what to do with them.

I've also always liked the idea of treasure that isn't universally valuable, but valuable to small (perhaps remote or hard to reach) groups. It turns treasure into a challenge.