[Updated] - FANTASY MONEY is here!

[harperscout]

I think it is an awesome idea. As soon as I can purchase it, I will!

 

[Torin]

Banknotes vs. Stack o' Coins

I agree that it is just a taste issue--and that's exactly the point.

Perhaps if the idea goes over well you can also offer some more generic certificates?

They could be similar in appearance, but if one planned to print them in color (like me) they would be different enough...and there are the words "copper" or "silver" ect. to futher differentiate...

Regardless, still a good idea.

 

[edbonny]

Absolutely brilliant concept! Hats off to Morrus for thinking of this.

The execution, however, needs a lot of work:
> The sample does not look like money. It looks like a nondescript image of a wizard with a border and words in 2 corners. I know it is money by looking at it, but there is a lot that can be done creatively to give the feel of true currency.
> The borders surrounding the bill's perimeter and encircling the copy are too modern looking and look suspiciously like the lines offered by Word.
> The font used is modern -- lacking completely in any fantasy feel.

There is a lot that could be done to really make this product shine.
> Having the illustrator perform some research into real medieval coinage.
> Drop the use of a single image to span the entire bill. This makes the bill look like a CCG-card rather than a denomination of currency. Shrink the image, crop it or replace it. A look at modern day bills around the world would be an excellent guide here on what we human players might want our money to look like.
> Add imagery. The imagery on medieval/ancient coins (and I would apply this to fantasy money) almost always conveyed meaning through icons - portrait of a leader, a fleur-de-lis, etc.. While this product needs to be campaign-neutral, it should include fantasy symbols - a crossed sword & wand, a crown, a castle, a dragon face.
> Money could also be designed for the various races/kingdoms out there.
- Dwarven money with axes, a mountain top, etc. Elven money with leaf imagery, the sun. Human money. Halfling money containing a pipe, a hill, etc.
> As recommended by someone above, I could see a bill being an iconic image of a bunch of coins - containing an image of 5 coins on it to depict 5 coppers or 5 gold, etc.

Overall, the idea is wonderful -- and inspiring! Keep it going!!!!!

 

[Flyspeck23]

Perhaps if the idea goes over well you can also offer some more generic certificates?

Might be. The idea to make some even more generic cards is certainly appealing...

Btw, in my campaign I'll put the illustrations to good use. Meaning that the illustrations on the cards will be written into the campaign background to some degree or another. That wizard on the 5 cp note for instance won't have to stay generic if you don't want to. Suddenly he's Hargolan the Magnificent, First Transmuter in the time of Queen Jordana the Second, who nearly single-handedly stopped the goblinoid invasion led by Warlord Snargoth... or who- and whatever. You get the idea.

> The sample does not look like money. It looks like a nondescript image of a wizard with a border and words in 2 corners. I know it is money by looking at it, but there is a lot that can be done creatively to give the feel of true currency.

It's not supposed to look like true currency.
Our reasoning: not all campaigns will feature paper money (and, one could argue, most won't), so there's no real need to make it look like real paper money. Additionally, we'd have to "invent" all sorts of names (who's shown on the bill, is there a "national bank", and so on) which would've made it less generic.
(IIRC, paper money was first introduced in Europe in the 16th or 17th century. That's a little late for your average medieval European campaign...)

We just wanted it to look somewhat like money. Seems like we succeeded

> The borders surrounding the bill's perimeter and encircling the copy are too modern looking and look suspiciously like the lines offered by Word.

Blasphemy!


Really, no word processing application has been used. Well, ok, for the introduction, but that's it.

Here's the reason we only did lines instead of some sort of border graphic: As we wanted it to look a little like real bills, but just barely, we thought it would be good to add some sort of design element. On the other hand we didn't want to obscure too much of the illustration itself.

> Having the illustrator perform some research into real medieval coinage.

For a less generic product, that would be the way to go.

> Drop the use of a single image to span the entire bill. This makes the bill look like a CCG-card rather than a denomination of currency. Shrink the image, crop it or replace it. A look at modern day bills around the world would be an excellent guide here on what we human players might want our money to look like.

I thought you were looking for a more fantasy/medieval feel?

> Money could also be designed for the various races/kingdoms out there.

Races and kingdoms of which campaign world? OGC-issues notwithstanding, it would make the product less accessible for a lot of people...

Overall, the idea is wonderful -- and inspiring! Keep it going!!!!!

Thanks. And your input is highly appreciated. Hope I didn't seem to neglective of your ideas...

 

[Edheldur]

The first time I read about this, I thought "Meh... seems rather pointless". Then I downloaded the preview and thought "This could have some use...". Then, I showed the preview to one of my players and he said "Cool! it's just like Monopoly" (Actually, he said "Turista", which is kinda the same thing) and offered to print lots of them if I got them for my group. Seeing his interest in this, and knowing that my other players will definitely like it, I want them.

Shame on you, Morrus, for making me buy yet another product!

 

[reanjr]

Very interesting! I'm surprised no one thought of these before.

Actually, I had previously thought of ordering Romanian Lei to use for my games (exchange rate is absurd), but I never found a place to get it. I think they're switching to Euros now, ruining my idea.

 

[Peter_Subangelis]

Hmmm... cheap plastic chips and some spraypaint? Could also use a black marker and some sealant to do different amount per chip.

 

[Morrus]

Hmmm... cheap plastic chips and some spraypaint? Could also use a black marker and some sealant to do different amount per chip.

Absolutely! I agree that any product is replicable!

 

[Nailom]

What about some extra cards for wealth other than coins like jewels, pieces of arts, raw materials, trading goods, property, slaves etc...? They should be generic with a field where you can fill in weight, exact nature, number and price of the goods.

Bye Nailom

 

[Flyspeck23]

What about some extra cards for wealth other than coins like jewels, pieces of arts, raw materials, trading goods, property, slaves etc...? They should be generic with a field where you can fill in weight, exact nature, number and price of the goods.

Way ahead of you
Morrus is already planning that very thing, but as a seperate product - as this'll involve a huge amount of additonal illustrations, it'd make the Fantasy Money too expensive.

Not sure if that set will include slaves though...


And good idea about the generic part. That'd be neat.
But not all cards would need to feature form fields.