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EconomyThe economy of Aelros does not use the standard model presented in the PHB. The page below details exactly how the new model functions. This page contains a very large amount of information regarding the economic state of the land, but keep in mind that very little of it is actually mandatory to know. The page is organized in an attempt to put the most important content at the top, and the less important content at the bottom. If you read only some of it, make sure to read the Aelrosian Economy section; the rest is really just flavour. W Why Change it?It was decided by the majority of the campaign's founding members that an economy in which silver pieces and copper pieces actually meant something would be more robust, and a world in which adventurer's didn't have to spend the wealth of a whole kingdom to buy a single magic item would be more realistic. It is also beneficial to the state of the shared campaign, as it allows for standardized monetary awards to be used. Aelrosian EconomyCurrency across Aelros is governed primarily through the Exchange Union, a group dedicated to promoted trade and maintaining a standard of currency throughout the land. A single printable page of this article's most important information can be found here. Converting ValuesUnder the Path of the Nomad system, the important coins divide into each other by one hundred. So, one gold coin is worth 100 silver, and one silver coin is worth 100 copper. There are more than just gold, silver and copper, but they aren't used nearly as often, especially in the case of disinterested players; they're described purely in the interest of content. For clarity, gold and gold30 are synonymous terms, as are silver to silver30 and copper to copper30. When purchasing goods out of the PHB, or another source that uses the default price scale, use the following conversions to arrive at new price. New CharactersA first level character starts with 100 silver30. Non-magical ItemsWhen purchasing non-magical items, use the following conversions.
*silver30 and copper30 are the names given to specific weights of coins, as shown below. In effect they are just "copper" and "silver". Magic ItemsWhen purchasing magical items, use the following level-based values.
*a bc is a Blue Crown, an exceptionally large denomination of money worth 100 gold30. Non-standard Magic ItemsPursuant to the prices above, the table that follows gives conversion ratios for nonstandard prices by item level. To use these conversions, multiply the gold value of the item by the item's level multiplication factor. The number that you get is the amount of copper30 pieces the item is worth in the new system. The conversion values slowly decrease because of the difference in scale from low to high level between the two systems; the amount of money calculated is worth the same percentage when compared to suggested wealth levels, +/- 10%. These conversions apply primarily to consumables and ritual component costs.
For example, the Remove Affliction ritual normally has a component cost of 680 gold. As a level 8 ritual you would multiply 680 by 15.392, which gets you 10466.56 copper pieces, or 1 gold30, 4 silver30 and 66 copper30 (plus 6 Tin30, if you want to get specific). Existing WealthExisting wealth is converted in exactly the same way as non-standard magic items. Write your gold as a decimal value, then multiply by your level's corresponding factor on the table above. Convert from copper as needed. CoinageAll official currency throughout Aelros is precious metal in minted coinage. The average coin of the realm is a disc about 30mm in diameter and 3mm thick. Coins with less precious metal tend to be smaller and thinner, but are still comparable in size thanks to alloys. A wide variety of iconography and emblems adorn the various coins, especially in cities with a high level of migration amongst the nobility. In Cloudspire market a person is likely to come across currencies from no less than fifteen different nations. The only unifying factor between them is the amount of precious metal they contain. The following list of coins are considered to be universally accepted, though only the three bold lines are economy standard, according to the Exchange Union. The exclusion of the lowest copper pieces has caused quite a bit of controversy amongst nations that aren't as well off. These nations continue to mint lower value coins, to the dismay of the EU.
Unlike the smaller coins, crown coins are usually rectangular bars with jewels inset in patterns across the surface. The value of these coins is more of an agreed value than a true worth, though the EU does its best to ensure that the coin is as close to its printed value as possible. It's also relevant to note that the average person rarely deals in gold pieces, and only the grandest of exchanges, such as the kind between kingdoms, ever makes use of the largest crown coins. Exchanging CoinsThe table below gives a complete exchange ratio for all coins smaller than a Gold Crown.
If you really want to convert the crown coins into smaller coins, something that should almost never come up in game as a traditional exchange, here's the ratios to convert them into other crowns and gold30.
The Ip SymbolThe standard unit of measurement for Aelrosian coin is called the "ip", though it's rarely put to use, in favour of specific names for larger denominations. However, the symbol for the ip is still used widely to show sums that are monetary. The ip symbol looks like a circle with a dot in the middle of it. When written as a single line, a monetary value looks like this, 5.43.21◉, where a dot represents a separation of gold, silver and copper coins (other coins are not used in notation). Non-leading dots are always placed in notation, even if there is only one type of coin. 5..21◉, or 43.21◉, or 5..◉. Commas are placed after every third digit from the right for numbers with greater than three digits. 5,000.3,000.20◉ (5,000 gold, 3,000 silver and 20 copper). You can easily place the ip symbol in the wiki by typing Playing with MoneyThe following section explains the scope by which characters are expected to use the information above. Non-Standard CoinageThe vast majority of coins traded across Aelros are Gold30, Silver30 and Copper30. The existence of other coins is often the result of nations refusing to adhere to the standards of weight and purity put forth by the Exchange Union, though some of them are simply alternate currencies used in other regions, or coins mistakenly minted at the wrong weight. Anyone that recovers these non-standard coins may return them to an EU office and receive their equivalent weight in standard currency (gold30, silver30 or copper30) for no fee, as the EU attempts to remove non-standard coins from circulation. They still charge to change standard coins. The Name GameWhen running games, or playing in them, it is not necessary to use anything other than "gold", "silver" and "copper". The other denominations are presented purely for flavour purposes. To understand the meaning of the different coins, it's helpful to examine the "estimated worth" column on the coinage table above, as it is quite close to real, modern day values (the price of gold is inflated about 40%). Recording FundsWhen recording how much money your character has as a single value, every two digits in either direction of the decimal goes "up" or "down" the scale of coins one step, in the order of copper30, silver30, gold30. Or more accurately, if you write the value in total copper pieces, it breaks down like this: Going right-to-left, the first two digits are copper pieces, the next two are silver pieces, the next two are gold pieces, the next one is gold crowns, the next one is blue crowns and everything after that is white crowns. For example, the number 987,654,321 is 21 Copper30, 43 Silver30, 65 gold30, 7 gold crowns, 8 blue crowns and 9 white crowns. The table below highlights how a single number could represent greater numbers of coins, using only copper pieces.
This next table shows the same as the above table, but for all coins, starting at tin. In this example, there is 32 copper, not 21, when compared with the above, as we are including one lower coin.
The Weight of CoinsKeep in mind that it's unlikely your character is walking around with their entire wealth in their pocket in the form of copper. More likely they've got specific amounts of each type of coin, mostly because Aelrosian coin is heavy! Since 1000 grams makes one kilogram (or 2.2 pounds), a measily 33 coins weighs at least one kilogram in precious metal alone. Even easier to remember: 15 coins weigh 1 pound. Obviously it's useful to have your money in a form that doesn't encumber you when you walk, which is why it should be taken to a money changer to make it more manageable for travel. Most people when they go out shopping don't carry hundreds of coins with them. They take a select few for their purchases, with maybe a few extra. It's this weight problem that makes non-standard denominations useful to the common person. Campaign PerspectivePlayers should never be penalized for not knowing exactly how many of what specific coin they have. They should also never be expected to know what a "lunker" or a "whit" is. A player that wants to roleplay an exchange of currency is welcome and should be encouraged, but it should never be forced upon someone that doesn't want to. Ideally, a player knows the number of gold, silver and copper coins they have (meaning gold30, silver30 and copper30), and that's that. They can total up the weight from there, or take it to a money changer. IncomeHow much money is 1 gold30, anyway? Income for Non-adventurersSince most of the world isn't out killing things and looting corpses for a living, it's helpful to compare a normal person's income to that of a contract killer. The average skilled worker nets about 10 to 15 silver30 per day for their efforts, before any taxes or expenses. Just like the real world, there are those that make substantially above and substantially below this amount. A decent number of Aelrosians are subsistance farmers, people that make or grow virtually everything they need to survive. Income for AdventurersSee the wealth by level page for a guide on exactly how much equitable wealth a character should have, based upon their level. |
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