Let’s Make Better Rpg Currencies
https://youtu.be/VADntQSNMB4?si=VUw999G0yZ0x52IW
I’m curious what currency systems my fellow #ttrpg GMs have dreamt up when #worldbuilding.
It’s always annoyed me how #dnd’s gp/sp/cp currency resembles the USD system so much in the way it is used, despite the fact that IRL a single gold coin would be worth more than my car. Does #WotC think my backpack is worth $8k? That makes no sense to me.
The best currency is obviously tally sticks.
I joke - I haven’t used this in a game. It is interesting, though. From what I understand of history, the vast majority of people used a gift economy, barter, and what was essentially a credit system to get what they needed. The idea of the adventurers ‘buying’ their equipment on credit by owing the blacksmith a portion of loot later does raise some ideas.
Also tally sticks are where we get the phrase ‘stock holder’; the one who loaned the goods kept the larger end of the split tally, which was called the stock.
Letters of Credit can lead to side quest.
I can think of a couple systems that don’t use gold (or any other straight currency) :
The One Ring uses treasures as a measure of wealth, which above set amounts grows and gives you access to more. It’s not about spending your treasures, you’re not buying goods for currency (most of the time), instead you can afford stuff depending on your level of wealth.
Warhammer Rogue Trader (40k) while not a ttrpg still offers an interesting alternative. Since you’re extremely wealthy, earning and spending currency wouldn’t make much sense on a small scale, so instead you gain reputation with various factions by trading with them, which in turn gives you access to items you can grab freely.
The idea is the same, rather than using currency you have a measure of what you have access to. It can evolve up or down, varying what you can get over time, without the hassle of book keeping (or verty little of it).
@Shkshkshk @rpg
Poland calls their coins ‘gold’ and ‘silver’ (though silver are now worthless due to inflation), so the USD doesn’t necessarily have any relation.
I went with 1gp = 10sp = 1000 cp, so people could carry coinage more easily.
But it’s coins made of solid gold/silver/copper that players find in dungeons, bring back to town, and immediately spend. People bring their irl money intuition to the table when they need to pull prices out of their ass which results in tavern food costing, like, 10 gold coins per plate. Realistically, given the prices of the materials in the specie coins, I think players paying for stuff in gp should be treated like some rich fuck paying for fast food with Benjamins.
@Shkshkshk @rpg yea, basic expenditures needs to be in copper.
Shadoversity had a video where he spent 20 minutes saying ‘gold is heavy’, and shows that hiking with 1000 gold coins isn’t really feasible.
I have no idea what medieval things cost, so I decided 1cp = £1, and assumed items cost what you might see on Etsy (which I also have no idea about, I have done no research).
I mean, usually my #dnd players strongly dislike tracking encumbrance, so the coins might as well be weightless.
Something I think people tend to forget about is the practice of “free lunch”. Sit yourself down at the bar, order a drink, and you get access to a whole lunch menu as long as you keep drinking. It particularly makes sense if a pint of beer &/or a single lunch actually costs slightly less than a cp, so two beers would cover the cost.
I’m afraid I don’t remember the name of the system or else I’d link the rules, but I do remember playing a game where I really liked what they did with inventory and currency.
Basically, the game divorced the rules from the settings’ currency entirely. So if you’re into homebrew, that means it works equally well with gold, credit chips, reputation, bottle caps, and seashells
When you defeated a monster, finished a quest, or found hidden treasure, you would acquire LOOT. Get ten LOOT and you level up at the end of the adventure.
Instead of writing down and purchasing all of your basic equipment, you would have a certain number of GEAR points. If you found you were in a situation where you needed some item, you could mark off one of your GEAR to retroactively have brought that item with you.
I liked it because it sped up play and was super newbie friendly. You no longer run into a situation where a career adventurer plum forgot to buy torches before spelunking. It also meant you didn’t have to roll a check for each item in the dragon’s hoard to see if you could afford to feed your hirelings.
If that system sounds familiar to anyone, please let me know. I wouldn’t mind taking it for a spin again
It’s definitely not what you’re thinking of, but the World of Darkness games have a similar system in that each character has a stat called “resources”, representing their general level of wealth, and can trivially acquire any item rated less than that.
I think d20 Modern also had something similar, though it’s been years ago and I’m not 100% certain that wasn’t a homebrew rule based on WoD.
I can confirm that it’s not, I haven’t tried WoD yet.
I do recall there being a similar mechanic in at least one version of Call of Cthulhu. Among all your character stats you also had a Credit Rating. I think it was left a little bit vague about how to implement it, but a successful check basically meant that you convinced the target you were good for your debt.
I got the impression that it was supposed to be more about your social credit and your ability to convince people of your honourable reputation, but I definitely used it to buy a car once.
…marvel super heroes also featured a resources ability score and feats to represent financial maneuvers akin to lines of credit; it felt frustratingly abstracted as a teenager living in a discretionary cash economy, but after several decades as a real-world adult i realise that it’s an elegant abstraction for how people actually live and conduct commerce…
I really like WoD’s Resources background, one thing I do tend to append to the rules is separate out recurring income from lump assets.
Basically Income Resources are used up and refresh each month worth of time provided players maintain their income or have retainers keep watch over the accounts. Lump Resources are like having a big pile of gold, or a big inheritance from an eccentric uncle or just a bunch of money in a savings account. Once they’re used up, they’re used up.