Let’s Make Better Rpg Currencies

@rpg

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.

  • 𝕸𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔫@dice.camp
    3·
    5 days ago

    @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.

    • Xilabar the Dice Goblin@dice.campOP
      6·
      5 days ago

      @malin @rpg

      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.

      • 𝕸𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔫@dice.camp
        4·
        5 days ago

        @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).

        • Xilabar the Dice Goblin@dice.campOP
          2·
          5 days ago

          @malin @rpg

          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.

          • 𝕸𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔫@dice.camp
            2·
            4 days ago

            @Shkshkshk @rpg
            I just listed an entrance cost, all drinks included. Sounds like you basically arrived at the same solution.

            The beer’s gonna rot after a day or two anyway, so it’s not like the barkeep really needs to cling to it.

            • Xilabar the Dice Goblin@dice.campOP
              2·
              4 days ago

              @malin @rpg

              Wait, beer rots? Gonna look into this real quick. Sounds like something beer shouldn’t do

              Edit: Turns out ale was nearly nonalcoholic back then and was viewed the way protein shakes are now

              • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
                1·
                4 days ago

                Most beer nowadays contains some preservatives. Hops was the first natural preservative added to beer. With very few exceptions, beer is supposed to be drink fresh after a short “aging” period and starts deteriorating flavor in the bottle.

                Unpasteurized beer spoils much faster. It might not rot super fast because the yeast can compete with other bugs to an extent, but it’ll sure start tasting progressively worse as time goes on.

          • Trantion@masto.ai
            2·
            5 days ago

            @Shkshkshk @malin @rpg the PHB does pretty much say that coins are rarely used day to day, and most trading is done by barter or other exchange. True, adventurers are some of the people most likely to use coins, but maybe those gold coins aren’t all literal gold coins

      • Ranger
        2·
        4 days ago

        Denarii where originally silver, just like dollars & Yen.