I linked to an interesting article on ancient and medieval coins vs. fantasy gold coins over on ACOUP.
Felltower uses devalued currency compared to standard DF. I use a silver standard, but gold coins appear in numbers. There are a few reasons for that:
- Felltower is more Renaissance / Pre-Modern than Medieval or Ancient.
- Felltower doesn't feature a true vassalage system, or a gifting culture in general.
- Modern expectations are not to be given gifts with social expectations attached, but to be paid. At least modern, US expectations.
- Devalued currency with gold coins thrown about are a fantasy fiction expectation.
I don't pretend my system is historical. It just needs to feel realistic in some way, not actually reflect history. I find it a lot easier to hand over different cultural expectations than to get people used to using money to exchange for good and services to not expect to do that.
Vaguely realistic (which can come from a very soft focus on the non-dungeon parts) is better than historical. Real history had fewer dragons, no spells, and much less improvement by spending murder hobo XP . A DF world wouldn't look like the real world.
ReplyDeleteI work with dime sized coins that come about 255 per lb on a copper standard- silver pennies are worth $20, rare tiny gold coins worth $80. I also use strings of cash- copper wire holding 25 large brass coins with square holes worth $4.
ReplyDeleteMost players do not want accounting as part of the adventure loop.
ReplyDeleteExcept for these guys.
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