Coins in Project Eternity

[violetarian]

With a game like Project Eternity it's important to strike a balance adding realistic details that give the world depth against any burdens those complicated details could lay on the shoulders of the player.

 

I feel that coins and treasure that encumber the player are an important part of old school AD&D and Basic D&D roleplaying experience, and that they add a sense of depth and believability to a world.

 

Your first concern with weighty gold might be....how on [whatever planet Project Eternity takes place on] will my party be able to amass any sort of wealth.

 

In Europe's early modern period (circa 1500), as well as in both the present and classical antiquity the purchasing power of a 22 carat gold coin the size of a dime (which would weigh about as much as a nickel) would be greater than 100 United States dollars today. When the exchange in New York closed last night the gold in such a coin would have been worth $263.81. With 200 nickels to the kilogram, that means a 5 kilogram (11 pound) sack of gold coins would have been worth over $100,000...likely more wealth than even some nobles in Europe's middle ages ever possessed. Multiply that by six party members and you start to see that your party could tote around a very reasonable amount of wealth.

 

As a side note a high quality diamond or emerald weighing even one gram (less than half the weight of a penny) would be worth an extraordinary amount then or or now.

 

Your next question might be, how am I supposed to buy arrows and bandages with gold coins that are worth that much. The despite the stereotype advanced in most roleplaying games the most popular metal for coins in the middles ages was not gold, but silver. Most nations were on the silver standard until the discovery of large amounts of silver in the Americas brought about well founded fears of inflation. Coins in the United States were made with 90% silver through the 1950s. In Europe during the middle ages silver was typically traded at between 1/12th and 1/16th the value of gold (in modern times it is worth much less). In Japan silver was traded at 1/5th the value of gold.

 

I would prefer the Obsidian include at least gold and silver coins in Project Eternity, and that they offer the option (even if it is only available in Expert mode) to play with coins that have weight.

Edited October 6, 2012 by violetarian

[Ieo]

Should gold have weight?

 

Monetary system

 

Money, what is it worth and how to get it

 

The weight of riches!

 

Lots of opining!

Edited October 6, 2012 by Ieo

[Umberlin]

Here's a couple questions: Why use the typical gold/silver/copper model or the just gold model at all? Why not use a trade system or another currency format?

 

Lots of things to try outside the usual.

[FreeMayk]

Should coins in Expert mode weigh down your party?

 

 

Yes, but we need banking then?

 

 

Should coins of more than one metal be used in trade?

 

 

4, same like in Temple or Elemental Evil.

 

 

Should there be different currencies issued by different nations/trade groups?

 

 

Yes, `cos i don`t remember any game different currencies?

[Sensuki]

I'm gonna go cop out on this one

 

one coin type, no weight, thanks.

[rjshae]

I think the main advantage of having multiple currency types is that they tend to give the high value items lower currency numbers. For example, if the cost was listed in the lowest denomination, the cost might require carrying 50,753 worth of coins. (At 3.5 g per coin, that's 177.6 kg or 391 lbs.) If you break it into multiple currencies, then you can list the cost as, say, 100 Ducats, 15 Thalers, and 3 Farthings. Fewer coins means less weight to tote around.

[Osvir]

Humm, I'm thinking about crystals as a monetary. Gold/Silver/Bronze is fine by me, I'm just flirting with the thought of various other methods even if I would prefer the standard G/S/B.

 

I like rocks, Quartz, Diamonds, Tiger's Eye, Aquamarine and so on and so forth and have done some research into it as well (minor, minor, research). On the superstitious side of the world, there exists people that believe rocks to have different types of energy emitting from themselves *shrug* I don't know, I just thought it could fit in with the whole "Soul" business xD

 

Talking about rocks, I remember fondly Baldur's Gate having lots of rocks. One of them had the description that "Bestows luck on the carrier", I took this as simply a role-playing feature (and I'm sure that there never was anything mechanical about it at all) and I hoarded all I could find keeping them on my character only for role-playing purposes. But seeing as this is a fantasy setting, with some spiritualistic mumbo-jumbo (which I don't mind at all) a la the fancy Soul... could these rather ordinary rocks give benefits? Why did so many creatures drop these rocks?

 

It felt more like the rocks were another form of "gold". Most Human foes in Baldur's Gate dropped money, but all the creature humanoids (Gnolls, Xvartz etc.) dropped gems, rocks, but practically it was the same thing as gold (you just had to sell it) right?

[flarglebargle]

i liked what FNV tried with the different currencies i'd like the barter system to be fun and interesting but about all else the game should have something that is light or weightless for us to exchange our phat lewt for and the what ever they decide to do with the barter mechanic it should have very clear rules that we can understand and know, because in fallout 2 i'd have merchants refuse my deals even when they were getting a much better deal and i wasn't clear if it was a game glitch or they didn't want something i was selling but it was very annoying

[Volourn]

"Here's a couple questions: Why use the typical gold/silver/copper model or the just gold model at all? Why not use a trade system or another currency format?

 

Lots of things to try outside the usual."

 

Outside of a barter system, changing the name of whatever currency is sued is nothing more than flavor, imo. Whether its goold or some other silly name it basically works the same.

 

AS for weight, hell yeah, coins shoudl weighted. At the very least make it a hardcore option for TRUE RPGers. It hurts nobody to include the option and while I loathe to say soemthing is 'easy' to script; I would think having coins weigh something in hardcore mode (or anything at all) would be amongst the easiest things to do.

[DocDoomII]

A little bit of shameful advertising of my old thread.

 

About Economy in cRPG

Edited October 6, 2012 by DocDoomII

[Osvir]

A little bit of shameful advertising of my old thread.

 

About Economy in cRPG

 

Not shameful I appreciate it, thanks :D keeps me, personally, up to date where you get your ideas from and can discuss more openly and understandingly with you.

[sparklecat]

What's wrong with using banknotes?

[DocDoomII]

Mmmmh, in europe they were introduced at the end of the Middle Ages and worked more like a bank check.

[morhilane]

I sort of like having level of coinage (gold/silver/copper being the usual setup). I would like something different from those, weird names are welcome. I definitive no to weight though, well unless they add storage and a banking system, but that could take too much time.

 

As for different currency, I like it for a specific faction/race to only use something else internally.

[septembervirgin]

I like the concept of denomination and currencies. Don't forget electrum, brass, and tin as materials for coinage!

[DukeC]

I guess this is a matter of personal taste, but for me I'm satisfied with only gold, no weight and no currencies. I don't see how that would make the game more fun. Sure, it would add realism but that's not what I demand of this game.

[Leferd]

Weightless coins.

Gold > Silver > Copper

Universal currency

 

Dragon Age actually got this aspect right.

[Shadenuat]

If violetarian is right and to become the richest guy there is I would only need to have free 5 kgs on my 6 party members, I see no reason for money not have weight. It won't be any trouble but would make every gold coin I would find in a dungeon a real treasure, not just another worthless number because full plate costs 10.000 of them.

 

I would probably make Harley Starshine at Hall of Heroes just for her to carry a sack of gold.

Or maybe I'll give it to obsidian NPC.

And then he'll run away with it because my Influence on him is too low.

And I'll throw my PC out of window. Now would't that be fun.

Edited October 9, 2012 by Shadenuat

[Jarmo]

As long as gold is actually really expensive. More gold than you can carry should be immense wealth.

 

Not the usual D&D or DA:O copper -> bronze -> silver -> gold

But after 3 levels everything is gold and at the capital a mug of beer costs 3 GP and good wine is 10 GP.

The 10GP should be the price of a plate armor while beer should still be 1 copper.

 

And gold is gold, should be usable pretty much anywhere,

although one area could use, or try to use, paper money or something like that,

Edited October 9, 2012 by Jarmo

[Ywerion]

In my humble opinion, I see no need for adding such level of complexity, one weightless type of common coins is all I need, it's simple tested out and working model and that suits my needs, From a role-play aspect, of couse there are multiple races and nations, who of course would surely develop their own currencies, but I gladly leave that part for my imagination and will accept for example idea that my pack of adventures had changed their money for some widely accepted coins.

[Greensleeve]

I don't particularily care about how the coinage works. I think one level might be all that's needed. Weighty gold... In some modes, sure. But it's not something I want forced on me, and if it has weight, there needs to be a banking system.

 

I would however like to see multiple currencies. I think Fallout:New Vegas did that very well. It was fun trading and the system was easy to use.

[Ywerion]

Agree, I say weightless coins, but a treasure thingies like golden bars, various valuable stuff (statuettes for example) should have weight and bite at least a bit of inventory space depending on the size. So a single thief just cant plunder huge treasure chamber in a single run.

[Jarmo]

Kind of the same issue as should money have weight in modern or futuristic RPG?

Well yeah, but if you're weighed down by the endless piles of hundred dollar bills, there should be a way to work around that.

 

Maybe hire a caravan and a mercenary company to keep it secure, leave them guarding the door of the next dungeon while you go loot.

And a steward to do the money exchange.

 

Or maybe it's just simpler to have weightless gold and one currency afterall...

Yeah, time to change my vote..

[Rabain]

It is magic gold that goes through the local goverments counting houses and is imbued to not weigh anything, also why it cannot be forged, also why it doesn't take up massive amounts of space.

 

I'm for gold, silver and copper, it allows the pricing of items to be kept low making it easier to manage the economy.

 

Not for weight, silly feature that is more frustrating than real, either invent banks and credit or stick with fantasy weightless gold (same result).

[Elerond]

Magic chip which you can use to magically transfer money from your account to merchants and vice versa

 

I like idea that money has weight in RPGs, as nothing is so evil than dungeon master who says that dragon has 10 million silver coins in his hoard and you can only carry 10k of them.