Money

In the Game Starter, when discussing the basic equipment for a starting character, there were a few concepts of money introduced. The recommendation was to give the starting character around 400 bits to use to purchase items the character would need. At that time, it was merely some sort of unit of money. Here the economy of Enchanted Realms will be explained.

For the successful adventurer, the silver bit is going to be the simplest monetary form to use. Again, there is no need to have the characters count pennies. Adventurers, who are playable, typically are not destitute characters – or at least not for long. The exchange rate is something to consider, but not too deeply. Everything in this manual is listed in silver bits . Of course, there are lesser coin types: copper  and iron bits, although the iron bit is actually made of lead. However, if the players are having to concern themselves with how many coppers  go into a gold piece , then it really needs to make sense to the story - or they probably are not being successful enough to maintain their lifestyles and just need to go into ordinary living.

At the upper end of the exchange table are silver , gold, platinum , and gems. In Enchanted Realms, the exchange is 20  silver bits trade for 1  gold piece. Then 5 gold pieces trade for a single platinum rod . Platinum is only minted in rods about the size of a roll of quarters. It is meant to be a high-end monetary token without needing to carry a lot of coins. Further rubies , sapphires , emeralds  and diamonds  are standard denominations and exchange easily. Setting these values as static does require a small amount of suspended belief; however, as this is a fabricated money system, make it simple. A GM may want to add more financial or lapidary flavor, citing that not all gems are the same. But this is a game. There are more events of excitement than spending half the value on the bureaucracy of pricing gemstones. Shortcut things and set a standard, then say on average this is what they all work out to be; there’s the exchange rate. Also, when trading gems for other gems, assume fractions of an exchange will be lost and profit goes to the bank, merchant or lapidary.

While the exchange rate should just be kept simple, unless economy and trade-development are part of the theme of the campaign, collecting the spoils of war should not just be assumed to be top value as if buying new. Thus, the trade-in price is listed on most items. Additionally, the weapons and armors of most monsters will have virtually no value at the marketplace. That does not mean everything from monsters are worthless, but the GM should avoid the PCs becoming hoarders just to make a few bits. Shave a few bits from the monthly maintenance if they get picky, but the GM should keep the system of tracking money simple.

If things are normal items and not special, then the GM should factor upkeep into the maintenance; however, there will be times when restoring items or finding services will important and should be detailed out. The bartering skill is a fun way to role-play those exchanges if desired.

Lastly, when thinking of money, understand that a fantasy, adventurer world will have difference supply-and-demand pressures than our modern one. However, to get a feel for the economy, a guideline is to think about a silver bit equal to about $10 in 2023 America: a hotel room for $150 per night is a reasonable price; $1000 for a quality, properly-bred dog; a low-end weapon for home protection around $500.

As a rule, standard equipment should be assumed, unless the world environment dictates otherwise. A simple solution is to have the players pay a “maintenance” fee for keeping equipped. Lump in a food budget and just “invoice” them monthly. A good rule of thumb would be 1 bit per day for food, another 3 bits monthly for basic equipment. Then weapons have a maintenance cost, as do armor and pets. However, starting characters will have a monthly maintenance fee of around 40 to 50 bits. Personalities who are frugal versus spend-thrift, drinks heavily or is from money, then the GM might add an extra monthly charge for his or her habits.