Enchanted Realms Rulebook
Money
The recommendation above was to give the starting character around 400 silver bits to use to purchase starting equipment. However, this is merely a number followed by some arbitrary unit of monetary value. However, before buying things, one should have a reasonable understanding of the Enchanted Realms economy of Enchanted Realms and the standard exchange rate.
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. (And if they are, perhaps retiring the character and rolling a new one is in order).
Because the rules are written in the perspective of the adventurer, listings in this manual will be in silver bits by default. There may be an occasional exception , but almost everything will be priced this way. Of course, there are other forms of coinage; thus, the exchange rate is something to consider, but not too deeply. On the lesser end, there are copper bits and iron bits , and despite the name, the “iron bit” is mostly coined from lead. The exchange rate is listed below, but again, if the players must concern themselves with how many coppers go into a gold piece , then it really needs to make sense to the story - or perhaps the cast members of this story must admit to not being successful enough to maintain their adventurous lifestyles and should find a more financially stable vocation. (Note the subtle reference to the recommended maintenance system.)
| Exchange Rate | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Iron Bits | 1 | |||||||
| 10 Copper Bits | 1 | |||||||
| 1 Silver Bit | 1 | |||||||
| 1 Gold Piece | 20 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 Platinum Rod | 100 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 1 Ruby | 300 | 15 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 1 Sapphire | 800 | 40 | 8 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 1 Emerald | 2000 | 100 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1 Diamond | 5000 | 250 | 50 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
Iron Bit: As stated previously, these lead chips are alloyed with tin and smashed flat. The result has an appearance of being made of iron. Occasionally these are also called “ternes.’
Copper Bit: Coppers are not minted with much refining. These penny-sized coins are generally round but are not rolled into perfection.
Silver Bit: This coin is the economic standard of the middle class. When the term “bit” is used, it refers to the silver bit, even though other coinages use the word. This minted token is a round piece about the size of a U.S. dime. It also has a hole bored in its center to allow twenty to be bundled together wrapped with a small wire. Around 400 bits weigh a pound.
Gold Piece: The gold piece is a doubloon just a little larger than the U.S. quarter. Only 100 gold weighs a pound.
Platinum Rod: The “rod” is only minted in platinum. It is the diameter of a U.S. nickel and about half-an-inch long. Obviously, this is a high-end monetary token used to avoid carrying a lot of coinage.
To allow easier financial management, four precious stones have been standardized to make the exchange system simpler. In the opinion of the designers, there are better events for excitement than spending half the game time on the details of pricing and appraising gemstones.