Post by Old Gobbo on Mar 2, 2011 12:50:11 GMT -5
I have given a lot of thought to money in this world. This world seems to be a mix between Renaissance, Victorian, and Modern Europe in its style and feel. As I’m a money-minded sort of fellow that likes to deal with actual amounts instead of arbitrary values, I’ve written up this document. It is how I view money in this world. Of course, it’s purely conjecture at this point, but here it goes.
Please note that, obviously, this is not official in any sense of the word. I don’t have that kind of authority, nor do I want or claim it. However, to create an internal consistency with currency among my own threads, I will be employing this document in said threads unless Nat or Jenn or someone codifies it differently.
Money today is, of course, a paper standard with most nations having their own currency. Money has an arbitrary value that is so very convoluted it’s not worth getting involved in.
The Victorian Age saw much of the world’s money on a gold standard. The value of all the paper money a given country had printed was equal to the value of gold in their vaults. Of course, each country still had its own currency and vaults and, therefore, the value of money differed greatly.
Nat has said she prefers the system in place during the European Renaissance. In that time period, every country had their own currency, but they were all made of precious metals, such as copper, silver, and gold. Those precious metals had a distinct value, usually set by a globe-spanning organization (which, in this time period, meant the Roman Catholic Church). Therefore, while a guilder might be worth more than an English crown, a pound of guilders would be worth the same as a pound of crowns.
Based on this world’s basis on a series of seemingly independent states bound together by commonalities in law and government, I see this world operating more like the Holy Roman Empire and therefore have based the standard currency off of their standard.
Also, I detest systems where gold is the primary currency. Most role-playing games do this, but it is not supported by history. How many times do you forget that silver and copper exist in World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, and most other games? I hate systems like that, and so have worked with a more historical model.
Currency
There are three basic precious metals in currency in this world: copper, silver, and gold. Although most realms mint their own coins, they are all based off of the current standard set by the Court of Hearts. Therefore, currency from one realm is essentially interchangeable with currency from another realm. This standard goes as follows. Ten copper pieces are the equivalent of one silver piece. Six silver pieces are the equivalent of one gold piece.
The value of a copper piece has settled into a stable range for many years. One copper piece will let you purchase a chicken, a dozen eggs, or two beers. A meal at a simple pub will cost you approximately one copper piece, assuming you only drink one beer or the equivalent. Obviously, more extravagant meals will cost you more money.
Standard Salaries
All cards are assumed to work at jobs and, therefore, make some amount of money every year. The following is a basic guide on what certain ranks might expect to see in a given time period in salary. This is not a hard and fast rule, and of course, there are always exceptions in every society. A Jack that chooses to work in a small town’s bookstore may only make the salary of a Six. But a Three who has impressed a Court enough to be hired as a mercenary could be paid as much as a Ten. Indeed, PC cards tend to be the exception in most cases. However, for the thousands of nameless NPCs that roam the streets and roads of this world, this is the norm.
Aces
An Ace is on the lowest rung of the ladder, generally slaves or the equivalent. Due to this, they generally will earn only 1 gold in their entire lifetime. Clearly, this is not enough for a card to live on and, therefore, an Ace must seek out someone to provide for their needs. In their early years, this might be the Ace’s parents, but even that is not guaranteed. It is for this reason that Aces can be found as slaves, beasts of burden, rides, and other completely demeaning tasks.
Twos to Fours
A Two through a Four will generally earn the equivalent of one gold piece per year, although they will most likely never see this sum all at once. One gold piece is the equivalent of sixty copper. Therefore, throughout the year, these cards can afford only sixty chickens or 720 eggs or 120 beers. Therefore, these cards can technically get all the food they need through purchase alone, but there will be no more money for other uses. Therefore, these cards generally grow and produce their own food in order to survive. Wheat seeds are a lot less expensive than purchasing a loaf of bread. One chicken that can produce many dozens of eggs a year is cheaper than buying a dozen eggs each week.
These cards are usually subsistence farmers, generally working together to make food for their community. It is much easier for one farmer to produce grain, one to make eggs, etc. than to generalize. However, not every card has this option.
In the capital, these cards may not have the option to grow their own crops. Many of these cards will be forced to work in occupations where their food and lodging is provided, such as working as a servant in another’s house. Another example includes being a cook, waitress, or maid in an inn.
Realms and courts that practice a feudal style of warfare (i.e. knights and conscripted peasants) will generally find the conscripted peasants from this level of wealth. Most wars for this type of realm will be fought in the winter since there are no crops to tend during that time. Twos through Fours typically won’t mind serving during the winter as their meals and lodgings are paid for by the head of the army while at war. However, if they are kept too long, they won’t be able to plant crops the following spring and will be hard-pressed to survive without going into debt.
Fives to Sevens
A Five through a Seven will generally earn two gold pieces per year. This means that the card will have enough money to purchase all his meals during the year if he chooses to do so, however many cards of this rank choose to continue growing some of their own food. These cards will usually be working in a shop or a trade, learning from a master.
Eights and Nines
An Eight and a Nine will generally earn about 4 gold pieces per year. A card of this rank will generally own a store or have mastered a trade. In small towns, these may be the most prestigious cards in the area. In the capital, however, they are as common as the shops on the corner. At this rank, eating out regularly and having extra money for the fineries in life is not unusual.
Tens
Tens have hit the top level of the economy before one heads into the aristocracy. A Ten will generally earn about 4 gold pieces per month, or 48 gold pieces per year. To get this money, one must either live in a large city like the Capital or Torquehelm and have a prestigious job there, or work for the Courts. At this level, you begin to see the true riches of Card life. If a meal costs one copper and you make 2,880 copper per year, basic needs are a triviality for you. You will get fed, well, and you will have a residence, a great one. Expenses of any significance at this point are generally all of extreme extravagance. Wearing expensive jewelries are not just common, but almost expected.
Realms and courts that practice a Renaissance mercenary style of warfare (i.e. landsknechts, condottieros, and conquistadors) will pay most of their mercenaries this amount per month. Unlike most salaries, this amount would be paid to a mercenary regardless of rank. Such a pay seems exorbitant compared to conscripted peasants, but peasants were primarily speed-bumps to knights, and these mercenaries can kill knights en masse.
Jacks
Having hit the levels of the aristocracy, Jacks’ salaries are equally ambitious. A Jack will generally earn about 10 gold pieces per month, or 120 gold pieces per year. Generally, Jacks are administrators in the Courts or have substantial positions with the various Realms.
Kings
Kings are one step below Queens, and their pay reflects their high status in society. A King will generally earn about 100 gold pieces per month, or 1,200 gold pieces per year. A King will, almost invariably, be working in the Courts under a Queen.
Queens
The Queens are the pinnacle of society, and their salary (generally given directly by the Courts) shows how they can command not just a Court, but an economy. Queens will generally earn about 1,000 gold pieces per month, or 12,000 gold pieces per year.
The Queen of a Court
One Queen reins above all others, and salaries are generally commensurate with that status. The Queen of any Court will generally earn about 5,000 gold per month, or 60,000 gold per year. At this point, day to day life is complete absent with the thought of the cost of goods. These are the salaries of Emperors and World Shapers. If a mercenary costs 4 gold per month to hire, then the Queen can hire 1,000 mercenaries full-time and still have the same amount of money left over that normal Queens get each year.
Please note that, obviously, this is not official in any sense of the word. I don’t have that kind of authority, nor do I want or claim it. However, to create an internal consistency with currency among my own threads, I will be employing this document in said threads unless Nat or Jenn or someone codifies it differently.
Money today is, of course, a paper standard with most nations having their own currency. Money has an arbitrary value that is so very convoluted it’s not worth getting involved in.
The Victorian Age saw much of the world’s money on a gold standard. The value of all the paper money a given country had printed was equal to the value of gold in their vaults. Of course, each country still had its own currency and vaults and, therefore, the value of money differed greatly.
Nat has said she prefers the system in place during the European Renaissance. In that time period, every country had their own currency, but they were all made of precious metals, such as copper, silver, and gold. Those precious metals had a distinct value, usually set by a globe-spanning organization (which, in this time period, meant the Roman Catholic Church). Therefore, while a guilder might be worth more than an English crown, a pound of guilders would be worth the same as a pound of crowns.
Based on this world’s basis on a series of seemingly independent states bound together by commonalities in law and government, I see this world operating more like the Holy Roman Empire and therefore have based the standard currency off of their standard.
Also, I detest systems where gold is the primary currency. Most role-playing games do this, but it is not supported by history. How many times do you forget that silver and copper exist in World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, and most other games? I hate systems like that, and so have worked with a more historical model.
Currency
There are three basic precious metals in currency in this world: copper, silver, and gold. Although most realms mint their own coins, they are all based off of the current standard set by the Court of Hearts. Therefore, currency from one realm is essentially interchangeable with currency from another realm. This standard goes as follows. Ten copper pieces are the equivalent of one silver piece. Six silver pieces are the equivalent of one gold piece.
The value of a copper piece has settled into a stable range for many years. One copper piece will let you purchase a chicken, a dozen eggs, or two beers. A meal at a simple pub will cost you approximately one copper piece, assuming you only drink one beer or the equivalent. Obviously, more extravagant meals will cost you more money.
Standard Salaries
All cards are assumed to work at jobs and, therefore, make some amount of money every year. The following is a basic guide on what certain ranks might expect to see in a given time period in salary. This is not a hard and fast rule, and of course, there are always exceptions in every society. A Jack that chooses to work in a small town’s bookstore may only make the salary of a Six. But a Three who has impressed a Court enough to be hired as a mercenary could be paid as much as a Ten. Indeed, PC cards tend to be the exception in most cases. However, for the thousands of nameless NPCs that roam the streets and roads of this world, this is the norm.
Aces
An Ace is on the lowest rung of the ladder, generally slaves or the equivalent. Due to this, they generally will earn only 1 gold in their entire lifetime. Clearly, this is not enough for a card to live on and, therefore, an Ace must seek out someone to provide for their needs. In their early years, this might be the Ace’s parents, but even that is not guaranteed. It is for this reason that Aces can be found as slaves, beasts of burden, rides, and other completely demeaning tasks.
Twos to Fours
A Two through a Four will generally earn the equivalent of one gold piece per year, although they will most likely never see this sum all at once. One gold piece is the equivalent of sixty copper. Therefore, throughout the year, these cards can afford only sixty chickens or 720 eggs or 120 beers. Therefore, these cards can technically get all the food they need through purchase alone, but there will be no more money for other uses. Therefore, these cards generally grow and produce their own food in order to survive. Wheat seeds are a lot less expensive than purchasing a loaf of bread. One chicken that can produce many dozens of eggs a year is cheaper than buying a dozen eggs each week.
These cards are usually subsistence farmers, generally working together to make food for their community. It is much easier for one farmer to produce grain, one to make eggs, etc. than to generalize. However, not every card has this option.
In the capital, these cards may not have the option to grow their own crops. Many of these cards will be forced to work in occupations where their food and lodging is provided, such as working as a servant in another’s house. Another example includes being a cook, waitress, or maid in an inn.
Realms and courts that practice a feudal style of warfare (i.e. knights and conscripted peasants) will generally find the conscripted peasants from this level of wealth. Most wars for this type of realm will be fought in the winter since there are no crops to tend during that time. Twos through Fours typically won’t mind serving during the winter as their meals and lodgings are paid for by the head of the army while at war. However, if they are kept too long, they won’t be able to plant crops the following spring and will be hard-pressed to survive without going into debt.
Fives to Sevens
A Five through a Seven will generally earn two gold pieces per year. This means that the card will have enough money to purchase all his meals during the year if he chooses to do so, however many cards of this rank choose to continue growing some of their own food. These cards will usually be working in a shop or a trade, learning from a master.
Eights and Nines
An Eight and a Nine will generally earn about 4 gold pieces per year. A card of this rank will generally own a store or have mastered a trade. In small towns, these may be the most prestigious cards in the area. In the capital, however, they are as common as the shops on the corner. At this rank, eating out regularly and having extra money for the fineries in life is not unusual.
Tens
Tens have hit the top level of the economy before one heads into the aristocracy. A Ten will generally earn about 4 gold pieces per month, or 48 gold pieces per year. To get this money, one must either live in a large city like the Capital or Torquehelm and have a prestigious job there, or work for the Courts. At this level, you begin to see the true riches of Card life. If a meal costs one copper and you make 2,880 copper per year, basic needs are a triviality for you. You will get fed, well, and you will have a residence, a great one. Expenses of any significance at this point are generally all of extreme extravagance. Wearing expensive jewelries are not just common, but almost expected.
Realms and courts that practice a Renaissance mercenary style of warfare (i.e. landsknechts, condottieros, and conquistadors) will pay most of their mercenaries this amount per month. Unlike most salaries, this amount would be paid to a mercenary regardless of rank. Such a pay seems exorbitant compared to conscripted peasants, but peasants were primarily speed-bumps to knights, and these mercenaries can kill knights en masse.
Jacks
Having hit the levels of the aristocracy, Jacks’ salaries are equally ambitious. A Jack will generally earn about 10 gold pieces per month, or 120 gold pieces per year. Generally, Jacks are administrators in the Courts or have substantial positions with the various Realms.
Kings
Kings are one step below Queens, and their pay reflects their high status in society. A King will generally earn about 100 gold pieces per month, or 1,200 gold pieces per year. A King will, almost invariably, be working in the Courts under a Queen.
Queens
The Queens are the pinnacle of society, and their salary (generally given directly by the Courts) shows how they can command not just a Court, but an economy. Queens will generally earn about 1,000 gold pieces per month, or 12,000 gold pieces per year.
The Queen of a Court
One Queen reins above all others, and salaries are generally commensurate with that status. The Queen of any Court will generally earn about 5,000 gold per month, or 60,000 gold per year. At this point, day to day life is complete absent with the thought of the cost of goods. These are the salaries of Emperors and World Shapers. If a mercenary costs 4 gold per month to hire, then the Queen can hire 1,000 mercenaries full-time and still have the same amount of money left over that normal Queens get each year.
