[Prince Charon]

Money, Equipment, and Services

The main coin of Offasmark is the silver pening or penny, generally 9/10ths silver and 1/10th copper by weight, which is often cut into halfs, fourths, or eighths; many penny coins are minted with an obverse or reverse with redundant marking in each quarter or eighth, to facilitate this. (GURPS dollars ($) should be assumed to be equivalent to Offasmark pence.) The only other coin commonly minted by Offasmark is the gold scilling, which is generally worth around eight to sixteen pence, depending on the size and content of each (the standard of 9/10ths gold to 1/10th copper by weight is not always met, but neither is the silver ratio of the penny), though the traditional value is twelve pence. Scillingas are sometimes cut into smaller denominations, though not nearly as often as the penny. The 'mark' and the 'pound' exist as units of accounting, but are not minted as coins, as the size would be ridiculous. A mark is worth 80 or 120 pence, and the pound 240 pence.

Foreign coins of various types are fairly common in the border regions, though merchants in the interior often distrust them. The most trusted foreign currency is the Roman-style coinage of New Jerusalem: the gold solidus (plural 'solidi') is roughly equivalent to the scilling, being worth 12 silver miliarensia (singular 'miliarensis,' equivalent to the silver penny or GURPS $), 24 silver siliquae (singular 'siliqua,' called 'half-pennies' in Offasmark), 180 bronze folles (singular 'follis'), and 7,200 copper nummi (singular 'nummus' - though the nummus is never minted as an individual coin, but as a series of denominations, such as 20 nummi or 100 nummi). Older coins from Earth, or from areas that have been conquered by Offasmark, may still be in circulation, especially the Norman and French denier (generally also equivalent to a penny) of Quartedec.

Barter, either with coins or with goods and services, is very common. The idea of fixed prices would be confusing, though it may be used in-game to save time. The listed prices in the books should be treated as average for the TL.

Most goods and services that would be available in 12th-13th century Western Europe, or modern Ytarria, can be reasonably assumed to be available at around the same prices in the region of Offasmark, thought exotic goods like silk and spices may be harder to obtain, and thus greater in expense. Magic items and elixirs are reasonably common, and items tend to be relatively affordable in the larger cities, where there are more enchanters working on them. When pricing elixirs, I suggest using the lower of the two prices in the book, unless you want a specific elixir to be rare in your campaign, but not totally unknown.


Thoughts?