GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Treasures 1: Glittering Prizes

[Kromm]

The upper limit on FP as currency in DF is $5, because that's what it costs to put 1 FP in your power item (DF 1, p. 28). The $1/point for Quick and Dirty enchantment (DF 1, p. 30) is lower, but that's discounted for "invested in this one item for one purpose." I'd call $5 the going rate for "goes anywhere, does anything" FP.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Anders

So suppose there was a magicratic civilization that used materialized FP as currency. How much would 1 FP be worth?

Since this is DF, I would charge $5/FP, same as recharging a Power Item. Now, that's probably too generous for creating enchantments, and also dispenses with the need to have an expensive item to use as a power item. This means that you might either make them more expensive, or more inconvenient than standard power items.

One solution would be to have the civilization learn a secret to make transferable power items, so you either need an appropriate item to hold the energy (at standard power item prices), and trade the energy plus item, or require users of the currency to have big enough "wallets" (their own power itema) to store the energy.

Another solution would be to make the energy inert until transfered to a power item, so it can be traded freely, but to actually use it as energy is not that easy. Make the process require a Thaumatology roll, and take 1 hour per point to make it inconvenient enough.

The last idea is to trade in "essences" as described in The Material Difference, from Pyramid #3/66, and follow the guidance there to set the price. In my games, I make raw essence worth $40/point, and refined essence worth $50/point.

[Onkl]

Most excellent! Thank you very much! I'll treasure this...

Cheers!

Onkl

[Anders]

So I looked up Paut because I suddenly remembered its existence and it's priced at $135 for 4 FP, or $33 per FP. How come Paut is so expensive if the upper limit is $5/FP?

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Anders

So I looked up Paut because I suddenly remembered its existence and it's priced at $135 for 4 FP, or $33 per FP. How come Paut is so expensive if the upper limit is $5/FP?

Because you can carry it around with you and top up even when you aren't in town. It isn't the equivalent of an instrument on the currency market, subject to exchange rates and arbitrage. It's closer to a gold coin with "FIVE D" ($5) marked on the front that contains a quarter-ounce of gold and sells for hundreds of dollars. That is, it's a commodity or even a curiosity, not currency. If town is leveled by a dragon tomorrow and I'm left wandering the Shadow Plane, my paut still works.

[Varyon]

So, looks like we've got $1/FP for "Bound into a magic item to power it," $5/FP for "Bound into a single item belonging to the character, usable for anything," and $33/FP for "Restores lost FP."

These could be simplified into "Enchantment, non-portable," "Item Recovery, non-portable," and "Personal Recovery, portable." What's missing, then, would be "Enchantment, Portable" (loot that can replace FP for Quick and Dirty casting), "Item Recovery, Portable" (an item that can recharge your Power Item in the field), "Personal Recovery, Non-Portable" (results in effects similar to a Very High Mana zone, but without increased Critical Failures - you can cast, instantly recover, cast, instantly recover, and so forth, but only within the temple or whatever), "General Use, Non-Portable" (you can use money entirely for powering a spell, but only within the temple or whatever), and "General Use, Portable" (an item that can be sacrificed in place of FP to power a spell). There might also be a Single Use type (where you can sacrifice money in a temple or an item in the field to cast, say, Fireball, but not another spell) and/or a Single College type (as Single Use, but any spell from the Fire College).

Type			Stationary	Portable
Enchantment		$1		$33
Item Recovery		$5		?
Personal Recovery	?		$33
Single Use		?		?
Single College		?		?
General Use		?		?

Filling in the chart would be a challenge, but useful. There may already be some options - note I've filled in "Enchantment, Portable" by using the suggestion from The Material Difference (Pyramid #3/66).

EDIT: I've split this tangent into its own thread to avoid potentially cluttering this one.

[Blind Mapmaker]

I wrote a review you can read here. Short version: Great for the detail-oriented GM, but starts poaching in Low-Tech's territory. Not for every Dungeon Fantasy lover, but definitely something for those of us who don't play DF completely by the book.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Blind Mapmaker

I wrote a review you can read here. Short version: Great for the detail-oriented GM, but starts poaching in Low-Tech's territory. Not for every Dungeon Fantasy lover, but definitely something for those of us who don't play DF completely by the book.

Thanks for the review! It's always good to see GURPS books get a thoughtful evaluation.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Kromm

The upper limit on FP as currency in DF is $5, because that's what it costs to put 1 FP in your power item (DF 1, p. 28). The $1/point for Quick and Dirty enchantment (DF 1, p. 30) is lower, but that's discounted for "invested in this one item for one purpose." I'd call $5 the going rate for "goes anywhere, does anything" FP.

I thought Power Items contained and released ER, not FP?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I thought Power Items contained and released ER, not FP?

DF has always referred to the energy stored in Power Items as FP. It's ultimately just semantics - it's energy that can be used in place of FP/ER for casting spells.

Also, just went through the book. It's got some pretty good stuff, particularly all the historical information on coinage. The bit on fasteners was interesting as well, and of course Doublehard Glass is a welcome addition. In fact, more artifacts from the Translucent City would be interesting, such as armor-grade Tempered Glass (and of course the Doublehard treatment could result in something akin to Hardened Steel or Duplex Plate).

One minor thing I'll note - organic currencies aren't quite as implausible as the book indicates. From what I've read in the past, cacao beans were used as currency in the Aztec and Mayan empires.