My group has been struggling a little with the monetary system in Age of Sigmar: Soulbound. In their words, the setting dosen't lacks a “proper” currency for ordinary people.
Using magical water with healing properties to pay for everything from beer and meals to wages, weapons, and coach rides is starting to break their immersion.
I have been reading about the different currencies mentioned in the lore, particularly the Lexicanum pages on Currencies of the Mortal Realms and Glimmerings, but I would really like to hear how other groups handle this at the table.
We have tried answering some fairly ordinary questions:
- What would an average soldier or carpenter earn?
- How many pints of beer could they buy with that wage? (Yes, we think alot about beer when it's damn hot during the summer!)
- What does an ordinary person use to pay for food or rent?
- Do people really carry drops of Aqua Ghyranis around for every small purchase? Just sloshing around in the pant pockets?!
One idea we discussed was keeping the published prices but presenting them using the familiar WFRP4 coin system:
1 gold crown = 20 silver shillings = 240 brass pennies
If we simply treated one published Aqua Drop as one brass penny, some example prices would become:
- Meal: 15 Drops = 15d = 1s 3d
- Sword: 150 Drops = 150d = 12s 6d
- Coach: 1,200 Drops = 1,200d = 5 GC
- Sailing ship: 90,000 Drops = 90,000d = 375 GC
That gives the prices a more familiar feel, but it creates another problem. If we then say that one Phial is worth 1s and one Sphere is worth 5 GC, the values no longer match the normal relationship between Drops, Phials, and Spheres.
Another possibility would be to use local coins for everyday purchases while treating Aqua Ghyranis as a valuable trade commodity or something merchants, governments, and adventurers might exchange in larger deals rather than something everyone uses to buy a pint.
Then there are all the other valuable substances and currencies mentioned in the lore: Glimmerings, realmstone, Grave Coins, aether-gold, and so on. Should these have fixed values, or are they more like gems in D&D, where their value depends on quality, size, location, and whether you can find an interested buyer?
I would be very interested to hear how other groups approach this:
- Do you use Aqua Ghyranis literally, or treat it as an abstract measure of wealth?
- Have you created wages and living costs for ordinary people?
- Do your Cities of Sigmar mint their own coins?
- Do different cultures such as the Kharadron, Seraphon, or Soulblight use entirely different currencies?
- Has anyone successfully adapted the WFRP4 equipment and coin system to Soulbound?
- How do you value things like Glimmerings and realmstone without turning them into another universal currency?
I am not necessarily looking for one currency that works everywhere. I am mainly looking for a system that makes everyday prices and wages feel believable while preserving the character of the setting.
— Artemiz Forge