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Original post by TechnoGoth

Speaking of money, that leads me to another thought that occourded to me while watching CSI, money has weight. For instance $10,000,000 wieghts over 250 pounds. So how come money doesn''t wieght anything in rpgs and takes up no space? I would think carrying a few million gold coins around in your pocket would slow you down a little.

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another good point. IN most RPGs I have worked on, the system of money is staggered - here''s an example.

wood coins - daka

iron coins - imfu. 1 iron coin = 15 wood coins

gold coins - anchu. 1 gold coin = 25 iron coins

jewel coins - eldas. 1 jewel coin = 10 gold coins


well, I didn''t use base 10 when computing the value of said coins. It gives it an ''old world'' feel. Stores would automatically convert yor money to the highest denominator if you asked them to. Also, certain layers of money have limits on what they can buy, but any higher coin can buy any lower tier of items.

good point TechnoGoth, and since I titled this thread ''Thoughts on Money,'' a more than certainly valid one.

Some people have mentioned a sort of happy medium- only humanoids carry money, but animals carry resources. A problem with the whole ''butcher'' thing. This method has been used before. The game Radia Senki for NES. PRobably one of the best RPGs of all time, but still - You got ''meat'' from killing almost any type of enemy. It maxed out at 9999. Meat was so valuable, I was able to afford top of the line weapons and gear for every player, every time I went to a new town.

btw, 2 points go out to anyone else who has played Radia Senki, or Chronicles of the Radia Tower. That game is worth your time.

My question is less "Why do bears have money?" than "Why are you killing bears?" To level up? Then the game has balance issues. To make money? Bears don''t have money. Because some random bear attacked you? Probably not unless you were poking at her cubs, in which case you''re just stupid and deserve what you get.

Do like Fallout. Most animals had neither money nor supplies. People had things. You want stuff? Kill people and take their things. Be sneaky and steal their things. Save their village and they''ll give you their things. Give them a beer for the location of an old military base and raid it. That''s how you got stuff. You got the wrong stuff? Barter! Worked very well. Could work well in a fantasy setting as well. Perhaps not as well in a modern setting, but with a little modification...

A thought that I had for my game is the "parts" have a meaningfulness value to each character/trader. In this system lets say, you have a bear skin, a tanner would find it more valuable to him, then to a jewler. To the average shop owner/trader, there would be a minor deviation from the average price.
I don't know if what I said made any sence, but at the moment, it does...


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[edited by - bcome on April 24, 2004 7:14:03 PM]

I think this kind of depends on what kind of effect you''re going for. I most rpgs, the only kind of character developement is increased stats. These stats are increased either through levels (bought with xp) or items (bought with gp), both of which are found by defeating monsters. Killing things = power up = character developement?
Yes, having wild animals drop gold is unrealistic, but it works. The big thing is that you get cash for something you''re going to be doing anyway. Other options might be giving the character an employer. In FF 8, you got paid a certain amount at certain intervals. The funny thing is this could happen even if you were floating in space. (We made all sorts of jokes about who was delivering the paycheck...) Another option is to give cash awards for completing missions. If you give them a job that goes along with the story, this can work quite well.
Having enemies drop items works well enough. The thing is you''ll wnat the items either to have some use or go in bin with other items that are sellable but can''t be used by the characters. Maybe meat can be eaten to for a healing effect.
Of course, you could try a game were money is a minor issue. First of, money is mainly used to buy items. If powerful items aren''t being sold, players won''t be so eager to get it. This can be done either by making skill/level more potent than items or by making the really good items things that are found instead of sold.
Another idea is allowing them to trade items for favors. I know this has been done in a number of games, but what if you give them a little more choice on what the prize is. Perhaps you save the blacksmiths daughter. As a reward, you can ask for anything in his shop. Maybe... *gasp* villagers could actually give you things to help save the world instead of charging you full price! If the game give you a stronghold, maybe some of the people there are paid a retainer anyway and you can have them work on various items, but each one takes time to complete.

Sometimes convenience is important to some people as realism. It might be slightly jarring from an immersion stand point to recover money from a killed animal. But if you go this route, other things seem jarring too. If you consider most settings used in RPGs, you would have to consider that most shops shouldn''t carry many items, and that you should have to wait a considerable time before getting some armor that would have to be customized for your character. But then again, perhaps some people would prefer this.

I think it is a trade-off between realism and convenience. The developer has to consider what the intended target audience would appreciate more. Most developers probably feel their target audience feel convenience, in the case of how players are rewarded monetarily, is more important than realism.

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Original post by Chokki
just thinking, why is it that in most RPG''s, money is acquired by the slaying of enemies? This is not very realistic...

considering that I didn''t know that werewolves carried their purses on them.

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Everyone knows the real money is in drug dealing, not mugging werewolves. Maybe the gameplay in fantasy RPGs should switch from mass murdering monsters to trafficking illegal magical items, weapons, and potions. Just stop by the local Wizard to get your supply and hit the wilderness, selling your wares to various shady characters.

Looking at things more heroically, in most RPGs you are saving the world from evil monsters. When you kill them you just happen to pick up their cash. The second one is more Lord of the Rings like (transporting\safe guarding a magical item.) Maybe you could make a game based around magical items where some are extremely rare and dangerous and need to be destroyed at all costs (the "boss" items), but most are harmless and can be sold. In this game monsters would very rarely drop anything of value.

Well, two possibilities I can see...

1'' Enemies drop stuff that can be sold for cash. For instance, say, a slime-type monster could drop a crystalization that forms in its core (think Ragnarok Online) or you could sell the hides of some rare monster.

2'' Enemies drop money. What kind of shop would buy orc semen anyways? It''s just a game and adding too many layers of complexity just degrades the experience for the player after a while.

A mix of both would work out pretty well IMHO. Obviously it''s unrealistic to drop cash at random when you''re a giant gnat, but it''s also pretty stupid to run around with 50 different kinds of monster parts such as rat droppings, flea genitalias, or snail shells. It''s almost more unrealistic to expect cash from these things anyhow. An other possibility would be to sell just stuff that has special application, such as blood from a monster that could be used in manifacturing healing potions. The problem with this is that having too many useful drops would be unrealistic and dumb ("Oh look! A giant hamster! I wonder which part of its body I can use to make a ring of mucus resistance...") and having too few would unbalance the game early on (really, what kind of cash can a player expect from a rabid rabbit''s teeth?)

The previously mentionned Ragnarok Online uses the "part drop" system, though it starts getting needlessly dumb after a while ("Oh, cool, a rabbit! These guys drop clovers, carrots, feathers and fluff! :D"). It''s still pretty cool because some of the stuff monsters drop also has a game use.

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Original post by CrazyMike
I think it is a trade-off between realism and convenience. The developer has to consider what the intended target audience would appreciate more. Most developers probably feel their target audience feel convenience, in the case of how players are rewarded monetarily, is more important than realism.

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Also, never underestimate the power of immediate gratification. It''s what keeps people plugging away at the slot machines, which dispense more in colorful lights and sounds than they do in actual hard currency. Yet people keep playing them, nonetheless.



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Just waiting for the mothership...

Theres always the spice trade. I mean, drug trafficking is an interesting angle, but the general idea is going to purchase something in one place and sell it in another for an increased price.

Don''t forget supply and demand. There can''t possible be a market for imps'' ears when even a noob is slaying a dozen a day.