Midnight: Southies SWAG & BOOTY
Instead of gold pieces as the monetary standard, we use value points (vp). One vp is equivalent to a week's worth of poor-to-common food for one person. Unlike gold pieces, value points are subject to a multiplier determined by regional worth.
The Midnight campaign setting uses worth when calculating an object's availability and therefore trade value. Highly available items have little worth. Conversely, difficult to find items and dangerous or rare services have high worthto those who desire them.
TYPES OF GOODS
All goods are separated into one of five categories, each of which may have a different woth in any given region.
Baubles: These include coins, gems, jewelry, and other objects of art that have no practical use and therefore little worth.
Food: This category includes fressh water, fodder for animals, and anything that will keep a family fed; meat is usually traded "on the hoof" so it doesn't have to be carried or kept fresh.
Raw Materials: Ore, wood, hemp, wool, hides, furs, and anything else that must be processed before it becomes a finished good or is an essential ingredient to some finished product. Beasts of burden are considered raw materials as well. Unskilled labor generally has the same multiplier as raw materials in any given region.
Finished Goods: Metal tools, berrels, spun cloth, simple watercraft or carts, rope, leatherwork, or anything else the production of which is either skill-intensive, labor-intensive, or requires specialized equipment. It is assumed that virtually anyone has learned simple sewing, carving, construction, and food preparation skills simply in order to survive, so the results of such activities are not considered finished goods. This category includes padded, leather, and hide armor, as well as all simple weapons other than crossbows, maces, and morningstars. Skilled labor generally has the same worth as finished goods in any given region.
Contraband: This is a catchall category that includes anything banned, most noticably weapons, armor, charms, and books or scrolls. Contraband also includes any items used by orcs, legates, and collaborators, but illegal for citizens to possess, like trained war mounts or watercraft that carry more than a handful of passengers. This category nominally includes magic as well, although anything but a one-use item or an item low on charges would be nearly priceless. On the other hand, possessing such an item can end up having a heavy price.
- FOUND on the fields of the Battle Landing of the Green March
- FOUND in Vrolk's Laboratory, The Obsidian Spire
- FOUND at ShadowWall
REGIONAL WORTH
The following table displays common regional worths assigned to the five types of goods. These worths are suggestions only; the Dm may vary these multipliers based on the buyer's or seller's circumstances, and an item's price can quickly increase or decrease if either party so much as imagines that he hears the sound of an orc's hobnailed boot.
Note that the values on the table are for non-collaborators. Contraband items are much easier to come by for orcs and legates, who always trade for such items as if they had multipliers of x1 as long as they have an appropriate supply source. Likewise, collaborators may gain the same benefit depending on their ranks and the item desired; gnomes, for instance, are able to trade for large sailing vessels and other items they need to provide the transport of goods for the dark armies, but are still prohibited from possessing weapons. Traitor princes and their personal guards, on the other hand, can acquire weapons as easily as orcs, and often ones of a much finer quality.
Also, common sense may dictate that specific items may vary from the regional norm. While raw materials are in high demand in Erethor, for instance, wood is there in plenty, and so should have a lower multiplier. Where obvious exceptions exist, they are noted in parentheses.
REGIONAL WORTH TABLE
| Region | Food | Raw Materials | Finished Goods | Contraband | Baubles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Erenland | x3 | x3 | x3 | x2 | no value |
| Central Erenland | x1 | x1 | x2 | x2 | x1/50 |
| Southern Erenland | x1 | x2 | x1 | x2 | x1/10 |
| Veradeen | x2 | x1 (ore x2) | x3 | x2 | no value |
| Caraheen | x1/2 | x2 (wood x1/10) (ore x3) | x2 | x1 | x1/100 |
| Aruun/Miraleen | x1/2 | x2 (wood x1/2) | x3 | x2 | no value |
| Kaladruns | x4 | x2 (ore x1/10) | x1/2 | x1/2 | no value |
| White Desert/Asmadar | x3 | x3 | x3 | x2 | no value |