| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Xnella Moonblade-Thann |
Posted - 06 Apr 2015 : 08:59:59
I'm trying to convert the currency rates in Oriental Adventures to the rates in AD&D 1E. My search-fu is seriously failing me right now, and math has never been a strong subject for me. Using the rates found in the Player's Handbook for AD&D 1E, the original campaign setting for Forgotten Realms (published under AD&D 1E rules), and the Oriental Adventures setting (published under AD&D 1E rules), are the following tables correct?
CURRENCY = SMALLER UNITS
1 Platinum = 5 Gold or 10 Electrum or 100 Silver or 1000 Copper
1 Gold = 2 Electrum or 20 Silver or 200 Copper
1 Electrum = 10 Silver or 100 Copper
1 Silver = 10 Copper
CURRENCY = SMALLER UNITS
1 Ch'ien = 10 Tael/Ch'ao or 200 Yuan or 1000 Fen
1 Tael/Ch'ao = 20 Yuan or 100 Fen
1 Yuan = 5 Fen
OA CURRENCY = REAL VALUE = EXCHANGE RATE
1 Ch'ien = 100 silver pieces or 5 gold pieces = 2-8 gold pieces
1 Tael/Ch'ao = 10 silver pieces = 2-12 silver pieces
1 Yuan = 5 copper pieces = 1 copper piece
1 Fen = 1 copper piece = 1 copper piece
PH CURRENCY = REAL VALUE = EXCHANGE RATE
1 Platinum = 1000 Fen or 200 Yuan or 10 Tael/Ch'ao or 1 Ch'ien = market value of metal
1 Gold = 200 Fen or 40 Yuan or 2 Tael/Ch'ao = market value of metal
1 Electrum = 100 Fen or 20 Yuan or 1 Tael/Ch'ao = market value of metal
1 Silver = 10 Fen or 2 Yuan = 8-13 Fen for 1 silver piece
1 Copper = 1 Fen = 1 Fen for 2 copper pieces
The main reason I'm doing this is I want to know what the starting wealth for AD&D 1E characters would be in both settings and what the equipment table prices would be equivalent to (and then progress the currency rates to 2E and later editions)
Mods, if this is on the wrong shelf, you may move this scroll to the proper one. |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 20 Apr 2015 : 15:20:11
I'm getting the same numbers you are from the tables, but I think you might be complicating things unnecessarily by connecting the exchange rates.
The PH gives starting money for clerics, fighters, magic-users, thieves, and monks. OA gives starting money for the oriental classes. So you don't need exchange rates for that part.
But if for some reason you have western characters with electrum coins plunked down in a land that uses OA coinage, or vice versa... they might have some issues. 
Personally, I wouldn't put too much stock in the exchange rates given in OA. Instead, I would roleplay it... a PC who behaves respectfully and observes that particular local collectors might be interested in western coins (but surely the esteemed moneychanger can turn a better profit than the lowly PC from such a transaction), can get a better deal from a moneychanger than one who just walks in and dumps some coins on the counter and says "what can I get for this?"
Even on a slightly more technical level, exchange rates will differ in Athkatla versus Dhaztanar versus Kuo Te'Lung. So (in my opinion) toss out the exchange rates part and decide on the relative coin sizes. Fen and yuan are both copper... if they're the same size, then they have different values in Kara-Tur but very similar values in Faerun. Same with the silver tael and ch'ien.
Unless a ch'ien is at least 100 times the volume of a western silver piece, it probably won't get you a piece of platinum in a western city.
All just my opinion of course.  |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 20 Apr 2015 : 06:37:09
This scroll is making me wish my books were not in storage. Sorry I cannot be of more help Xnella. |
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