The Coins of the Empire

Subject: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:16 am

The Coins of the Empire

From the viewpoint of Player and Dungeon Master alike, a Gold Piece is a Gold Piece is a Gold Piece. And, in this campaign, the Ardonean Empire agrees. Coins of platinum, gold, silver and copper are the Imperial standards of currency, and they are interchangeable among all the Empire's nations as lawful tender; a coin smithed by the elves in forested Fallowvale will spend just as well in the wind-swept villages of Kunyakarova. But the individual nations of the Empire do not share a common coinsmithy, and so each coin--whether platinum, copper or elsewise--bears the make of its homeland. As one might expect, there is a spectrum of variety in the designs of these coins; the only limits to their designs are the mandatory amount of precious metal in each coin, the relative wealth or poverty of its originating country and the mastery and creativity of the nation's coinsmiths.

The only common condition for such coins to be honored in Imperial commerce is that each coin must bear the relief of the simplified form of the Emperor's crown; without this stamp, the coin cannot be legally traded outside of its native province.

Not all nations on the continent of Ardonea are subject to the Empire (or at least, not yet), and outside the Empire the value of Imperial coins may rise, fall or not exist at all, depending on the culture or civilization in question. Though the Imperial Civil War left the former nations of Karkova and Hrothjurgan Major bereft of a united government--and left the Empire too weakened and drained of resources to immediately reclaim them--many among these shattered lands and their disparate settlements will honor the coins of their former allegiance all the same, if only because they presently lack currencies of their own.

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:24 am

Amethyst Coast

Thistle

Gilder

Aggey

Penny

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:31 am

Bardosylvania

Drakorn

Lupdinte

Ochilil

Viperalim

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:38 am

Brustagg

Sturmhammer

Turmdermacht

Silberbrise

Blutstropfen

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:41 am

Caed Fainne

Mannan

Reig

Punt

Pence

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:45 am

Calaix Du Ent

Blanconfort

Pellemain

Fleurigne

Redoigt

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:48 am

Calaix Du Est

Palais

[img][/img] Couronne

Argoutte

Crasses

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:49 am

Fallowvale

Mithrilirigan

Nebirear

Eluniril

Allorari

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:52 am

Fioriallia

Corus

Aurumin

Argenin

Cupria

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:58 am

Former Hrothjurgan Major

Noregr

[img][/img] Marglodl

Jotunnauga

Eirbedr

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:58 am

Former Karkova

Desyatka

[img][/img] Ruble

Grivennik

Kopek

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:10 am

Hrothjurgan Minor

Sutsigr

[img][/img] Marglodl

Jotunnauga

Eirbedr

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:13 am

Jahalio Island

Nordwin

[img][/img] Westmer

Eastfathen

Sutrime

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:16 am

Konegheim

Florin

Groschen

Kreuzer

Pfennig

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:21 am

Kunyakarova

Shildava

[img][/img] Ruble

Soldatsi

Kopek

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:25 am

Lebeq and Lebeq Prime

Balinima

Tulsimit

Tiggat

Sansima

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:31 am

Morribord

Isungor-Crown

Begrul-Sword

Arezi-Hand

Tanok-Foot

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:34 am

Nellowswann

Sovereign

Pound

Shilling

Pence

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:37 am

Omikoros

Diadnua

[img][/img] Topyova

Dainovio

Povtiki

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:39 am

Padia Forax

Sekeen

Montol

Miten

Badder

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:42 am

Seolemark

Afbjorn

Afulv

Afkat

Afmus

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:45 am

Shadhir'zor

The scorched sand of this ravaged dominion lay thick with ruins four centuries before Karkova's invasion during the Imperial Civil War, when the nine powerful archmages of the Zulkaraja fell into infighting and eventual feuding for supremacy following the death of their sovereign Yukarida. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, only one of the archmages was left standing: Birtane bel Altin, the Zulkara of Transmutation. Legend holds that Archmage Birtane was shielded from the Zulkara of Necromancy's otherwise fatal Bolt of the Unmaker by the thin silver plates crested along the fingers of his ermine gloves; grateful for this deliverance from doom, he ordered Shadhir'zor's minters to fashion these coins — rectangular plates of etched precious metals — each roughly as wide and as long as the first knucklebone in a man's index finger.

These coins and their shape have existed in circulation since Zulkara Birtane ascended to become Shadhir'zor's first monarch following the demise of the magocratic oligarchy, as have existed Shadhir'zor's cumbersome restrictions and outright bans on education in the arts of wizardry as well as the laws prescribing summary banishment or execution for any child who demonstrates an inherent capacity for sorcery; after the Final Contention of the Nine ended in his favor, Zulkara Birtane would suffer no more mages to rival himself or his descendents.

Kralel — Shadhirzan Platinum Piece, a thin, beveled, phalange-sized plate of pure platinum simply etched with archaic runes denoting its Shadhirzan origin and value.

Dukel — Shadhirzan Gold Piece, a thin, beveled, phalange-sized plate of pure gold simply etched with archaic runes denoting its Shadhirzan origin and value.

Askerel — Shadhirzan Silver Piece, a thin, beveled, phalange-sized plate of pure silver simply etched with archaic runes denoting its Shadhirzan origin and value.

Koyluel — Shadhirzan Copper Piece, a thin, beveled, phalange-sized plate of pure copper simply etched with archaic runes denoting its Shadhirzan origin and value.

Subject: Re: The Coins of the Empire Thu Nov 23, 2017 8:53 am

Rare, Exotic or Antiquated Coins

Nations rise, nations fall, nations change with the passing centuries. And as old ways — or old civilizations — crumble to dust, they leave behind telltale relics as silent testaments to what once was and is no more. The coins of these fallen dominions so often number among such relics, and the luckful wayfarer who should somehow acquire such bygone tender may have a useful bargaining chip with which to deal with any noble, merchant or scholar with a hunger for antiquated collectibles.

But a rare coin's worth is not always determined by the extinction of its origins. Nations in their prime may press and stamp fleeting variants of their coins for any number of purposes: The long-anticipated birth of a royal prince, a prosperous alliance struck with a nation which was once a bitter enemy, a usurper's success in casting down his regent and claiming the throne by force. Coins which commemorate such twists and turns in the life of a nation also appeal to historians who would mark the nation's milestones along the road behind.

Furthermore, more exotic forms of currency may exist, from the engraved beads and spearheads of tribal cultures, to the great stone tiles harvested from a ruined temple upon which an entire oligarchy was founded, to the magically radiant crystal prisms of an old magocracy, to a unique breed of long-lived peacock so valued among a duchy's aristocracy that the worth of each bird eclipses that of rubies and emeralds. Further yet, coins traded clandestinely among the more shrouded guilds, nations and alliances may not be so little as known — let alone possessed and traded — by the civilized world at large: The Silver Skulls of a worldwide guild of assassins who consider themselves accountable to no kingdom or nation, the golden Ilkatari of a shadow government comprised of mock senators from an assortment of powerful nations, the triangular Neshalluribim drop-forged from black mithril and hoarded by the drow elves in the Underdark's city-state of Elboralithzurgat, the platinum Penances traded among the undead Necropolitans who populate the great necropolis of Asmadonn Argath five miles beneath the surface. Of the latter sort of exotic currency, beware; for one not glib of tongue or sound in excuse, the mere possession of such coins could just as easily mark one for death by a secret society determined to tie up loose ends and ensure the preservation of its secrets.

Whatever their origins or degrees of rarity, expect any such coins to be worth several coins of standard value, from copper to platinum; some may even be worth more than all but the most precious of gemstones. Guard them well and spend them shrewdly, should you ever be fortunate enough to lay hands on such forgotten treasures.

Rare, Exotic or Antiquated Coins Found by Keitha Ainsley:

Liantefann ("White Spiders") — Platinum Pieces of a drow elf populace not yet fully identified, possibly the mentioned "Bathellor" or possibly a greater nation of which Bathellor is part. Hexagonal coins with a burnished relief of a spider flanked by jade-inlaid Undercommon runes denoting the coin's value; the shallow relief may have been carefully etched by some sort of acid or other corrosive.

The Coins of the Empire CoinGPDrow1

Aksokaar ("Skulls") — Gold Pieces of a drow elf populace not yet identified, possibly Bathellor. Pentagonal coins with a burnished and possibly acid-etched relief of an inhuman skull flanked by scarlet-inlaid Undercommon runes denoting the coin's value; the beak and enlarged cranium may suggest the skull of a mind flayer or some similar creature of the Underdark.