Economics of the Ninth World

The basic unit of currency is called a ‘shin’. Which means, essentially, ‘monies’. What constitutes a shin will vary greatly from nation to nation, and sometimes even from town to town. In most major cities, a ‘shin’ is a coin-like object that has been stamped as being legal tender by the agents of the crown. It, of course, costs a fee to get all ones shins stamped but this too will vary. Most nations will accept the currency of other nations (though at a reduced rate).

Smaller settlements rely mostly on a barter system among locals, with actual shins being reserved for trading with merchants and caravans that come through the town. As such, most businesses will accept a certain amount of shins before asking for other forms of payment, or shins of a specific colour or texture in some places. For example, you may enter one town that only accepts green shins and have to find a) either new shins or b) someone to paint your shins for you.

Unlike shins, oddities and cyphers have value everywhere. Attempts by kingdoms to mark them in the manner of shins have met with resistance and outright failure. To say nothing of trying to mark a cypher and then having it explode as a result. Trade in all these items is common and based on the uniqueness of the item and what the other party needs or desires. Adventurers based in an area can always trade potential items they might find later on if locals have reason to trust them. Artififact trading is common as well, though since no one knows when it is going to shut down it isn’t as brisk as that of cyphers or oddities.

GM Note: I don’t plan to be a stickler for such things in-game. PCs will likely run into towns and places where their shins are essentially worthless but it’s very unlikely to find a place where the locals won’t trade in oddities, cyphers or artifacts. Lastly, there is always the currency of favours and news of what is happening in the wider world.

        Regarding Equipment

Players going ‘hey, wait, I need X for my pc to make sense and can’t afford X’ can be worked out prior to the game with the GM. For example, instead of a compass one can find worldstones (black stones make by Aeon Priests that always point north: essentially lodestones) that are a) cheaper and b) not quite as good.