In our last session our party (3rd to 4th level) found while lost in a cave system a treasure room containing 630,000 copper coins which is 12,600 pounds of coin. We obviously do not want to leave behind this much treasure but have no practical method of moving 6 tons of copper coins. Our best idea was to use craft wondrous item to make a few knick knacks for the group. Anyone have cleverer idea to do with a mountain of currency?
In our last session our party (3rd to 4th level) found while lost in a cave system a treasure room containing 630,000 copper coins which is 12,600 pounds of coin. We obviously do not want to leave behind this much treasure but have no practical method of moving 6 tons of copper coins. Our best idea was to use craft wondrous item to make a few knick knacks for the group. Anyone have cleverer idea to do with a mountain of currency?
Well honestly, my group hand waves coinage. It gets too messy at high levels because of the sheer weight of the coins required even in gold let alone copper.
In this case, wagons, and if you can bags of holding are your friend, then get to a bank or a merchant's guild and see about getting them to something more practical like bank notes if you can.
Get the wizard/sorcerer to prepare all floating disks and make a 'train' of them? :D A 4th level wizard/sorc could hold 400 lbs. per disk. Still might be a few trips but it's better than nothing.
I can offer one better: The mount spell can carry more and lasts longer.
Unfortunately the group consists of an Oracle, Alchemist, a pair of Fighters, and a Druid. Pocket arcane caster would be very handy for this situation. We have no idea where we are in relation to a town to get a wagon train going.
In our last session our party (3rd to 4th level) found while lost in a cave system a treasure room containing 630,000 copper coins which is 12,600 pounds of coin. We obviously do not want to leave behind this much treasure but have no practical method of moving 6 tons of copper coins. Our best idea was to use craft wondrous item to make a few knick knacks for the group. Anyone have cleverer idea to do with a mountain of currency?
Well, I don't think the Craft Wondrous Items idea will work, since I'm pretty sure the monetary requirements for crafting assume you are buying stuff that gets turned into magic items, not converting money directly into magic items.
If the dungeon isn't fully explored yet, you might want to look around a little. Your DM might have provided a way for you to keep the coins, but you just haven't found it yet. I wouldn't be too concerned until you've fully explored the dungeon. You never know, you might find a tribe of something or the other who will help you with the lugging in exchange for a cut. Or that many coins might be necessary to accomplish some other task that you're unaware of yet. Or, if you're lost, the coins might be there for you to leave a trail of shiny breadcrumbs to find your way out. I'd be patient. You never know what useful item is in the next room.
First take what you can.
Second, collapse de cave or at least the entrances and exits. The Druid can do it in a burrowing form.
Third, go to town and buy a wagon.
Finally, return to the sealed cave and undig the tresure. Again, the Druid can do this.
Humbly,
Yawar
Melt it down and use it to forge large copper wheels that you mount on a wagon of sorts. Or build yourself a copper war machine.
Shrink Item is 2 cubic feet/level, with a days/level duration.
Animate some big ass skeletons or zombies and have them carry it.
Druid wildshaped into the biggest, strongest creature should be able to carry a decent amount.
In our last session our party (3rd to 4th level) found while lost in a cave system a treasure room containing 630,000 copper coins which is 12,600 pounds of coin. We obviously do not want to leave behind this much treasure but have no practical method of moving 6 tons of copper coins. Our best idea was to use craft wondrous item to make a few knick knacks for the group. Anyone have cleverer idea to do with a mountain of currency?Well honestly, my group hand waves coinage. It gets too messy at high levels because of the sheer weight of the coins required even in gold let alone copper.
Yeah.
Consider that at level 9 you can be wielding a weapon that cost 8,000 gold coins. That's still pretty damn heavy...and that's just for one of your items.
Why on earth are there that many copper coins in one place? What logic could possibly be used to have placed them there in the first place?
Was there a dragon that liked collecting ONLY copper coins? If the pile is the lost remains of a bandit raided merchant/royal transport or some such, you'd think it would have been copper ingots or a similar manageable commodity, not 6 tons of coin (that's insane!).
Mules, saddlebags, feed, animal handlers (and labor and food/water) shouldn't be hard to find.
Knowledge (geography) takes care of nearest town. If one is not nearby, bury as above.
Never let that much money go uncontested at 4th level.
Reason it's all in copper is that the GM - may - want you to EARN that 6,300 gp for a change.
Just tell your hirelings that they are going to be paid in coppers upon completion of the extraction. ^^
In addition of other party members doing their best to bring all this to town, have the druid take all he can in his natural form, then wildshape into another form: his equipment melds and effectively disappears. As for the form chosen, select a quadruped to be able to hold even more coins.
Str 18 Druid : 300lb max for heavy encumberance, 600lb max while staggering
Using Beast Shape I to morph into a Medium (Str +2) quadruped: 1.5x400lb max for heavy encumberance, for a total of 1200lb
Using Beast Shape II to become a Large (Str +4) quadruped, that would give 3x520lb for a total of 2160lb
Using Beast Shape III and a Huge quadruped, that gives 6x700lb for a grand total of 4800lb
Reference: Carrying Capacity
Collapsing the cave is also a good idea.
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The pile of coins was put there because:
1 - your GM is an idiot.
2 - your GM wanted to present you with a puzzle to be solved with something other than your sword.
3 - You GM didn't want you to get the whole treasure he's just teasing you with it.
4 - There is a solution somewhere in the adventure.
5 - It was written into a module for one of the above reasons.
Depending on the game world copper may be the most seen, most available, and most easily collected coin. This might be a whole minting in one place or the hoard collected by a large relatively low level group.
In terms of disposing of the coins I would send one person to town to find a moneyer or market person who will give you transportable wealth and take the coins off your hands. You'll lose a lot in the exchange but its likely that will happen anyway.
I would stay away from melting them. Realistically you'll loose some copper in the melting and you don't know the quality of the metal. For the lower denominations the image on the coin may exceed the value of the copper.
Failing that, consider donating the money to a worthy cause. As I said, copper can be dispersed broadly and spent on small things without attracting attention.
Sigurd
Anyone want to start on a copper golem?
Unfortunately the group consists of an Oracle, Alchemist, a pair of Fighters, and a Druid. Pocket arcane caster would be very handy for this situation. We have no idea where we are in relation to a town to get a wagon train going.
Something you might want to do, if the players are pissed about leaving the coins behind is can they get a fire going? Assuming the PCs have the materials on hand to generate a hot enough fire and some crude moulds, they could make themselves some copper ingots out of the coins, and while not worth a hell of a lot they can at least get a good portion of the coins into a much-easier-to-carry form, and with a bit of work via some ingenuity (does the Oracle or Druid have access Soften Earth and Stone or similar spells) to bury the ingots in such a way that the Players can leave themselves a marker but not have to worry about rival adventurers coming in to loot their 'treasure'?
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The pile of coins was put there because:
1 - your GM is an idiot.
2 - your GM wanted to present you with a puzzle to be solved with something other than your sword.
3 - You GM didn't want you to get the whole treasure he's just teasing you with it.
4 - There is a solution somewhere in the adventure.
5 - It was written into a module for one of the above reasons.
there's also:
6 - It was written into a random treasure table because of1 - your random treasure table writer is an idiot
Which is probably what happened.
On the other hand, in my games dragons go out of their way to accumulate copper over other coins - it's the only realistic way for a dragon to sleep on a genuine "bed" of money. Look at how much treasure they get - if its in platinum or gold, it wouldn't be big enough for a human to sleep on, much less a massive dragon. Silver gives enough for one, maybe two layers, and would be rather cramped.
No, no... copper is the way to go for your bed-making needs. It's also self-protecting - if an adventuring party sneaks into your lair while you are out, they won't be able to steal it before you come back!
Or just get a flock of seagulls and have them drop the coins to kill pirates and collect the reward for killing pirates and selling the ships.....
You mean these guys?
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I too once used a "bed" of around 500,000 copper coins in an adventure I put together. It was the last remaining "treasure" of a lost vault which had already been looted, the previous looters not caring to take the "worthless copper" with them.
It also made for a fun fight with "difficult terrain" due to the coins on the floor.
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No, no... copper is the way to go for your bed-making needs. It's also self-protecting - if an adventuring party sneaks into your lair while you are out, they won't be able to steal it before you come back!
Until an adventurer comes along with a scroll of fabricate and turns a huge 'bed' filled with copper coins into a big giant copper barrel, then quickly piles everything else in the horde into the barrel, and casts shrink item on the barrel. Maybe 1 minute max.
I guess if you are thinking about some small youngish dragons then maybe it's an issue but past 7th level or so there is a good chance the party will have something to handle this sort of problem
I hear alot of "lets melt it" while you can clumps of copper as it is coins.