I'm considering making a severe change to the economy of my pathfinder game in a home-brew sort of style.
The premise of this concept is to make the concept of wealth a little more abstract for the purpose of verisimilitude. To help represent the world with a barter system, credit, reputation, as well as actual gold on hand. The idea is also there to help simplify the economy as well, allowing the players to not have to worry about every little silver or copper piece.
The system would ultimately be a credit score of sorts. They purchase the items as normal, and start off with a Credit Rating of 1. As they adventure, they can increase the credit rating as they gain treasure. They may have businesses that increase their credit rating, or even resets the credit rating to a certain minimum of say... 5 if its a relatively successful business. The business can also increase your credit rating, each month but it increases no higher than say... an 8, though you could have a much higher credit rating, even to say... 100.
When magic items, scrolls, food, etc are in need of purchase then the credit rating goes down. The DM may also conclude that expenditures that are small such as, a single night at the inn are incidental and do not lower the credit rating. However, if the character buys a horse, or a lot of little pieces of equipment together, it would warrant removing a little credit.
The advice I'm asking for - What do you think about the basic system? I'm not even sure I like it, but I think I find it intriguing. I like the idea, but I just... don't know that it will, or will not work. So please, break it down for me. Why is it good to you? Why is it bad to you? Why will it work? Why won't it work? Anything you have to say I'm interested in.
Bump
Can you give more a more concrete example?
In the standard economy, I come back from a quest with 1500 gold pieces. I buy a cloak of resistance, a level 2 scroll, a cold iron dagger, and role play by buying drinks for everyone at the inn. I now have 173 gold left. (Or some amount like that.) If we take a week off I can make some money with my Profession skill.
How would this look in your system?
Can you give more a more concrete example?
In the standard economy, I come back from a quest with 1500 gold pieces. I buy a cloak of resistance, a level 2 scroll, a cold iron dagger, and role play by buying drinks for everyone at the inn. I now have 173 gold left. (Or some amount like that.) If we take a week off I can make some money with my Profession skill.
How would this look in your system?
My character has a credit rating of 5 before the adventure. I come back with treasure, which improves my credit rating by 10.
I spend one credit rating to replenish gear such as any vials used, rations used, clothes or other gear damaged in combat. This may include a week at the Inn.
I spend 6 credit to purchase a cloak of resistance and cold iron dagger.
I spend 1 credit for two scrolls.
You take a week off and may make profession checks, and if you succeed at least 4 checks out of the seven, you increase your credit by one to a maximum equal to how many ranks you have dedicated to the profession. The DC of the profession check increases as your credit increases.
The major point is to not have to manage the little parts of the income.
How do I know that a cloak of resistance +1 and a cold iron dagger cost 6 credit? Is there a price list, or a '150 gold is 1 credit' exchange rate? If I don't know how much things cost, it's going to take longer to shop...
Looks a bit like a modification of the wealth bonus from d20 modern. Which would be a great place to start in figuring out a system like this.
How do I know that a cloak of resistance +1 and a cold iron dagger cost 6 credit? Is there a price list, or a '150 gold is 1 credit' exchange rate? If I don't know how much things cost, it's going to take longer to shop...
No, you wouldn't. The DM would decide the rate by which things would cost. The DM may also choose a relative worth for the credit rating to make things more convertible when purchasing items.
How do I know that a cloak of resistance +1 and a cold iron dagger cost 6 credit? Is there a price list, or a '150 gold is 1 credit' exchange rate? If I don't know how much things cost, it's going to take longer to shop...No, you wouldn't. The DM would decide the rate by which things would cost. The DM may also choose a relative worth for the credit rating to make things more convertible when purchasing items.
I will look into that. Thanks.
Looks a bit like a modification of the wealth bonus from d20 modern. Which would be a great place to start in figuring out a system like this.
Wow - this system of which you speak is almost exactly the idea that I was describing. A few modifiers, but yeah... pretty much that.
d20 Modern economy is designed with the idea that the PCs have a patron group. They don't usually keep track of their money because it isn't really there money you are spending. A Fantasy campaign with a similar premise could also work well with this system.
From what it sounds like though, this isn't really what you are doing. I think you will find that you system will create more paperwork rather than less and will slow down instead of speed things up. It also has the potential to create frustration in you players who don't know what they can buy or how long they have to save to get something they want.
I suggest if you want it simpler to just ignore certain things. Assume that PCs can pay for meals and replenish cheap items (like arrows) without bothering to track it. If you want, you could have them pay a monthly expense for general cost of living, but it works fine if you just ignore that too.
In any event, I wish you luck.