Economy
In order to better understand the currency system and how the economy in Ransera generally works, here is the lore information on Ransera's currency.
Banking
Most banking in Ransera is either directly performed by or related to the Guild of Coins, or more commonly coined ‘The Republic Bank' a multi-national, politically neutral association of lenders, investors, wealth managers and institutional banking professionals. The Republic Bank is extremely wealthy and powerful, with more wealth than most governments in reserve and truly astronomical annual earnings. Headquartered in the Republic of Cathena, in the capital of Cathena City, the influence of the Republic Bank reaches as far out as the fringes of Turoth and has had a heavy hand in the finance sector since the Clockwork Age. For this reason, deposit rates, banking policies and lending interest rates tend to be uniform across the world. The bank also plays a heavy part in the fluctuation and control of wages and property values.
Coinage and Bank Notes
Generally speaking, most citizens in the world of Ransera perform daily transactions with Bank Notes certified by the Republic Bank. These notes are weighed against the total value of assets listed in the holdings they register with the bank. Those with an account in the bank are issued a booklet upon which they can write a number representing the total value of the item being purchased. The recipient of the note can then take it to the nearest branch of the Guild of Coins to withdraw the funds or have it transferred to their own holdings and never see the physical coinage. The total amount is then deducted from the writer of the note's account. For those who prefer not to keep their holdings registered with the Republic Bank, the bank provides exchange services and issues coinage with a standard value that is recognized across the world. The benchmark for currency across the world is the Copper Aven abbreviated simply as "copper piece (gp)". This coinage was established in the Clockwork Empire. As the influence and holdings of the empire increased over the centuries it became the dominant form of currency across the world. As the Guild of Coins was founded in the Clockwork Empire and has held on to these standards since that era, it has carried forward into the present day.
All coins issued by the Republic Bank are minted by them and engraved with the Seal of Avenna, the Demigoddess of Trade and Commerce. The demigoddess personally blesses each coin to ensure its authenticity. The hierarchy of coins is the Platinum Aven (PP), Gold Aven (GP), Silver Aven (SP) and the Copper Aven (CP), with the platinum aven being the most valuable and the copper aven being the least valuable. In terms of every day use, most people simply refer to them as "platinum pieces", "gold pieces", "silver pieces" or "copper pieces".
Platinum Aven (PP). It is worth 100 gold avens, 10,000 silver avens or 1,000,000 copper avens.
Gold Aven (GP). It is worth 100 silver avens or 10,000 copper avens. 100 gold avens is equal to 1 platinum aven.
Silver Aven (SP). It is worth 100 copper avens. 100 silver avens is equal to 1 gold aven.
Copper Aven (CP). The benchmark currency. 100 copper avens is equal to 1 silver aven.
Deposit Rates
Simple Deposit Yield: 4% - Simply put, all money left in a bank garners a 1% quarterly (or seasonally in game) or 4% annual interest rate for the depositor. For example, if you leave 100 GP in the bank in Searing, in Ash the balance will increase to 101 GP.
Investment Yield: 8% - Every two seasons, or twice a year, you will be given a deposit of 4% of your total investment value to your bank account. An investment deposit locks up all money deposited for a six month period, at which point the money can either be re-deposited into the investment, withdrawn or converted to a simple bank balance deposit. It is possible to withdraw the funds outside of the six month renewal period, but with a 5% penalty to the total balance of the investment deposit (not including interest gained) being taken from you.
Lending
Lending Rates:
- 1,000-24,999 GP: 5% SIR (Seasonal Interest Return); 5% of the total loan value must be paid to the bank as interest every season until the full loan amount is repaid. Even if the loan’s principal value is decreased, the total value determines interest payments. The same rules follow higher loan amounts, but with lower percentages attached.
- 25,000-74,999 GP: 4% SIR
- 75,000-149,999 GP: 3.5% SIR
- 150,000-499,999 GP: 3% SIR
- 500,000 GP+: 2.5% SIR
Please note that as the Guild of Coins has influence globally, all cities will have repossession and interest acquisition agents on hunt for those defaulting on their loans. Three seasons of aggregate failed interest repayments is considered a default, meaning you can never be allowed to miss more than two payments total across your loan. Serious RP repercussions can follow.
Wages and Expenses
Like in every economy, PCs need money in order to make purchases and pay their basic living expenses. Money can be earned in a variety of ways such as through quest rewards, bounty threads, or selling goods and services to other PCs. The most comment method is to earn a wage by working a job.
Wages
| Profession | Linked Skill Category(s) | Minimum Base Wage | Currency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Intelligence; Perception; Charisma | 30 | cp | Person who performs administrative tasks for a wage; Example: Scribe, Councillor, Banker |
| Artist | Artistry; Craft; Biology | 25 | cp | Person who creates works of art for a wage; Example: Painter, Sculpter, Architect |
| Craftsman | Craft; Dexterity; Mercantilism | 30 | cp | Person who crafts items or goods for a wage; Example: Smith, Fletcher, Carpenter |
| Fighter | Strength; Endurance; Combat | 40 | cp | Person who performs combat for a wage; Example: Soldier, Assassin, Bandit |
| Laborer | Strength; Endurance; Dexterity | 25 | cp | Person who performs physical labor for a wage; Example: Miner, Fisherman, Sailor |
| Mage | Arcana | 60 | cp | Person who uses magic to perform their work for a wage: Example: Alchemist, Combat Mage, Runeforger |
| Medic | Example | Example | Example | Example |
| Merchant | Charisma; Craft; Mercantilism | 50 | cp | Person who sales goods or services for a wage; Example: Baker, Shop Keeper, Trader |
| Noble | Intelligence; Charisma; Mercantilism | 2 | sp | Person who is a member of nobility, or involved in a nobles estate; Example: Prince, Duke, Vassal |
| Performer | Dexterity; Charisma; Artistry | 25 | cp | Person who provides entertainment for a wage; Example: Actor, Dancer, Acrobat |
Professions Professions are a set of broad labor categories (or types of work) that a PC can fall under. These professions are broad in nature and can encompass a number of different job roles. For instance, the Fighter profession includes soldiers, mercenaries and gladiators, thus a player who wishes to be any of those things would choose the Fighter profession and take their minimum base wage when submitting the job request to the Wage / Job Request thread.
Job vs Profession In the simplest terms, a Job is what a PC does for a living, while a Profession is the field they work in. Using the previous example of a Gladiator, their job would be "Gladiator" but they work in the "Fighter" profession/field. If this PC were to change their job from Gladiator to Bodyguard their job would now be Bodyguard, however, they would still be working within the Fighter profession and thus would continue to use their same base wage and skill category.
Skill Category The Skill Categories in the table are linked to the categories found in the Skill Guide. In order to choose a profession a PC must have a skill that falls under one of the required skill categories for that profession. Using the Fighter example once again, if a PC is a Gladiator they would need to have some type of Combat skill to use as their Primary skill for the Fighter profession. This is the skill that is used to determine that PC's seasonal wages when doing the calculations.
Minimum Base Wage This is the minimum wage per day that a profession will earn at a novice level in their primary profession skill. A PC's actual wage can be higher than the minimum depending on 2 main factors. The first is the region in which they are playing. Depending on the city certain jobs which fall within the profession will warrant a change in the base wage. This is determined by the moderator over that area, and should be approved through the wage / job request thread. The second is based on the amount of time a PC has held a profession. After their first season a PC will earn an additional +5% to their base wage (before modifiers) for every season they have been in that profession. This is done to show increased value that comes with working in a profession for an extended period of time, and to encourage PC's to remain in a given profession when possible. If a PC changes to a new profession, such as shifting from Fighter to an Administrator, their base wage will reset to the starting wage of that new profession.
Loyalty Bonus A loyalty bonus is a bonus given to a PC who has held the same job (not profession) after 2 seasons. After their 2nd season a PC will begin earning an additional +1% per season, capping out at 5% after 7 seasons. This bonus will be removed should a PC change jobs. An example of this is with a Gladiator who has been a Gladiator for 4 seasons. He now earns an additional 2% to his wages after applying skill modifiers, however, if he were to change his job from Gladiator to Bodyguard in season 5 he would no longer receive a loyalty bonus until he has been a bodyguard for 2 seasons. This does not affect his base wage, which is still increasing as he is still working within the Fighter profession.
Expenses
Each PC must pay a seasonal expense at the end of every season. This seasonal expense represents the necessary purchases that PC must make in order to survive that season. This includes such things as daily food purchases, cost of renting the housing available in the starting package, and small miscellaneous purchases such as snacks at food stalls, small items and supplies like rations or sewing materials, etc. Players are given a significant amount of trust to start, but based on use of this freedom it may be required to be more meticulous in their ledger keeping if a player is found to be abusing this system.
The seasonal expenses do not cover the following:
- Purchase of any magical items (including dragonshards)
- Purchase of weapons and armor outside of the starting package
- Purchase of luxury goods and clothing (it does cover cost of mending existing clothing if the PC does it themseles)
- Purchase of expensive food and drink, as well as drugs
- Purchase of services of any kind
If you are uncertain if your lifestyle expenses will cover a purchase please ask your local moderator, and when in down use the Price List to make the purchase and log that purchase in your CS's ledger.
Seasonal Expense is currently -15% of your PC's wages after all modifications have been applied. This number may change at a future date, but all updates will be announced in advance before they go into affect.
