Exchange Rates in The Old World RPG

[u/sigmumar]

https://gloriousportents.blogspot.com/2025/08/exchange-rates-in-old-world-rpg.html

We've had some good discussions about the TOWR economy system the past few days - and I hope you have the energy to consider it some more. The game rules specify that a series of expenses of one tier can add up to an expense of a higher one - but offers no real guidelines of how much would be reasonable beyond a few examples.

In todays post at Glorious Portents, I use the rules for some of the Endeavours to calculate what I believe will work as a general exchange rate to base your gut feeling on - although I wouldn't allow it to be used for a straight conversion, it helps when judging when a Silver or Gold tier characters have made enough small purchases for you to say "actually, mark a coin spent".

I also discuss why this exchange rate, even if "correct", tells us nothing about the relative wealth levels of the social tiers.

Have a look, I'm very interested to hear if you agree with my reasoning or not.

[u/Spartancfos]

I enjoyed this read - and drew similar conclusions.

I think it is good to have a frame of reference between the different Social Classes, and a rule of thumb for when an expense should be truly out of pocket.

[u/GoblinLoveChild]

I found it useful there is five coin slots on the character sheet to track coins. I was running a simple "fill up your five bronze coins and you convert it to a silver coin.

Nice to know the maths backs that up

[u/Vonatar-74]

Interesting. But isn’t the point of an abstract economy system to make purchases of lower tier items inconsequential so there’s no need to track?

[u/Ori_Sacabaf → u/Vonatar-74]

Yes, but that doesn't mean you can, as a silver status player, raid a weaponsmith's entire stock of spears.

Thus the example provided in the article. You can buy a spear or 2 without having to track it, but if you want to arm a bunch of people with brass weapons, it will cost you silvers or even golds.

[u/Vonatar-74 → u/Ori_Sacabaf]

True, but that seems to me rather a solution in search of a problem.

The book already gives the example that buying drinks for the table is a silver expense and for the whole tavern is a gold expense, at the GM’s discretion. So here too wouldn’t the GM’s discretion apply rather than some form of conversion which just reverts the abstract system to actual currency.

I’m not against using some form of conversion if that’s what people want to do. I’m just saying that’s not really the point of an abstract system.

[u/Ori_Sacabaf → u/Vonatar-74]

I think the article isn't about telling "you have to do this this way", but is a ground for when a GM is wondering when they have to go from "it's included in the status" to "it will cost 1 silver".
It's nothing absolute or definitive, but it provides a nice math-based answer to a question lazy-bums like me were sometimes asking themselves before pillaging their silver status players' precious purses because they had the audacity of treating their brass status servants colleagues.

[u/sigmumar → u/Ori_Sacabaf]

Yes, a guideline based on the math already in the system, for, as you say, "when they have to go from "it's included in the status" to "it will cost 1 silver"", is exactly what I tried to make here - along with some notes on when that guideline shouldn't be applied.

Definately not saying the exchange rate should be applied as something the players can use. Indeed, I think I wrote rather explicitly that I don't recommend that. :)

[u/Ori_Sacabaf]

Again, great article. The silver-brass conversion was pretty much what I was already applying on average, but it's great to see a sound reasoning behind it.