The Coinage of Kingdoms

While merchants and mages may trade in arcane relics or favors, it is the clink of coin that oils the gears of civilization and conflict. From the structured monetary system of the Alderworth Kingdom, to the primitive shell trading of desert tribes, currency offers a practical way to trade goods all across the planet.

The Alderworth Kingdom: Crests and Corruption

The official currency of the Alderworth Kingdom, as decreed by King Jeoff Silvercrest, is the Royal Crest. Although the kingdom had used the florin as its currency for most of its existence, King Jeoff changed it upon his royal ascension, wiping off all debt in the process–something that really made him popular among the common folk, at least for a while.

• The Gold Crest: A heavy coin stamped with the profile of the current monarch, the Gold Crest is the currency of the nobility. It is used for land purchases, dowries, and the financing of minor wars. To possess a purse full of Crests is to command respect.

• The Silver Shield: Bearing the royal coat of arms, the Silver Shield is the workhorse coin of merchants, mercenaries, and the Ironheart Guild. It is the standard for most significant transactions, from a suit of armor to a guild contract.

• The Copper Bit: A small, often poorly-struck coin bearing only a simple crown, the Bit is the currency of the slums. In practice, many of these coins are debased, mixed with cheaper metals by a crown desperate to fund its expenses, leading to rampant inflation and misery among the poor.

In the less reputable areas of Veldonia, however, the Royal Crest, together with any other official currencies, is openly mistrusted. The Shadowsong Guild and other underworld factions prefer a currency that is untraceable and holds its value. For high-stakes transactions—assassinations, stolen information, or forbidden arcane artifacts—they rely on Ancient Vaelorian ingots. These small, dark, unnaturally heavy bars of an unknown metal, salvaged from Vaelorian tombs, are a relic of a bygone age and are considered the only truly stable currency on the continent.

Currencies of the Great Powers

While the Crest dominates the Alderworth Kingdom’s sphere of influence, it is far from the only coin in circulation.

• The Oxze Empire has traditionally used the Golden Visage, and even though it collapsed as a nation, with the recent rise of Empress Serya the Visage is gaining international recognition once again. Each large, heavy gold coin is stamped with the serene, imposing face of a god-emperor like Gewani the Ascended.

• Helvonia, by contrast, issues the Mark. A simple, clean disc of refined silver, it bears the image of a set of scales on one side and a cogwheel on the other. It is a merchant’s coin, trusted in ports across the world for its guaranteed purity and weight, and its practicality makes it a constant irritant to the pride of the Alderworthian crown.

• The Republic of Thermest, a nation built in the volcanic and geothermal rifts, uses the Brass Scrip, a rectangular, heat-treated token stamped with the image of a geyser on one side and the republican charter’s emblem on the other. High-value transactions are conducted with Obsidian Plates, large, sharp-edged slabs of polished volcanic glass intricately etched with the Republic’s founding date.

• The Fegonoth Republic uses the Iron Spine, a small, hexagonal rod of cold-forged iron. The value lies mostly in the pure, unadulterated weight and quality of the metal. Each Spine is stamped by a forge-master’s mark, guaranteeing its purity.

• The Kingdom of Breccia is a fractured land, a coalition of once-warring petty states and baronies cemented together by conquest and fragile treaties. Its currency reflects this broken history; the Mosaic Crown is a crude, heavy coin made by literally melting down the old currencies of the conquered lands. It is not uncommon to see a single coin with a swirl of silver, a chip of gold, and a band of iron all fused together in a lead-alloy matrix.

• The reclusive Kingdom of Leoriel, hidden within ancient, magic-infused forests, does not mint coin. Their currency is the Amber Sol, a teardrop of magically hardened, ancient amber grown by the kingdom’s druidic tenders. Low-denomination Leaf-Sols are clear, containing a single, perfectly preserved leaf from their sacred trees. High-denomination Star-Sols are rarer, containing a mote of captured, perpetual light that glows faintly in the dark.