EDRulebook: 13 Adventuring In Earthdawn

LOOT

During the course of an adventure, your character will discover many opportunities for gathering loot and should grab those opportunities with both hands. Loot may be money or gemstones snatched from fallen enemies, precious objects found in a creature’s lair, pieces of a creature brought back as trophies, or magical items. Earthdawn loot comes in two distinct varieties: loot worth money and treasure.

LOOT WORTH MONEY

Ancient gold pieces, precious stones, elemental coins, items that can be sold for silver, or silver pieces filched from a hidden hoard all qualify as loot worth money. Characters can gather immediately usable money from dead opponents or from the lairs of creatures and Horrors. Other forms of loot must be converted to cash.

Cash In Earthdawn

Silver is the common currency of Barsaive, and so most characters use silver coins to make purchases, bribes, and other deals. Before the Scourge, gold enjoyed wider use; today only merchants and governments use gold. A silver piece equals ten standard copper pieces, the most basic currency denomination of Barsaive, and ten silver pieces equal one gold piece. See Goods and Services for more details on the uses of currency in Barsaive.

In addition to Barsaive’s common metal coins, the province’s currencies include the so-called elemental coins. Elemental coins contain bits of True Elements - earth, water, air, fire - or orichalcum, the combination of these elements. These pieces are reserved for such special occasions as finalizing long-term trade agreements, swearing blood oaths, and sealing peace treaties between nations. A single earth or water piece is worth 100 silver pieces, and ten earth or water pieces equal one air or fire piece. Ten air or fire pieces, in turn, equal a single orichalcum piece.

Air pieces resemble finely crafted crystal and each contains a portion of elemental air. Sharply striking an air piece causes it to ring and then levitate a few inches; as it descends, the ringing tone fades. Throal recently began producing air pieces with a likeness of a Sky Raider airship to commemorate the crystal raiders’ aid during Thera’s siege of Throal. Each air piece weighs one-tenth of an ounce.

Earth pieces consist of soil mixed with clods of elemental earth. These plain brown pieces gleam under bright light and weigh one-tenth of an ounce.

Fire pieces resemble disks of slowly swirling flame, an effect of the elemental fire they contain. Though cool to the touch, fire pieces produce sparks of flame hot enough to light a lantern or a stove when struck. Each fire piece weighs one-tenth of an ounce.

The plain, round water piece contains elemental water. Throalic pieces contain freshwater, and Theran pieces contain saltwater. Each piece weighs one-tenth of an ounce.

Orichalcum pieces comprise all four elements, combined through time-consuming alchemical and Elementalist procedures that remain closely guarded secrets. Gold in color, orichalcum seems to capture and amplify light. Orichalcum pieces remain rare, even among princes and kings. The handful of individuals lucky enough to possess them prefer to use orichalcum pieces for magic, rather than trade. Legends tell of ancient civilizations that once used orichalcum as currency, but most scholars question whether these legends have any factual basis.

Exchanging Gold And Gems

Because gold was used more widely before the Scourge, characters often find gold in the treasure rooms of kaers adn citadels across Barsaive. Once found, the character may wish to exchange it for more usable silver currency at the most advantageous rate. Most towns and cities boast merchants more than willing to exchange gold for silver, though adventurers rarely receive the full worth fo their coin in exchange. Most Throalic gold coins minted before the Scourge bring roughly 75 percent of their original value in open exchange. The rate applied to Theran gold often nets less, usually 60 percent of its original value.

The gemstones most commonly found across Barsaive include emeralds, rubies, and saphires. The rarer diamonds are seldom found in kaers adn citadels. The value of gemstones varies according to size and quality, and the gamemaster decides the value of any gems the characters find. Characters can usually exchange gemstones at 75 percent of their value, but may get a slightly higher rate of approximately 80 percent for gems of exceptional quality. This exchange rate allows the buyer to make a profit when reselling the gems.

Selling Equipment

A somewhat unorthodox method of turning loot into money is to sell equipment that belonged to deceased opponents. This required a certain amount of caution; adventurers who leave town in the morning and return later that same day carrying various bits of equipment to sell that they didn't have before tend to draw the attention of the local constabulary. However, not every town frowns on such activity. Several towns and cities in Barsaive, Kratas the chief among them, regard the sale of used equipment as their primary local industry,

Awarding Available Loot

The gamemaster decides the amount of potential loot available in any given adventure. He must tailor the amount of money or other loot the characters find or acquire to the type of game he wants to run. As a rule of thumb, each character should get roughly three times the Legend Award (see Gamemastering Earthdawn) in silver pieces per adventure, though gamemasters may award more or less loot as they see fit.

Note that characters can also earn money in Earthdawn. A town, organization, or individual may hire the characters to perform a certain task for payment, or once they achieve higher Circles, characters can train younger Adepts for a fee.

[Treasure]

TREASURE

In addition to loot worth money, adventurers in Earthdawn can also find treasure, the objects legendary heroes acquire during their adventures. Treasure comes in two forms: magical treasure, such as magical weapons and items, and creature treasure.

Magical Treasure

Magical treasure includes the magical weapons and other items that characters seek or find during their adventures. Characters can learn to use magical items through study, and, after reaching a certain level of knowledge, can use the item to gain information during an adventure. See Magical Treasure to find out how to create and use magical treasure in your game.

Creature Treasure

Heroes of legend often take bits and pieces of the creatures they battle as proof of the encounter and of their prowess. These trophies represent a kind of treasure that increases a hero’s legendary status. Because only heroes can collect bits and pieces of vanquished creatures, characters in Earthdawn collect such trophies to prove that they are heroes.