Carousing

“I am excited to make many rolls on this wonderful table. Boon companions, when searching the gutters for my body, remember to look for the fellow wearing the dashing hat.” – Drew

I don’t know why coins are dice. I found a notebook from a few years ago with a nearly abandoned D&D hack and some of those notes made it to a Google Doc. Said doc read:

Discuss what you are buying and figure out how many dice in which coin.

1’s disappear. All other results degrade one level.

Buying below the coin you are using (for example, using Gold to buy from the Silver level or Platinum to buy from the Gold) it takes only half the coin.

Buy above the coin you are using takes ten times the coin and no need to roll, they all disappear.

If you want to buy something really special that seems within the bounds the DM can say the coins will disappear at a greater rate (on a 1 or a 2 or a 1, 2 or 3…etc) or can say that the coin will disappear entirely.

d4 Copper

Peasants, knaves, beggars, runaway apprentices, scumbag delvers

2d4 | A few day’s food in the country

4d4 | Peasant weapons (knife, bow, spear, cudgel)

6d4 | Simple equipment

8d4 | Village rent / Subsistence lifestyle / Beast of burden / Dependable but quirky local guide who will run at the first sign of trouble

d6 Silver

Journeymen, hedge knights, heroes after their first good haul

2d6 | Food in the city for a few days

4d6 | Professional soldier’s weapons

6d6 | Armor / Master Tools / Riding Mount / A hard night of carousing and drugs in a village at the crossroads

8d6 | City rent for a season / Simple lifestyle for a season / Slumlord bodyguards for a few weeks

d8 Gold

Landed knights, minor lords, successful merchants, established tomb raiders after smart investments who have survived the many dangers

2d8 | A fine meal / Domestic Staff for a few weeks / a messenger who will personally deliver your missive to the neighboring city in peace-time

4d8 | Noble’s weapons, custom-made to fit wielder / Veteran adventurer’s services on a reckless exhibition with promises of a generous cut of the wealth and glory

6d8 | Fine armor / War-horse / Custom barding for your griffon / A hard night of carousing and drugs in a city

8d8 | Noble’s lifestyle for a season but only with intense effort to not let the courtiers see the signs of impending poverty / House knights for a season

d10 Platinum

Ducal houses, kings, merchant houses, adventurers with reputations who have gained titles and lead their own guilds, cults and armies

2d10 | The finest meal you will ever eat /

4d10 | Personal diplomat/agent / A trainer for your feral wyvern /

6d10 | Personal priest / Adventuring Party / Feed visiting king’s retinue for a season / a season’s tutoring with this generation’s finest swordsman / A hard night of carousing and drugs in the sleaziest city in the world

8d10 | Purchase land / Personal Wizard / Purchase Ship

d12 Diamond

Dragons, emperors, popes, arch-mages with a head for social engineering and heroes who fancy themselves world-breakers and demi-gods

2d12 | Legendary Assassin

4d12 | Ducal support

6d12 | Build Cathedral or a Castle / A hard night of carousing and drugs in the Emperor’s palace

8d12 | King’s Ear

Is this better or worse than counting beans? What will making buying things a die roll accomplish? Time will tell. I asked the Thursday night group if they’d mind giving this a try and they agreed.

Then Drew said his character was going to drink what remained of his gold away and I knew I needed a carousing table and suddenly, my coin dice had a purpose. This hideous table was born. I think this table deserves better but here we are, rolling coin dice that might not make much sense on this strange, ugly table.

This isn’t for every time you go out and have a drink. This is when you get back from facing certain death in the Outlands and want to celebrate life or throw life away in the face of pitiless powers that care not for mortals. This is when you go out seeking something, even if you aren’t sure what it is or why.

Coin spent on carousing don’t degrade. Those coins spent on drink and smoke and laughter disappear, money tossed into the gutter.