Gems

Wyrmwrath · Post by **Wyrmwrath** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:10 pm

I am pondering and looking into putting together a donation of acrylic gems for monster camp based off of ones I acquired form my last LARP. I have already donated some of those to MC and some of you may have them as in game findings.
The reason for the post is to guage player base interest in adding them into the in game economy on a larger scale. I loved fainding them as loot, and thought they added great immersive feel when found in a chest of coin and jewelry.

Here is a photo of what I have and am looking to recreate in the three different sizes.

Three sizes in about a dozen different colores all with thier own coin value. I will leave the staff to assign value and a method for a PC to determine such based on game rarity and magical uses and such.

Here are a list of gem types and colors on my list of possible inclusions:

Diamond
>white
>black
Ruby
>red
Sapphire
>royal blue
Emerald
>medium green
Amethyst
>lavender
Aquamarine
>light blue
Moonstone
>milky white
Topaz
>yellow
Bloodstone
>red and orange swirled
Pearl (these will be round and not fasceted)
>wite
>black

Im thinking three or four different shapes for variety
round (like those pictured)
emerald (rectangular cut with beveled corners)
oval (like the Ford symbol)
pear (teardropish)

My question is...

would this enhance your game? If there isnt enough interest there is no point.

Ark · Post by **Ark** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 2:16 am

at SH i had various gems in 3 sifferent sizes and two different collors. they were bigger denominations of the money and the PC base reacted well to them.
we like having the real coin in our pocket and gems are just another fun step up from that, it was always cool to look through your personal asortment of gems and coin. i dont know how much money is in FH circulation. but if its enough to require gems as a higher value then i say go for it.

its fun

PS: Ark would strive for a neclace made out of gems

Onimaster · Post by **Onimaster** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:15 pm

I've been using and handing out gems like that for like three years as Vaal.

Smitty19 · Post by **Smitty19** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:48 pm

Thats where it becomes a problem, its artificial wealth...

Any one can go buy some cheap gems from a pet store, and boom, they are rich...

I like the coin aspect, it has worked without fail, and it is controlled by a finite supply so people can't artificially inflate their own pockets...

This is just my opinion, but I say if it isnt broke, no need to fix it.

Wyrmwrath · Post by **Wyrmwrath** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:32 pm

Onimaster

I've been using and handing out gems like that for like three years as Vaal.

Smitty19

Thats where it becomes a problem, its artificial wealth...
Any one can go buy some cheap gems from a pet store, and boom, they are rich...
I like the coin aspect, it has worked without fail, and it is controlled by a finite supply so people can't artificially inflate their own pockets...

Its great RP to have a dwarf use gems as coin, and i know that anyone can buy plastic gems and hand em out. Tough in spite of how the PCs role play them, unless they are monster camp backed, they really are just fakes in game.
Also, while I know that monster camp has a limited supply of the coins, they are the same coins that my last larp used for silver and copper, and I, and therefore anyone else, could buy them and flood the game with those also. Im betting if they can make the silver and copper, then they can make the gold as well.
What I am proposing are plastic gems phys reps that are backed by monster camp ,that they can assign in game value you to as they feel correct, and therefore they are REAL gems in game.
Frauds were eliminated at Shifted Lands by a process to mark them with a custom sigil. I have an alternate idea that was tested there, but passed over for the simpler method, which was slightly cheaper and faster, but less effective overall.
My question is if this were to be made an option for monster camp, would the players like to see something that is mostly an immersive window dressing added to the game.

This is just my opinion, but I say if it isnt broke, no need to fix it.

That mindset simply leads to stagnation, since there is never any experimentation to try to improve on a working system. While the coin system SEEMS to be working, I see no logical reason trying to tweak it indicates we think it needs fixing. Try thinking "enhancing".

Onimaster · Post by **Onimaster** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 2:37 am

I'll take down anyone who calls my gems fakes.

GM-Phil · Post by **GM-Phil** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:19 am

I think if a way to mark the "Gems" as ones from NPC camp, then it would be a neat thing to add to the game.

I know I as a player would find it interesting to find Gems in a treasure box instead of coin sometimes..

As said though, the hardest part would be keeping the "Gems" in check and making sure people don't just run out, buy a lot of "Gems" and being wealthy.

I would think this would be a good project for the off season.

Smitty19 · Post by **Smitty19** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 8:17 am

I can get behind a controlled and accounted for gem trade. It would be a nice addition, but as I said my only hesitation was the artificial wealth. We did give out gems this past weekend at WH, but they were controlled by the gm staff and we know how many we gave out.

Wyrmwrath · Post by **Wyrmwrath** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:57 pm

Vaal Draconus

I'll take down anyone who calls my gems fakes.

I didnt say the royal family jewels....

Torakhan · Post by **Torakhan** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:18 am

Well, how about this... a player acquires 50 Gold and hands out their own equivalent representation of that coin in another form, either in a note, or a gem, or their own coin (a 50-coin note, or 5-Gold coins, or 10-Gold gem). Meanwhile they offer folks the opportunity to store and save their money in your stores as well as offering loans for a fee. As more people store more money, you can offer loans using the currency in your bank and issuing notes/coins/gems of your own of larger quantities... so long as there isn't a run on your bank.

This way "gems" can be an entirely IC-driven thing and not require the GMs to do anything on their part, like worrying about props, or setting things up, counterfeits, etc. Also, different characters can compete in the banking market for clients, offering better rates, or advantages too.

Wyrmwrath · Post by **Wyrmwrath** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 4:44 pm

interesting idea for a in game business, still doeant make the gems "real" in an in game sense. Just means they are PC bank tokens that look like fasceted glass.

My idea doesnt make monster camp do anything aside from chose what each gem is worth. I think they can handle that in about 10 minutes before they start handing em out as loot.