Starting coins..

[Gaare]

Isn't it too much for someone to begin game with about 1K. I mean that's a King's treasure for a commoner. What do you think?

[Halaster]

I think that's a good amount - you have to buy gear, food, water, etc.

[Delirium]

I think that's a good amount - you have to buy gear, food, water, etc.

[mansa]

If you as a player think it's too much, you could always give it to a soldier, or do what I do:

>wish all I'll trade you my dirty 836 coins for your lovely loincloth?

Someone sends:  
  "Deal!"

>rem pants
>rem shirt
>rem shoes

>drop pants
>drop shoes
>drop shirt
>drop 836 coins

>wear loincloth

[Pantoufle]

Yeah, what they said.

And I'll tell you something else, son.  Be careful what you wish for .

[Gaare]

I agree with Mansa since yeah I had junk some coins of myself with a couple of my characters, but I still believe a new player maybe can just begin enough coins for a full waterskin, a weapon and a cloak (plus starting equipment). Wouldn't it better for more harsh beginning?

[mansa]

..Wouldn't it better for more harsh beginning?

You get into the playability vs reality issues, here.  You would turn away a lot of 'new' players, because they think, 'Well, shat, I can't buy anything, this sucks!' and they go.

Maybe because you've been at this for a bit, you've learned what to do and what not to do, and found out how to make some coin and to get some cool equpiment.


But, perhaps, you're misunderstanding the major impact to the economy of the game, if you remove the 1000 coins loot off a newbie's body.

[Sir Diealot]

Seriously.. looting newb. corpses is the only thing keeping my 30-day assassin alive..  I mean..uh.. RP ROCKS...*furtive glances*

[My 2 sids]

Realistically newbie coins:

Cloth your new character
Buy starting weapons
Buy starting crafting materials (all of which the new character with new  
    stats will go through without returning a profit
Buy enough food and water to last until said character gets a job or can
     start providing for themselves.  
Have enough pocket change for normal game interaction

Game wise new coins:
Cost about as much as renting an apartment for a few months
Cost about as much as a rich merchant or noble would pay for a new
     piece of clothing
Cost about as much as a good kank and some good hunting gear

Is about the same as a few years of savings
Is about the same as what a parent might leave a child when they die
Is about the same as a few good hunting trips would provide

(oocly) Cost about as much as most American families will spend on one
          year of college for their son or daughter


Bottom line, the amount given to those starting off is fine by me.  IMOHO, those who think we should have more independent characters would want to start off with even more starting coins.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Isn't it too much for someone to begin game with about 1K. I mean that's a King's treasure for a commoner.

That's not a King's treasure.  In the grand scheme of things, it won't buy you a whole lot due to the excruciating cost of living in the city-states.

One-thousand obsidian coins is probably what the average commoner makes in a year.

[Seeker]

One-thousand obsidian coins is probably what the average commoner makes in a year.

For the purposes of debate, I think that estimate is probably a little high.  Perhaps the average working commoner.  But he is likely to have a few mouths to feed.  Anyone pulling in over two hundred coins a month is probably considered an outrageous success in the Commoner's Quarters.

But I agree with Mansa's solution.  It is easy to adjust your starting coins downwards if that fits your character concept better.

Seeker

[sarahjc]

You really need to keep in mind that you will spend most of that coin getting your PC "into character". Since we all start off with the same clothing and a world of different positions, you may need all that coin, you may need only a small bit. Just depends on who and what you are playing. Most people end up with about a hundred or two when all is said and done and they are now ready to start interacting. If you find that you are richer than you should be, junk the coin.

[Realedazed]

I just think of the starting coin as everything the character should have at that very moment and time liquidated into money. So if its more than I think it should be, it might be because my character got lucky in a dice game, scavanged a rich hunter guy or whatever else she did before I started controlling her.  If I get more that I think I should I usually don't sweat it since it will definately won't last my character very long. If I played a begger and I started with over 1k, then I would do some of the things suggested in this thread. Any other time, I just go with it.

[TheMickey]

I just think of the starting coin as everything the character should have at that very moment and time liquidated into money.

Yea, to me it is how much you've earned "timewise" up until now.. you enter the game without the things you would normally have at that point, so I just see it as making up for lost time... I mean unless you had some money somewhere along the course of your life you wouldn't have lived that long. now for beggars and more specialized roles it seems more appropriate to have less..

[Delirium]

If you find that you are richer than you should be, junk the coin.

Can't junk coins.

But you can buy stuff and junk it, or give it to random NPCs.

[Ix Machina]

You can use some to buy yourself a couple of new tattoos you've had for.. uh.. years.