Yes. Although the string is something brilliant to look at with silver and some other stuff inlaid inside it in a complicated pattern, and the beads look like amethyst.
Is the string actually silver? I'm a professional metallurgist, I could tell that. I guess what I'm asking is, is this something I could potentially use as currency on another world?
Per ounce
p=70 W
g=48 W
s= 31 W"You're drinking too much if you're seeing the Little People."
"Joel, seriously, money means squat to me. And to prove it, If you would like, I'll give you an ounce silver block right now for 3 months rent. But only if you tell me what you know about the Little People. Have you ever seen them?
Is this something that only versers can see?
Two
Are these wampum things out of which bracelets and jewelery could be made? How large are they? Weight? Verser's Survival Pack should contain a multitude of potential monetary forms. If these wampum are silver strings with amethyst stones, that's a monetary form accepted more places than currency.
Oh yeah Eric. I think I like your style better than MJ's. No offense to MJ of course.
(Dextroland)
More than one post
Eric, starting right now, I am no longer automatically disowning bullets and casings. They're made from copper and brass respectively, and both of those could easily be precious metals on any given world. Starting right now, I no longer automatically disown bullets and casings. Bullets and casings verse with me. Pick them up in the next world as precious metals for money. Why sell live bullets when I can pick up bullets and casings off the ground in every verse?
(Dextroland)
(Dextroland is a more intense psychosis therapy)
The wampum is a mix of precious material, and enammelled steel alloys. The silver is minor, decorative wire on the surface, but melted into the steel, and in a very intricate fashion. Its certainly possible that it could be valuable elsewhere. Now that you're thinking about it, you recall some wearing wampum up their sleeves around their wrists, and one lady who had some in her hair.
Its larger than coin, but they can be hooked together. A single W weighs three ounces.
Joel looks at you.
"You're serious, man? Sure, I'll take the block." He does. "I don't know about from where you come from, but here, and in New Wells, the Little People are just myths that were believed in by some up until about the Industrialization Wars. Now almost no one believes in them. Sprites and pixies are supposed to be small. Sprites can't fly, but pixies can. Otherwise, not much different. Um, the others sound like goblins, and they're supposed to be mean and greedy, but hard workers."
As to my style, well, thanks. :)
"Well Joel, there were 2 of them. A male and a female. Both about 6 inches tall. Kept calling me a manling. Of course, I just got whacked on the melon by a prehistoric warthog, so I was kinda punchy. Who knows? There were also these 2 foot tall banana looking creatures running a gun store. What in the hell were those things?"
So when am I working again?
"Sprites? Perhaps Woodlings, or Brownies? How am I supposed to know?" He grunts. "Goblins maybe. I mean that sounds like the stories. But it could be Dwarves or Kobolds."
He shrugs. "I can take you by a bookstore tommorrow. Lots of people like big picture books with the Little People in them."
You are working tommorrow at five p.m..
And right now, you're pretty tired. Joel puts on a TV game of Lithuanian Empire vs. the Shah of Persia's team of professional greenball, and settles in too watch some of it. He looks like he plans to watch it until he gets wound down, and stumble off to bed.
"Where am I sleeping?"
Let's go by the bookstore tomorrow, yes.
Joel shows you the shelf with the sheets and blankets. You lay a sheet down on the couch, and he gives you a wooden neck holder (which has an attachement to be mated to another attachment in the arm of the couch). Evidently pillows are not for sleeping on. Stretching out a blanket, you climb under it, and are asleep in five minutes despite the mumbles of the greenball sports announcers on the TV.
You dream of Persian camel riders chasing watermelons from Asia to the Baltic Sea where the riders then froze. Waking up, you realize the apartment is cool. Snuggling back down into the blanket, you go back to sleep.
The next morning, its leftovers from the restauraunt the night before. Joel takes you by his bank, and puts the silver into his account. He asks if you need a sponsor to get a bank account.
Then you and him walk through the crowds of morning workers and the occasional entertainer. A couple men on stilts do a rapier fight mixed with a clown act. A storyteller tells tales of the Great Men of the Iriquois Federation's Founding, of the wise Iriqouis and the daring European colonists who joined together to make this great Federation. Fire is swallowed, and 'knives' are tossed skyward with some sort of jal alal like stick a great distance, and just when you think one is going to fall, a rocket motor kicks in and sends it up another two hundred feet before it parachutes down to amused laughter.
Taking a couple side streets that lead you to quieter and more narrow ways, you enter 'Booklanders'. Joel looks for a few choics, ignoring most of the store while the proprietor, a young girl, walks up to you with a smile.
The next morning, its leftovers from the restauraunt the night before. Joel takes you by his bank, and puts the silver into his account. He asks if you need a sponsor to get a bank account.
"No way no how. In case you haven't yet noticed, I'm wearing pretty much everything I own. You never know when you might have to leave at a moment's notice, never to return."
Taking a couple side streets that lead you to quieter and more narrow ways, you enter 'Booklanders'. Joel looks for a few choics, ignoring most of the store while the proprietor, a young girl, walks up to you with a smile.
"Looking for books on goblins and fairies and sprites, oh my. Specifically picture books."
Notes:
Gotta find bullets!!!!!
Two
What level of technology have I seen? The year was 1942, but that don't mean squat, especially in one of Eric's games. Whilst at the bookstore, also check out books on laser weapons. If they exist, what kind exist, etc. Actually, what kinds of books do they have on weaponry, period? History of warfare, history of weapons, etc.
(Doing Therapy)
She has a fairly large collection of books on the subject. They range from fictional tales, to historical tales, to scientific debunking, to several diaries of 'There I was, and ...', to 'How to Defend against the Fey', to large sketchbooks that are both ancient and modern, and to old black and white picture books of alleged fairies.
From looking at them you're able to decide that you saw sprites and goblins.
They're less advanced weaponarily than US 1942. They were aggressive militarily, but less idealistic and less powerful than the US. The Iriqouis Federation rules New England and they got into frequent low-level wars with the various nations near them. But these wars were not as thorough as the US's wars. The Industrialization Wars which ran from 1820 to 1875 with large breaks were more vicious, but not nearly as so the Civil War. So they've had less money for research, and less incentive to build super weapons. There are no pistols, but revolvers exist.
Another factor is that guns are illegal without licenses or Iriquois blood (at least 1/4th).
However, other tech looks about the same as the US timeline.
"Are you going to buy something?" The girl asks after you've been looking at her books for over an hour.
Do the books mention magic being done by the sprites? That teleporting trick indicates high magic.
"Are you going to buy something?" The girl asks after you've been looking at her books for over an hour.
"How bout I buy you dinner honey?"
She looks startled, and then grins challengingly.
"I have fairly expensive tastes."
Did the books talk about magic?
To the girl:
"A handful of shiny rocks is nothing compared to the value of a lovely young lady such as yourself. When would be good for you?"
They talk about Glamour which seems to be some sort of mind affecting magic. One can use it to hide oneself, to bend the will of another, to make oneself astoundingly beautiful, to make a weapon that will always hit (which doesn't quite fit with the others.)
The Unseelie also engage in other forms of magic such as creating changelings, and using human body parts for merging into weapons, or into monsters. A 'troll' in their books is nine humans merged into one monstrous multi-armed body under the control of a Night Hag.
The Seelie do supposedly have weather control magic.
"Good answer, I am Sharon Sevenoaks. For my graduation from the quadrivium, I went to Songs and Verses. It was great."
So you end up taking her to a feasthouse named Songs and Verses for a long lunch. The payment is thirty dollars per person upfront. After that, you wander the food aisles with a chef following the both of you, and point out various things you'd like to eat for the seven course meal. He offers suggestions on how to cook them, and he takes your orders on how you want them cooked.
By the time you get to your table, your personal waiter Bob (just for your table, and no other) is already setting down the appetizers you ordered first from the food aisles to give them time to cook them. The drink girl brings the drinks you ordered from the list.
The food is primarily New England...but the choices are widespread in that, and the chef is happy to cook unusual dishes. He regards it as a test of his superiority as a chef and enjoys showing off. Forex, you're not finding water chestnuts, but if you want lobster with dandelion wine marinade...
And its eat until you feel like stopping.
Its, I suspect, easily the swankiest place you've ever been in.
Thirty dollars? I thought we paid in wampum.
"This is a nice place. Best eating I've had in a while. I was on a milk and cereal diet for almost a year. Nasty stuff."
I gotta go to work, don't I?
(Doing Therapy)
Um, yeah Wampum.
"Its my favorite place. I love the ham stuffed salmon fried slices. Now, I'll have to eat veggie plates for lunch the next couple days to keep my figure." She looks interested. "Where was that? Milk and cereal? I know its not prison. That's not the diet."
Yeah, you have to go to work. You feel like you're doing more waddling than walking as you exit with a slow-moving Sharon.
As you walk out you see a number of mosaic pictues by the exit. There are versers you recognize from the wall pictures.
"No one knows what the owner had in mind with this picture." Sharon says noting your interest.
I've got 4 wampum. How many wampum did I spend so that I can mark it on my sheet?
"Milk and cereal diet? My mom put me on that. She was buying the groceries, so I really didn't have a choice in the matter...."
Who are the versers that I recognize? (Scott, Eric, The Architect, Lauren Hastings, CW, Nikolaj?)
"I know some of these people."
If there is a picture of Nikolaj, I would probably point at it and say "I almost killed that guy."
Sixty wampum, but they're completely willing to accept gold and silver and jewels.
You see from left to right, a beautiful redhead in silver armor with a shotgun toting man with a hand on her shoulder like he's guiding her; sitting cross-legged on the ground a Kid with a Stick with a cheeky grin that looks nice, and then you look more closely, and he looks scary; Lauren Hastings holding a pair of twos and bluffing some unseen except for hands holding cards figures with far higher cards; in back of her, you see the Architect and another guy with a slide rule and a pickaxe in his right hand in some sort of mathematical discussion with a formula made of colored smoke, numbers, and symbols floating between them. To their right, at a bar is a yellow bodied man using shapechanging powers to become like Janus, the Roman god, so he can talk to two different lovelies at the bar. One is ignoring him, and has a prominent wedding ring, and is nose deep in a book of Shakespeare's plays as she translates it into hieroglyphs, and the other looks like a hardcase private eye, armed with a phaser and a .45 who is giving him the fisheye. Below them is a guy you recognize as Eric, and he's standing on a mountain of skulls looking as if he expects to step out of the mosaic and Deal With Issues Right Now in a most unpleasant manner. To his right, on the bottom, you see Nikolaj sitting on a throne with a crown with three gems in it, at his feet are broken swords, and in his hand is a Bible opened to John 3:16, and his eyes are filled with compassion. The last man on the right sits atop something else. You're first caught by his eyes, wolf-like, totally unafraid of anything or so it seems, and then you realize he's sittng on the top of the head?? of Cthulu and he's driven his sword and mechanical arm into Cthulu's eye.
"The legend is that Bob said that anyone who could solve that formula at the top would know how to create a universe." Sharon says softly. "Of course, its complete gibberish. We've even had a Taranki Prize winning physicist in here to study it, so the newspaper said."
You point to Nikolaj...
"What?" She laughs at your joke, and then stops. "The Kindly King?" After that you find out that everyone in the mural has a nickname. The War Princess and her Husband, the Kid with the Stick, Smiling Lady, the Magic Engineer and Teach, Ladies Man, and Mrs. Professor, and Gumshoe Gal, the Sledgehammer, the Kindly King, and the Wolf Unafraid.
She also wants an explanation as the Kindly King is rather liked.
Sixty wampum, but they're completely willing to accept gold and silver and jewels.
This is more player feedback than arguing, but I don't think you're being consistent in your monetary system. I get paid 4 wampum a night, a one bedroom apartment costs 20 wampum a month, and the meal for 2 people is sixty wampum. This would cost 15 day's wages, or the equivalent of 3 months in an apartment. Fifteen day's wages for a dishwasher would be about $720, and using my apartment as the example, 3 months would be about $1,200. Either of those seems outrageously high. I just wanted to make a point of this so that you can help in your world design. Maybe you've not yet worked out the bugs in the monetary system? Until you answer me on this, I'm not going to comment on how I'm paying for the meal. I just wanted you to be aware of this. Player feedback.
She also wants an explanation as the Kindly King is rather liked.
"Oh, this was lifetimes ago. You know how it is. You're young and stupid, don't realize the worthlessness of something, you get angry, and do something you regret about 10 seconds after you did it. He's OK and everything, I didn't kill him."
Point to The Architect. "This guy taught me a lot."
Point to Lauren "She's amazing in person. I fell in love with her."
(Doing Therapy)
OOC: That's about right. In other words, yes, this is an amazingly expensive place. Keep in mind...you had a waiter JUST for your table, and a chef would make whatever you wanted....so if you wanted a 20 oz. steak cooked just so, followed by lobster soup...followed by another 20 oz. steak...the answer would be 'yes sir.'
"Uh, hunh." She laughs. "You do realize that Bob No Last Name, the owner of this feasthouse, has been out of touch for the last twenty years. And that the Magic Engineer and the Teach in back are 'doing magic'." She wiggles her hands, and then laughs again like she caught you.
"Gotta come up with a better story than that to impress the girl. Although I have to admit, I'm impressed with going here. I thought you were blufffing, but you weren't."
OOC: That's about right. In other words, yes, this is an amazingly expensive place. Keep in mind...you had a waiter JUST for your table, and a chef would make whatever you wanted....so if you wanted a 20 oz. steak cooked just so, followed by lobster soup...followed by another 20 oz. steak...the answer would be 'yes sir.'
Gotcha. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of that. I could imagine monetary systems would be one of the more difficult things for a game designer or referee to manage. That makes sense.
Silver was 31 wampum an ounce, so I paid with 2 silver blocks, and should have gotta 2 wampum in change. Should have 7 silver and 6 wampum. On the world where I got the silver, the wampum would probably be much, much more valuable than the silver, now that I think about it. So, I'm actually increasing my funds, sort of. Man, money IS meaningless to a verser.
"Uh, hunh." She laughs. "You do realize that Bob No Last Name, the owner of this feasthouse, has been out of touch for the last twenty years. And that the Magic Engineer and the Teach in back are 'doing magic'." She wiggles her hands, and then laughs again like she caught you.
(Laughing) "Yeah, you got me. You're a smart girl."
"Gotta come up with a better story than that to impress the girl. Although I have to admit, I'm impressed with going here. I thought you were blufffing, but you weren't."
"Where I come from, this amethyst wampum would be worth a whole lot more than the silver. In a sense, they paid me to eat here. Don't think I'll ever get to take you back, but at least I made a good impression."
I gotta get to work, don't I?
"So, can I call you?"
(Doing Therapy)
She flips back her hair, and tilts her head with a smile that catches your breath.
"Sure, but next time, I'll take you somewhere. Not as nice as this, but nice. Us bookstore owners aren't as wealthy as mysterious travellers from overseas."
You go to work whistling, or feeling like doing so. The night passes well, except for an arguement about the respective merits of two greenball teams which you have no clue about, and everyone thinks that a bit odd.
So I made 4 wampum working?
Tomorrow, go out and get some new clothes. I would have shown up to that restaurant in an olive drab jumpsuit and wearing my backpack. I'm surprised they let me in at all. How much are new clothes? Just jeans and t shirts.
Also, "Hey Joel, would it be possible for you to get out of the apartment for a few hours? I need some alone time."
Assuming he does so:
1@3 Attract Assisting Angel M+11@6 put right big toe in mouth, then left big toe, then think for 1:00:00 about the guardian angel Terry coming to help, lying supine looking up with hands raised intermittently but as much as possible
When Terry arrives:
"Hey Terry. I need you to go get my stuff from orbit and bring it back here. Can you do that?"
Joel gives you some alone time. You try the spell to no effect. You try it again, still no effect.
OOC: And yes, I'm aware of your opinion that you saw teleporting and thus there has to be a high magic bias. Let's just say that that line of arguement has so many holes in it that its more hole than boat.
OOC: And yes, I'm aware of your opinion that you saw teleporting and thus there has to be a high magic bias. Let's just say that that line of arguement has so many holes in it that its more hole than boat.
No, it means that little bastard teleported by psionic means.
Go out and get some new clothes, wash the clothes I've got. Just jeans and t shirts like I said.
You buy some clothes in a small clothes shoppe down the street. The jeans are black, and the t-shirts have a variety of sayings on them.
Some guy walks in, and offers to buy you a drink.
"I'm recruiting for the War against those Michigander Republican scum. Good pay. Plenty of chance for loot. Decent officers. Its almost certain to break out into a war soon,and if it doesn't you get to keep your wait pay."
How much did I spend on the clothes, and how many did I get? Would have gotten socks and underwear as well, of course.
"I'm recruiting for the War against those Michigander Republican scum.
"Do you always walk up to complete strangers and ask them to join a militia? And who are the Michigander Republican scum? What exactly do you want?"
Hey, if it's a chance to augment my arsenal, I might take it.
"I'm a recruiter, man, its my job. And wow, but someone flunked their geography."
He then proceeds to describe a political unit that borders on the Iriquois Confederation which you are in. It seems to comprise of Lower Michigan, part of Ohio and points east unil it runs into IC territory.
It seems that the MR is raising toll rates for use of canals and the Great Lakes to very high levels which makes it hard for the IC to trade with 'the Cheeseheads' and the more northerly Maple Leaf League, and the Peninsular Democracy which sounds like its Upper Michigan.
The Great Council of the IC is considering war on the MR to teach them a lesson in fair trade.
"I'm a recruiter, man, its my job. And wow, but someone flunked their geography."
Things in parenthesis (Like this) are not actually spoken, they're just side thoughts and comments. Inside my head, so to speak.
"Dude, I've been living out in the middle of nowhere my whole life. Yesterday was the first time I've seen a newspaper. Period. I'm pretty good at living off the land (I never went hungry in the last world, anyway.) and I don't like people. You're going to have to fill me in here."
My hope is that living off the land skills would be appealing to him.
"Let me tell you something. I couldn't possibly care less about your politics. I don't like government, I don't like authority, and really despise anyone with a badge and even a drop of authority. What's in it for me? Money is nice, but it is far from everything. Give me an incentive. Sweeten the deal a little or a whole lot. The more the better. Money means squat to me. I've seen gold and silver growing on trees. What's in it for me? Then we can talk."
How much did I spend on the clothes? I would have gotten 2 sets of clothes. (Socks, underwear, jeans, t shirts) One wampum possibly two each would be my guess. I also washed my clothes. Does Joel have a washing machine? I would have been washing the clothes whilst praying, if so. Money means squat, but I still want to keep track of how much I have.
Oh yeah, ya know what? The Verser's Survival Pack was designed to have a lot of different potential monetary units as practical items. Straight razor and hunting knife, both stainless steel. I could imagine stainless steel being a precious metal on some worlds. Especially one of your worlds. Their value (To me) is what use they serve. I'd part with the straight razor long before I'd part with the hunting knife. Copper and Brass are bullets and casings respectively. Bullets are the most valuable thing to my character, so those would either have to be the only precious metal he had, or be extremely valuable. Of course, if he could replace them with acceptable substitutes of a different material, that would work too. After that fight we got into in the first world, over the 80 grand, then finding gold and silver growing on trees, I felt exceptionally stupid. The value of items changes radically when you're a verser. Bullets are worth millions of dollars each, and gold and silver make really good fishing sinkers. I just thought that was really interesting.
(Doing Therapy)
Two
I want to get a portable propane torch with a soldering iron attachment before I go to work. It would be a hose going from the gas bottle to a propane soldering iron, most likely. I would then have a mobile blacksmith's shop, and be able to do basic electronic repair on the spot.
(Doing Therapy)
You spend two W on your clothes. Now you have two t-shirts...
One is a bit tattered as to its letters 'the v.... is a great place to pick up girls' and 'embrace diversity' with a long list of guns after the words.
"Then you can be a Ranger. That's good money."
"And hey, I'm not gov't. I'm a bounty recruiter. You sign up, and I get a bit. But I can buy us up to two free beers while I try to talk you around. And Rangers generally operate on their own or with a small team. So no brassheads to boss ya' around."
He thinks.
"Well, do you like to blow things up?"
Joel does not have a washing machine. He uses the apartment washing machine room which he pays for on a tab at the end of the month.
The recruiter knows where you can get a propane torch, and so he walks with you, trying to gently interest you in going to war.
He takes you to a machine shoppe, and the bald-headed older man in charge looks skeptically at you.
"Know how to use one?"
You spend two W on your clothes. Now you have two t-shirts...
You mean two outfits, right? Underwear, socks, jeans, and t shirts, right?
"Well, do you like to blow things up?"
Eyes light up. "Now you're speaking my language!!! What kinds of weapons do you use? Do you employ sapper teams? (Explosives and demolitions) Now you've got my attention buddy."
My character no longer thinks this a dream. He was talking to an angel, he think God sent him out to get some extra training to be helpful to Sarah Connor. He thinks Terry did this to him.
Joel does not have a washing machine. He uses the apartment washing machine room which he pays for on a tab at the end of the month.
"Well, can I do a load? I'll pay you back for it, if you want me to."
The recruiter knows where you can get a propane torch, and so he walks with you, trying to gently interest you in going to war.
He takes you to a machine shoppe, and the bald-headed older man in charge looks skeptically at you.
"Know how to use one?"
"I've been working in metal for years. I've probably used torches and cutters the likes of which you've never seen. Let's see what you've got? Do you have a soldering iron attachment?"
(Doing Therapy)
Yes, full sets of clothing.
"Well, shotguns, and rifles, and crossbows for quiet work. Dynamite with timers. Nitrogel." He pauses. "I think you have to get licenses for the last two so you cold call that a sapper team. Of course, the military would pay for your license."
Joel is agreeable to being paid back.
He sneers back at you, but then leads you over to the tig welder.
"Well, shotguns, and rifles, and crossbows for quiet work. Dynamite with timers. Nitrogel." He pauses. "I think you have to get licenses for the last two so you cold call that a sapper team. Of course, the military would pay for your license."
"Where do I sign up?"
He sneers back at you, but then leads you over to the tig welder.
"I don't want a full-sized propane welder. I want a blowtorch. A 1 pound propane can and a nozzle. It's gotta be something I can put in this backpack. Just needed to make sure we were clear there."
(Doing Therapy)
The recruiter grins, and whips out a foldable clipboard, and a nice pen.
"Just fill out this application."
It looks like it will take about five minutes. Unlike applications from back home, there's not a great deal being asked for on the form.
"We can do that, but I need to see that you're not going to set yourself on fire first." He thinks a second. "And I'll need to see your welder's license."
Fill out the application.
"We can do that, but I need to see that you're not going to set yourself on fire first." He thinks a second. "And I'll need to see your welder's license."
"I need a welder's license to buy a propane torch? I ain't got no steenking welder's license."
"Well, no..." He allows. He sighs, and sells the device to you. Its clear from his manner and words that he likes paperwork. It proves the worth of a man, and in his view, its a shame that its legal to sell a torch because you could do all sorts of damage with it.
Your recruiter tries to josh him out of his dour attitude, but he turns and begins to walk off.
"Some people. They think walls of paper can protect them from reality." the recruiter says. "Do you want to come with me to find the barracks?"
Does it have the soldering iron attachment? I want the torch and 3 extra gas bottles. How much did I spend?
"Some people. They think walls of paper can protect them from reality." the recruiter says. "Do you want to come with me to find the barracks?"
"Laws never stopped anyone. Sure, I'll go check out the barracks. And I want to get a look at what kinds of weapons y'all have."
(Doing Therapy)
4 W is what you spend for the entirety including the attachment.
The recruiter takes you to the 'barracks' which are basically unoccupied, but there is a table with several people who are signing up people for the likely war.
Your recruiter takes his 2 W for delivering you, and heads out. The recruiting man stands up, gets you coffee or whatever, and gestures for someone to get you a chair.
"We've got positions in Home Guard, which pays the least, but its very unlikely you see any fighting. Last time the HG got into a fight was thirty years ago when the Carolinians invaded. We've got positions in the Heavies, that's infantry regiments, and of course the War Party teams who get paid the most as they do the raiding. Might be just a WP war this time if we can knock out some of their key infrastructure, make them think twice, and sue for peace."
He looks like he's been in a few fights already, at least.
"With your talents, you can probably get an minor chieftain's position in the HG, or a warrior's position in either of the other two. Wait pay for HG is a quarter W, half a W for infantry, and 1 W a day for WP. Times 7 for war service."