Kaltamorn Economy (Teon Supplement)

Kaltamorn Economy

In the Kaltamorn region it is uncommon to find a person carrying around precious metals on their person. Instead, when the central government was founded it was resolved that to reduce petty street crimes and to compensate for the influx of precious metals born from ether, that a new magical system would be formed along with a universal banking system. In each major city (the ones noted on the regional map to be specific) there is at least one government bank that is available to the general public to use. That said, due to the large size of the Kaltamorn economy and the tendency for precious metals to spawn randomly in dungeons, it was resolved that to preserve the value of currency that the gold standard would have to be severely curtailed. To fill the gap a soft-money system was implemented instead, one that would allow the government to devalue their currency in case of an economic crisis. This system is represented in several manners:

• Account files kept in magical file-vaults.
• Magical transaction cards.
• Conversions of precious metals into currency and deposits.

Currency

The currency of the Kaltamorn Region is represented with the standard fare for Dungeons and Dragons (CP, SP, GP, PP, etc.). It should be noted, however, that since precious metals can spawn rapidly because of gray ether the government has resolved to melting down said metals and minting them into coins and ingots. The coins are minted within a small tolerance for size and weight but are not commonly used in most transactions for the middle and upper classes (See Socioeconomic Status). Instead hard and soft currency is usually used by the impoverished, adventurers, and/or the infirm. At any rate, the coins bear a distinct mark of the government to prevent counterfeit, differentiating them from the types of treasure that have been known to spawn in random yet desolate locations.

Hard Currency & Bullion

To address the concerns of Gray Ether manifesting precious metals spontaneously and consequently causing economic deflation, the Kaltamorn Federation has passed legislation, enacted policies, and founded institutions to compensate. To meet this goal, the Kaltamorn Federal Treasury (K.F.T.) has established several types of hard-currency: issued, manifested, and counterfeit.

Types

• Issued: Coins and bars made of precious metals that are distributed and tracked by the government.
• Manifested: Coins and bars made of precious metals that are created by Gray Ether and introduced into the economy via the federal banks. Possession of manifested hard currency is not illegal but attempting to trade for goods or services with it is. Appears in varying shapes and sizes usually without any patterns, seals, or deliberate markings.
• Counterfeit: Illegal copies of issued currencies.

Values and Exchange Rates

Assume that the following tables apply to Issued currencies. Issued currencies are minted with different metals combined into them to help preserve them, hence why the weight of the coins do not correspond to their dimensions precisely.

Table: Coins

Type:	CP Value:	SP Value:	GP Value:	PP Value:	USD Analogy:	Coin Dimensions:	Coin Weight:
Copper Piece (CP)	1	0.1	0.01	0.001	$0.10	15mm x 5mm	~8g (~0.0176 lbs.)
Silver Piece (SP)	10	1	0.1	0.01	$1.00	20mm x 5.5mm	~18.5g (~0.0407 lbs.)
Gold Piece (GP)	100	10	1	0.1	$10.00	25mm x 6mm	~57g (~0.1256 lbs.)
Platinum Piece (PP)	1,000	100	10	1	$100.00	30mm x 6.5mm	~98.6g (~0.2173 lbs.)

Table: Ingots

Type:	CP Value:	SP Value:	GP Value:	PP Value:	USD Analogy:	Ingot Dimensions:	Ingot Weight:
Copper Ingot (CI)	1,118.75	111.875	11.1875	1.1875	$111.88	20cm x 10cm x 5cm	~8,950g (~19.7313 lbs)
Silver Ingot (SI)	5,670.27	567.027	56.7027	5.67027	$567.03	20cm x 10cm x 5cm	~10,490g (~23.1265 lbs.)
Gold Ingot (GI)	33,894.73	3,389.473	338.9473	33.89473	$3,389.47	20cm x 10cm x 5cm	~19,320g (~42.5933 lbs.)
Platinum Ingot (PI)	2,175,456.38	21,754.5638	2,175.45638	217.545638	$21,754.56	20cm x 10cm x 5cm	~21,450g (~47.2891 lbs.)

Super-Precious Metals

These types of metals are only produced by Gray Ether and cannot be synthesized, only found. Hence they are especially rare and sought after. What's more is that despite their immense density, they are not radioactive and are astoundingly stable. Studies on the few samples known to mortalkind have shown that these metals are, in fact, magic. Yet when subjected to antimagic fields they remained intact.

Table: Super-Precious Metals

Official Name:	Colloquial Name:	Metallurgical Code:	Appearance:	Gray Ether Spawn Chance (per year):	Density (near r.t.):	Hardness (Vickers):	Hardness (D&D):	Melting Point:	Boiling Point:	Value (GP/g):
Monarium		SPM-1	Red	10-3 %	30g/cm	30 kg/mm2	25	30000°C	90000°C	100
Binarium		SPM-2	Orange	10-4 %	40g/cm	40 kg/mm2		40000°C	160000°C	1,000
Trinarium		SPM-3	Yellow	10-5 %	50g/cm	50 kg/mm2		50000°C	250000°C	10,000
Tetranarium		SPM-4	Green	10-6 %	60g/cm	60 kg/mm2		60000°C	360000°C	100,000
Pentanarium		SPM-5	Cyan	10-7 %	70g/cm	70 kg/mm2		70000°C	480000°C	1,000,000
Hexanarium		SPM-6	Indigo	10-8 %	80g/cm	80 kg/mm2		80000°C	640000°C	10,000,000
Heptanarium		SPM-7	Violet	10-9 %	90g/cm	90 kg/mm2		90000°C	810000°C	100,000,000

Transaction Cards

People in the Kaltamorn region carry around magical cards made of a lightweight metal (Usually 4.5" x 2.5" x 0.040") that protects it from things such as fire, water, acid, and more. That said, the cards are not indestructible and offer no protection to other people. They're merely resistant to most means of destroying them. However, getting one of these cards costs a little bit of money to begin with and as a result it is more common among middle, and upper class citizens. To spend or to receive currency, however, one is capable of using an appendage or a stylus or some means of touching the various fields on the card itself to enact a transaction. The card is linked to the user's very essence (courtesy of gnome mages) and as such usually fails to work for other people should they attempt to use it. The process of transferring money via the cards is:

• Select which account you wish to withdraw from
• Enter in the Civil Identity Number of the person to receive the money in the “CIN” field.
  • Or in the case of businesses, enter in the Business Identity Number instead.
• Select which account they want the money transferred to.
• Enter in the amount of money to be transferred into the “transaction amount” field.
• Enter in the password (a 12 digit code) in the “password field”.
• Press and hold the “Commence Transaction” field for six seconds.
• Confirm the transaction OR approve the transaction if you are the recipient.
  • If you are receiving currency then your card has a notification that appears asking if you are willing to receive payment

When a transaction is completed, the money is transferred magically between the accounts. This looks like the numbers on the actual files changing suddenly. At the same time a record of the transaction is made and saved within both files in case of fraud.

Banking

Each account has a file located in the magical file-vault of every single branch of the bank. This is to prevent records being lost in case of a catastrophe. When it comes time for taxation, the amounts are automatically calculated and deducted from a person's account. Any precious metals, gems, or other intrinsically valuable items must be deposited directly at a bank. The government then deducts a 1% conversion fee from the total sum of solid-wealth deposited that DOES NOT consist of legal tender. There is however, a fixed withdrawal limit in place, one that only the rich tend to come close to reaching. The purpose of this is to protect the value of the currency and the stability of the economy. What's more is that banks are forbidden from lending out more money than they currently have on hand. Any deposited coins are magically converted into their corresponding legal tender. The items are then stored in a pocket dimension maintained and guarded by the lawful good deities of Teon that they helped to provide.

When a person wishes to make a withdrawal, they may select from a variety of options:

• Coins
• Gems
• Bank note
• Combination thereof

However, the conversion of money back into hard-currency costs a 1% conversion fee. To help deter crime and shady off-the-books dealings. There is no upward limit to how much money may be held in an account. And the interest rate is set by the government, usually sitting around 5%. People may also elect to have a safe-deposit box in a specific branch of a bank. But it costs a monthly maintenance fee.

The presence of hard currency on an individual is generally seen as either:

• A sign of poverty
  • They can't afford a card.
• A sign of weakness
  • They can't make it to a bank because they're too old, infirm, etc.
• They lost their card
• A sign of being a criminal
  • For use in off-the-books transactions.
• A sign of being an adventurer
  • Likely returning from an adventure.

Trading

Business, finance, and accounting in the Kaltamorn Region is conducted and/or taxed within different categories: Personal, Business, Governmental, and Stock. Professionals for each level are available in most cities but individuals in lower socioeconomic classes generally do not need or cannot afford their services.

Personal

Personal finance refers to transactions and financial affairs between individuals such as gifts, inheritance, donations, and such. Various different charities are registered with the government but are exempt from certain taxes and must make known to the government their financial records.

Each citizen is issued a Civil Identity Number (CIN) upon birth by the federal government. The number has 12 single-digit numbers (0-9) and a have 12 letters mixed in. The process of generating these numbers is rather elaborate and very secretive. But suffice it to say that there are ways of verifying each number built-in and they are designed to be very secure.

Example: 0A0A - 1B1B - 2C2C - 3D3D - 4E4E - 5F5F

The placement of the letters and numbers can vary, of course. For instance one group of 4 may be only letters. The above example is just to provide a visual reference of how it is presented to the owner.

Business

Every store, stall, merchant, formal organization, and/or business must be registered with either their local city, province, or with the federal government depending on the scope of their business. For instance, if a farmer wishes to sell their crops in the nearest municipality, then they need only register with the city. If said farmer wishes to sell their crops in 2 or more municipalities but both are within the same province then they need to register with the province's government. If the same farmer wishes to sell their goods in several different provinces then they must register with the federal government.

When a business is registered, it is issued a Business Identity Number (BIN). These numbers are generated in a similarly elaborate and secretive manner to Civil Identity Numbers but are longer and more complex. Usually a (BIN) is 32 characters long instead of 24.

Example: 0A0A - 1B1B - 2C2C - 3D3D - 4E4E - 5F5F - 6G6G - 7H7H

Again, the placement of the letters and numbers can vary, as with Civil Identity Numbers.

Government

Governmental transactions are probably the absolute most regulated and secure. The exact process of which is kept on a need-to-know basis but regardless of this secrecy has proven to be most effective.

Stock

Stocks are traded at stock markets which are located in most major cities but always in local capitals. The process is both elegantly designed and secure but usually only utilized by the especially wealthy and/or influential.

Taxation

Every person and business is subject to several different kinds of taxes, each of which functions in a very efficient and intuitive manner. The different categories of taxes are:

• Federal
• Provincial
• Municipal

Within each category are more specific types of taxes but suffice it to say that the entire system is very well designed and easy to understand.

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