Chapter
Currency
(Idea) One currency: copper, the holed coins of the Halfway Market, carried threaded on a string. The UI writes amounts as "40 copper".
- Twinhold strikes silver measures and Lanternfall cuts glass tokens, but neither city takes the other's money. Halfway copper is the money both sides accept, so it is the one the player carries.
- Silver measures and glass tokens still turn up as loot. They are valuables (section 3): the Halfway weigh-house changes each for 50 copper. This keeps the three coins of the currency concept sheet (
Art/Concepts/creatures-items/items/currency-a.png) in the world without three purses in the UI. - The purse has no cap in play; the save stores it as a whole number (section 7).
Where copper comes from
| Source | Amount (first guess) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aske's send-off | 20 | "Ferry money. I never charge, so it piles up." The player's whole purse at the start of Act 1. |
| Side quests (Codex section 8) | Act 1: 30–60. Act 2: 80–150 | The main income. Bulletin boards in Halfway, Twinhold and Lanternfall. Each quest and its reward is in the side quests tab (side-quests.md). |
| Delivering a letter | Twinhold: 100 copper. Lanternfall: an item, not copper | Ondine pays the debt to the exact copper; Iver gives a gift (Facet standing comes from giving). |
| Selling materials and valuables | 1–50 each | Glints carry no copper, being reflections, but they leave quicksilver and grit behind. |
| Selling gear and consumables | 40% of the price, rounded down, at least 1 | Buying and selling straight back always loses 60%, so there is no loop to farm. |
| Caches in the world | 5–40 | Under door-marks, in the Drowned Steps, in Shardfield ruins. |
Battles against glints, golems, constructs and wildlife pay in materials, never copper. Humans who yield can drop a valuable (a Silver Measure from the Evane, a Glass Token from the Facets) or, for outlaws, a little copper. The Proving Ring (PvP, Codex section 10) pays nothing but standing and a leaderboard place, so neither can be farmed for money.
Where copper goes
| Sink | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Consumables | 6–60 each | The steady drain. |
| Gear | 25–300 in Acts 1–2 | The big purchases. Some pieces are commissions: copper plus materials (section 5). |
| The Lanternfall unbinder | 200 (150 with Rook's Sigil Chit) | Breaks an un-teaching seal (Story Bible section 2) instead of retracing the glyph. Evane NPCs hear about it. |
| Buy-back | What the shop paid you | The last five things you sold, until you leave the town. |
| Market Board listing fee | 10% of the asking price, paid up front | Only once the player Market Board exists (section 6). |
Aske's ferry stays free for everyone, as the Story Bible says. It is the one service in Velan with no price.
Rough budget
| By the end of | Copper earned in total | What it should have bought |
|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | About 250 | A cloak, a copper band, a handful of tonics. The Still-Water Locket (160) is the stretch goal. |
| Act 2 | About 1,500 | A matched pair of faction bands or a Facet cuff, a faction coat, one Act 2 charm, and a steady supply of tonics. |
Concept art
