# A cheap alternative to Campaign Coins



## Morrus (Mar 18, 2012)

I was looking at the Campaign Coins on Paizo's website, but to get enough to last an entire 1-20 level adventure path you'd have to spend a fortune. Plus half of them are out of stock.

But then I looked at eBay instead. And started looking at plastic coins. And I found you could buy hundreds and hundreds of them in different sizes and in gold or silver colours for a pittance. Some are based on real-world currencies (like kids' pretend money), but a lot are pirate-themed and the like. Use the larger sizes as larger denominations, and you can pick up enough to last you forever and spend less than you would on a new book.

Then I got even more adventurous. I found toy plastic gold and silver bullion bars, tons of cheap toy or fake gemstones, and more. So I grabbed 10 each of a few different colours (clear, green, white, black, blue, red, etc.) I'd still spent almost nothing.

And then I bought a kid's toy pirate treasure chest for under a fiver to keep them all in.

None of this stuff has arrived yet, but when my massive haul of treasure arrives I'll post a picture. When I run my next campaign, I'll buy a drawstring bag/pouch for each of my players to keep their money in, and when they loot a guard's corpse, I'll be able able to say "You find this pouch" and throw a sall puch with assorted coins and gems onto the table and let them divide it up how they want.

I did this when I ran _Age of Worms_ a couple of years ago, but I was using printed-out card money, which isn't the same. I combined that with Paizo's item card sets, and we had a rule "If you don't have it, you don't have it". Money and equipment counts itself just by virtue of existing. If anyone says "Oh, I gave that potion to him before the fight started" I can say "Did you? Who has the card?", and when the players are shopping I can literally sell an item card for coins or gems, or when a player drinks a potion, he hands to card back to me.

I find it really does add a level of immersion. It reduces accounting. And it's fun. Finding treasure feels like finding treasure.

I'm not running a campaign right now, but next time I do, I'm gonna go prop-tastic with it. It's gonna be a blast!

I might look for some toy plastic necklaces and rings and stuff now. Not for magic items, but for assorted treasure trinkets.


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## kitsune9 (Mar 18, 2012)

My players adamantly hate props. I couldn't sell them on this if I was dying. Every time I created a card or prop, they'd just write on their character sheet and toss it back to me.


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## Ed_Laprade (Mar 18, 2012)

Great idea, I love props! If I had any players I'd definitely do something like that too.


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## S'mon (Mar 18, 2012)

I love the idea, but I can't imagine my players coming from work to the pub (The Counting House!) with a sack of plastic bullion... I'm lucky if some of them bring their character sheets*! 

*When I play, I leave mine with the DM just in case...


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 18, 2012)

Get some Mardi Gras doubloons.  You'll love 'em.  You can buy them from collectors or from the stores that supply the krewes.  However, you'll probably want to stick to the plastic or aluminum- the ones made of bronze, silver and gold are as expensive as you'd think.

Yes, they're ALL probably more expensive than I think you'd want to spend- $8 for 50 or $12 for 100 is as cheap as I've seen- but handing them out for special treasure could work.

For example:

Mardi Gras Doubloons and Cups

Aluminum Mardi Gras Krewe Doubloons [82601AL] - $7.65 : Mardi Gras Beads | Mardi Gras Decorations | Mardi Gras Mask | Mardi Gras Supplies

Accent Annex- the second link- is one I know pretty well: we used to drive by it all the timeon visits to relatives when I was a kid, and we'd get stuff there for parties.


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## Morrus (Mar 18, 2012)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Get some Mardi Gras doubloons.  You'll love 'em.  You can buy them from collectors or from the stores that supply the krewes.  However, you'll probably want to stick to the plastic or aluminum- the ones made of bronze, silver and gold are as expensive as you'd think.
> 
> Yes, they're ALL probably more expensive than I think you'd want to spend- $8 for 50 or $12 for 100 is as cheap as I've seen- but handing them out for special treasure could work.
> 
> ...




They do look cool. I wonder if I can find them in the UK?


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## Kaodi (Mar 18, 2012)

The company that makes campaign coins did see to overlook the important fact that most campaigns are going to require _oodles and oodles_ of coins. The company website talks about high quality coins, but low quality is the name of the game. That, and having a 1000 cp copper coin just kind of defeat the point of having physical representation for 1000 copper pieces... I think the same sort of cardstock that monster counters are made out of would be ideal, or if you want something physical but abstract, maybe a card machine like they use in the new electronic Monopoly.


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## Morrus (Mar 18, 2012)

Kaodi said:


> The company that makes campaign coins did see to overlook the important fact that most campaigns are going to require _oodles and oodles_ of coins. The company website talks about high quality coins, but low quality is the name of the game. That, and having a 1000 cp copper coin just kind of defeat the point of having physical representation for 1000 copper pieces... I think the same sort of cardstock that monster counters are made out of would be ideal, or if you want something physical but abstract, maybe a card machine like they use in the new electronic Monopoly.




Why would I want cardboard coins when I've just bought hundreds of plastic ones for less than price of a coffee?


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 18, 2012)

I would be surprised if they didn't ship overseas...for how much, though, I cannot even speculate.

Or you could just go to New Orleans next year and get your own! 

That, BTW, is an insane spectacle- adults of all ages turning into hockey enforcers as they scramble for fake coins and cheap plastic beads.  Worse if they happen to be going after some of the rarer "throws", like Zulu coconuts.


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## Argyle King (Mar 18, 2012)

I recently bought some  fake plastic coins (they are intended to help learn to count money) to use in a game.  Currently, I only have one pack.  I've been experimenting with painting some of them using mini paint.  Once I have a design that I like, I plan to buy more.

It couldn't hurt to broaden my search though.  I have not put much effort into the idea yet.  I simply saw the pack of coins at a local store and decided to see what I could do with them.  A Google search and buying bulk online might be the better path for me to take.


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## Kaodi (Mar 18, 2012)

Morrus said:


> Why would I want cardboard coins when I've just bought hundreds of plastic ones for less than price of a coffee?




Well, _you_ in particular do not need them, obviously. But for everyone else... If not cardboard, I would certainly like to see a real set of poker chips and plaques in the colour of D&D coins...


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 18, 2012)

Kaodi said:


> Well, _you_ in particular do not need them, obviously. But for everyone else... If not cardboard, I would certainly like to see a real set of poker chips and plaques in the colour of D&D coins...




If you search, you can find "coin inlay" poker chips for about $0.65/chip.
Las Vegas Metal Coin Inlays Poker Chips

(I know, not quite what you're looking for.)

Fully custom clay-only chips start about $0.70/each and go as high as $1 each, depending on exact specifications.

Custom Poker Chips, Custom Poker Supplies and Wholesale

I'd bet you could specify your designs and get a decent set for not too much.

Just a thought: you MIGHT be able to go to someplace that does currency exchanges and get some actual foreign coins for not too much hassle...something with a really good exchange rate.  Get some pesos for your CP, some lira for your SP, and some yean or some such for your GP.

Bonus: if your buddies travel, they'll have pocket change!


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## MortalPlague (Mar 19, 2012)

While I was waiting for the game shop to open one day, I noticed a coin collector shop next door.  So I went in.  I walked out with about 50 old metal coins, which make a great prop at the table.  British shillings in particular have an old-timey look which I really liked.


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## Rogue Agent (Mar 19, 2012)

I've looked at coins in the past, but since I'd never be able to afford the tens of thousands of coins that would be necessary to manage a typical mid-level D&D party's finances, I've just never seen the point of it.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 19, 2012)

> British shillings in particular have an old-timey look which I really liked.




I have to agree!

I've noticed you can get old Asian coins in oriental gift stores- I also find them in vendor booths when I attend the Intergem International Gem & Jewelry Show.

I know companies like Suraj International make inexpensive silver pendants from ancient coins and stamps.  The coins are usually heavily oxidized & worn, but still have a nice presence.  Since they are not collector quality coins, they keep the costs down.  Perhaps they or some kind of coin vendor could hook you up?


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## MortalPlague (Mar 19, 2012)

Rogue Agent said:


> I've looked at coins in the past, but since I'd never be able to afford the tens of thousands of coins that would be necessary to manage a typical mid-level D&D party's finances, I've just never seen the point of it.




It's not the idea of managing finances to the last coin.  The way I use it is as a prop.  If the merchant tosses them a reward, it's fun to be able to actually toss a bag that clinks with coins.  It makes the players sit up and take notice.


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## nedjer (Mar 19, 2012)

This finished Kickstarter is getting real good reports from the backers as they get their coins. The picture shown is a lot of treasure/ a lot of money - but their $50 for 50 gold, silver, bronze - wish I'd backed it for the metal 

The project's funded, but there's a message address and the pages are getting updated.

Only bullion-a-likes I ever tried were Terry's Neapolitans - which don't exist any more  But there are some edible alternatives for special occasions, e.g. these Halloween Chocolate Neapolitans. Bit pricy - but maybe good for a FLGS promo event, newbies club night or an evening's indulgence.


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## AeroDm (Mar 19, 2012)

You should check out this unboxing of the game Knights and Glory (starts about 2:30). Somewhere the creator of the game mentioned that the gold coins were $0.12 each and I am imagining you can get them from TheGameCrafter. They sound like they have a good heft to them as they clink together but it is hard to make out the actual detail on the coin from the video.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbk1YBSYiww&feature=player_embedded[/ame]


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## Aeolius (Mar 19, 2012)

As an alternative to plastic bullion:




As a bonus, when the adventure is over you can have soup!


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## Morrus (Mar 19, 2012)

I've whipped together the start of a basic handout for players. The numbers are kinda random right now, so I'll probably change them. Just wanted to get my thoughts down in writing. I won't be running a game for a while, so there's no rush.

The difficulty is scaling the values to accomodate 1st level and 20th level characters and the expected wealth they might have or discover. That's where the plastic bullion bars and diamonds and stuff come in with values in the thousands of gp.

Also, plastic coins seem to come in two sizes (small and large) and three colours: copper, gold, silver. So I'm kinda cheating and saying that the copper plastic coins are 1gp, and the gold coloured ones are higher denomination coins. The silver coloured ones are platinum.


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## Mark Morrison (Mar 20, 2012)

Hi everyone!

My name is Mark, and I'm now helping Andre with Campaign Coins. We're over here in Australia. We've been playing D&D since 1980 or so, and right now I'm running two 4E campaigns (one Eberron, one Gardmore Abbey) and playing Pathfinder (Eberron).

Morrus has posted so many great ideas for coins here; and that treasure chest looks rad. I've got to get me one of those! And we congratulate Mused Fable, they have a great new line of coins which look really satisfying to clink together.

Our goal in creating Campaign Coins was to do them at the highest quality possible; we wanted to really make you feel like you were handling the same coin as your character. Given our D&D playing heritage, it was important to us to cover all the classic coins in a range of denominations, so that you could make accurate change for any situation.

We appreciate that our coins are a luxury item; we wish we could make them less expensive. In fact, we have just announced a price rise effective 1 April, when we get our reprint (we'll be restocking Paizo after that time). However, we think that the look and feel of the coins is superb, and can honestly say that we are not reaping huge profits over here; we are doing this because we thought it would be cool in our games, and figured someone else might too.

We'll have a think about the recommended mix for a standard group. It really depends what level you are running, and how you give out treasure. Before I stepped in to help out Andre I picked up two starter sets, and with the addition of a few 10-packs of 100 Gold they served me really well. When I added a second campaign I had to get some more gold; the key is to make the players cash in every now and then, either by spending or by changing for some higher denomination coins; cos players sure do like to sit on their loot if you don't stop 'em.

We'll be at GenCon this year if any of you are going; it would be great to be able to talk DnD, and show you the coins in action. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can message me here, or via our website, Facebook or Twitter.

Cheers,

Mark


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## nedjer (Mar 20, 2012)

Mark Morrison said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> My name is Mark, and I'm now helping Andre with Campaign Coins. We're over here in Australia. We've been playing D&D since 1980 or so, and right now I'm running two 4E campaigns (one Eberron, one Gardmore Abbey) and playing Pathfinder (Eberron).
> 
> ...




Hi

Morrus seems to have come-up with an ideal way to place some quality coinage like yours in the players' hands - while scaling currency across a full campaign using inexpensive bullion and jewellery for larger sums.

Reminds me of the gems included in the old Buccaneer boardgame and of Dread Pirate, which doesn't have jewel-shaped gems, but does bring together a whole bunch of cool props.


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## Morrus (Mar 20, 2012)

This is what arrived this morning. This is only a fraction of what I ordered though - much more to come!

That box of "gems" was just a couple of quid. I'm gonna have all those of that size be worth 50gp each regardless of colour/type (there's such a variety there). Then I have some larger ones of various colours which are gonna specifically be pearls, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, each type being worth more.

The little plastic rings and brooches came as a surprise. An eBay seller threw them in as an extra. Score! I did find lots of 20 plain rings and 20 with various "stones" on eBay for next to nothing, so I'll have 40 rings in total plus those in the picture.

The little bags will be useful, too. "Here's the orc captain's pouch - see how full it is!".


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## Thunderfoot (Mar 20, 2012)

All the coins you've mentioned are available at party supply stores here in the mid-west, I would imagine the same is true regardless of where you live.

People and kids especially love cheap trinkets at birthday parties and the like.  Party supply stores have always been my first "go to" place for props and such for my games.  Usually they are cheap and plentiful. Hope that helps.


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## Morrus (Mar 20, 2012)

Thunderfoot said:


> All the coins you've mentioned are available at party supply stores here in the mid-west, I would imagine the same is true regardless of where you live.
> 
> People and kids especially love cheap trinkets at birthday parties and the like. Party supply stores have always been my first "go to" place for props and such for my games. Usually they are cheap and plentiful. Hope that helps.




Oh, for sure! It was just that by buying bulk loads on eBay worked out cheaper.  Good tip, though!


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## Thunderfoot (Mar 20, 2012)

Morrus said:


> Oh, for sure! It was just that by buying bulk loads on eBay worked out cheaper.  Good tip, though!



No problem, next time you do get the urge to buy though, ask if the stores have rates for bulk buying, often times they will cut you a deal if they know you are going to take something (and a lot of it at that) off of their shelves.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 20, 2012)

Also check the candy isles.  There are candies out there that use colored rock candy (crystallized sugar- occasionally with additional favors) in pendants & rings.  Another one I know of is a bubblegum called Gold Nugget- its packaged in canvas drawstring bags that resemble what the old prospectors might carry, and the gum itself is in irregular chunks that are candy coated so it looks like little nuggets.


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## Morrus (Mar 20, 2012)

My treasure haul grew again today with the discovery of a large bowl of green and white crystallish stones in the kitchen cupboard. Goodness knows what they were doing there, but they are now officially uncut emeralds and diamonds!

Hoping my treasure chest arrives tomorrow. There are craploads of coins still to arrive. Some silver and gold coloured bracelets. I found six very small metal goblets in a junk draw. And there are loads of rings and fake gems on their way - including a set of four 4-inch massive fake gems (diamond, emerald, sapphire, and something else I don't recall) which will be items of very high value.


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## nedjer (Mar 20, 2012)

Gold nuggets and cut or uncut gems - this keeps getting better


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## VheeShane (Mar 20, 2012)

What? No one mentioned Chocolate Coins?


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 20, 2012)

Another suggestion: cheap plastic poker chips and cans of spray paint...


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## Morrus (Mar 21, 2012)

Here are the latest acquisitions. The green and white crystal things mentioned above, and the four giant 4-inch gems (ruby, sapphire, emerald, diamond).

More assorted plastic junk to arrive today, I hope!


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## TarionzCousin (Mar 21, 2012)

Morrus said:


> My treasure haul grew again today with the discovery of a large bowl of green and white crystallish stones in the kitchen cupboard. Goodness knows what they were doing there, but they are now officially uncut emeralds and diamonds!



Does DCYC know you took these? They may be her magic charm to attract more shoes.


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## nillic (Mar 21, 2012)

After seeing Campaign Coins for the first time at GenCon several years ago I purchased a set and started using them. My players loved it, mostly, but here's some things to consider if you are going to use money props (I was running an AP but I'd caution against the same things no matter what)

1) If you don't have every encounter's worth of money counted and planned in advance using money can really slow things down. This was the main complaint from my players, and admittedly my fault.

2) If the game isn't happening at the GM's house hauling around rulebooks, pencils, gm supplies, maps, etc is already a pain. Adding the entire party's treasure to this (especially if it's metal) is another thing to fret over.

3) DON'T LET YOUR PARTY MEMBERS TAKE HOME THE GOLD. I had a guy drop out because he was moving, and before I could get ahold of him BAM. I lost coins, luckily they were only 2nd level and I only lost a few.

These are just some things I ran into while using them. But personally I love props, about 10 or 12 years ago InQuest magazine ran an article about making potions, maps, and treasure for games and it's something I've loved ever since.


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## Morrus (Mar 21, 2012)

TarionzCousin said:


> Does DCYC know you took these? They may be her magic charm to attract more shoes.




Well they're mine now!


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## Morrus (Mar 21, 2012)

This is everything so far.


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## Nytmare (Mar 21, 2012)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Also check the candy isles.









Man, what level do you think you need to be to clear those out?


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## Morrus (Mar 22, 2012)

Aha! My treasure chest has arrived. It's awesome!


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## nedjer (Mar 22, 2012)

Morrus said:


> Aha! My treasure chest has arrived. It's awesome!




Every GM should have a hoard like that - just so we can occasionally reach into it and then brandish the loot in front of players' greedy eyes - before sometimes slowly pouring it back in and closing the lid when the gameplay snatches the prize away


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## Janx (Mar 22, 2012)

Morrus said:


> Aha! My treasure chest has arrived. It's awesome!




that is cool. definitely sound advice to not let players take the props home.  Though these are cheaper, loss of materials still is a hit.

One thought to consider, to keep from having to truly horde up all the money a party of PCs will ever earn, is to setup a form of banking or storage, such that a player can hand you 1,000 GP and say he stores it in his treasure vault at the castle or some such.

In this way, the GM get's 1,000 GP of coins back for re-use in the next treasure horde, and players aren't accumulating and carrying 1 million gold coins because that's what their PC has.

Basically, a bit of a hybrid of the coins as money and the old-style paper accounting.

Assuming some maximum threshold of practical carrying capacity for gold, it would limit the need to actually buy enough coins to model ALL the wealth the party could possibly aquire.

How far are you going with the real props for gear thing?  Rings, wands, rods and staff?

I used a card system for my own PC's gear.  it worked alright, but in some ways was more cumbersome than the traditional char sheet.

In some ways, I think a game with less treasure/magic items would work well, because it is easier to model with physical props (less items to buy/make) and it's rarity keeps each item special.

I forget if you linked where you ordered the plastic money and gems from, but it sounds like you found a pretty good cheap source.

Tell us how the gaming turns out with this phat loot


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## Morrus (Mar 23, 2012)

Janx said:


> One thought to consider, to keep from having to truly horde up all the money a party of PCs will ever earn, is to setup a form of banking or storage, such that a player can hand you 1,000 GP and say he stores it in his treasure vault at the castle or some such.




Yup, we have "bankers drafts" in the form of EN Publishing's FANTASY MONEY.



> How far are you going with the real props for gear thing? Rings, wands, rods and staff?
> 
> I used a card system for my own PC's gear. it worked alright, but in some ways was more cumbersome than the traditional char sheet.




We use Paizo's Item Cards.  They work perfectly.



> I forget if you linked where you ordered the plastic money and gems from, but it sounds like you found a pretty good cheap source.




Little place called eBay.


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## Morrus (Mar 23, 2012)

This is the update on the handout I plan to give the players at the start of the campaign. I'd be grateful for any thoughts.


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## Thunderfoot (Mar 24, 2012)

One a slightly related note; two years ago when we ran the dragon adventure in True Dungeon it took 62 5 gallon buckets of TD tokens plus plenty of props (to include 1 giant red dragon egg) to amass Smoak's horde. She was one happy dragon.

For those that don't know about True Dungeon tokens, they are roughly the size of an American Kennedy Half Dollar (or a regulation poker chip) and weigh about 8oz. each (they are a plastic coated iron blank).  So the weight of that was incredible and a pain in the butt to load on the trucks, unload and carry to the horde sight, dump, arrange and then after the event at GenCon re-load on the trucks and unload in the workshop.   But it sure did look pretty. 

Morrus, I have visions of you rumpus room eventually looking similar.


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## Thunderfoot (Mar 24, 2012)

Morrus said:


> This is the update on the handout I plan to give the players at the start of the campaign. I'd be grateful for any thoughts.




Without playing it I couldn't tell if there are any immediate loopholes or problems, but what you have here looks stellar to me.  Easy to read, understand and follow.  Good job, Russ!


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