Hallo, *waves*. I sort of became our Elias' assistant archivist so...silly title. Anyhow breaking down Prodigy's Economics, why it sucks, and alternatives to use in RP and how to implement them.
Canon Economics[]
In canon Prodigy, we have one main currency: Gold.
Seeing how alternate currencies are structured in Prodigy English, the Academy, Elemental Areas, and Festivals, we can assume all currencies are at a 1:1 ratio, with the exception of research points, which appear to be at a slightly different ratio, but we'll go with 1:1 here. The commonly accepted ratio for fantasy gold is that 1gp = 1cp, which in turn equals 104 US dollars. Doesn't sound that bad, right? Let's do some math.
A Day's Spending[]
| $ | 6 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⇌ | 6 | 4 | 6 |
Assuming a warden's paid the salary of a school headmaster, a whooping 67k dropped to 646 with the gold conversion. As any Prodigy player knows, that's not nearly enough to do anything. Yet in case you need a refresher...
| 6 | 4 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | 9 | 0 | |
| _______ | |||
| 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| - | 5 | 0 | |
| _______ | |||
| 5 | 0 | 6 | |
Let's say you go out and get a Poutine for breakfast. Don't question why you're eating something this heavy, you're just eating it as you don't trust the croissant you found stuck in TripTrop fur. You transfer 90 of your gold into Shivers and pay Aspen for the Poutine. You're also thirsty, so you transfer 50 more of your gold to Shivers and pay for a Hot Cocoa. Just by getting a simple meal, you already used 140 of your gold. It's been a whole year so you also decide to get some new clothes. As a Warden, you need to wear something respectable, not tattered, old, patched up robes (albeit it is a nice, wisdom bearing aesthetic, according to the students). You hear that Magi-threads is in style, but a single robe costs 1,150 gold. Knowing that is was way out of your salary, you exchange some more gold to area currency and buy an Elemental Robe.
| 5 | 0 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | 2 | 0 | |
| _______ | |||
| 4 | 8 | 6 | |
All that shopping took up you whole morning, so you go an buy some lunch. With another simple meal and drink, you toss another 140 of your gold out the window. Counting what's in your coin pouch, you ascertain that you still have 346 gold to waste, and it's time for you to get some new shoes, seeing the soles are falling off of your current pair. You want something durable as you won't be able to replace them for another year, consider getting some heavy boots. Unfortunately, no thanks to your lunch, 400 gold is way outside your price range. Dire Pirate Boots will just have to do the job, so you go and convert some gold to Yars.
| 4 | 8 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| _______ | |||
| 3 | 8 | 6 | |
You broke a bit of a sweat paying for those boots, and dread the fact you need a new wand. Unfortunately, Gale would most likely kill you if you use a Warden's Staff outside the Academy. Especially seeing it's made for advanced magic, not the simple spells you cast to get out of cleaning your house. It would look silly if you went to work armed with a Toy Parrot, not to mention it barely fit in your budget. Stupid kids, inflating prices so their parents can spoil—oh, enough of that, teaching them puts money in your pocket. Your would love to get an Elemental Sword, but with a price of 680 area currency, you would never be able to afford it. You also consider an Elemental Bird Wand, but all the stores are out of stock—it seems that the other Academy Teachers sold the stores out gifting them to their students. Eventually you exchange your gold for Titan Shards, sobbing hysterically as you haggle with Harvey over a custom made Glaive.
| 3 | 8 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | 2 | 0 | |
| _______ | |||
| 3 | 6 | 6 | |
It's evening, and seeing how your cupboards are empty at home, you decide to eat out tonight. With all your old items shoved in your bag, you really wish the Peddler didn't move off the island as you pay for dinner. With another simple meal, 140 more gold was tossed out, leading to you staring at a pile of 226 gold. It's not nearly enough to pay your rent of 1300 gold—it seems you'll be begging Mozza Ella not to kick you out. Or you might just sleep in your office...
Wait, I never got a ha—
Back to Overview[]
With all that in mind, you really won't be able to survive a year working an honest job, even if you spend your weekends battling monsters nonstop. It may work out in game, but it definitely doesn't in fanon content. So time to cover the alternatives.
Dungeons & Dragons Economics System[]
Wizards! Magic! Battle! Intricate Stats! Sounds like D&D doesn't it? Let's see if the system is compatible with Prodigy.
Let's change the price of food items. A day's rations (3 servings) is 50 copper in D&D. Guess what, if we change the 50 gold for a Cocoa to 50 copper, a single aspect of the meal is already the cost of a whole day's rations. This sounds bad, but let's see how bad this gets. We'll set nonmagical equipment (items that grant no effects or spell) to their prices in silver, and magical items keep their prices in gold. In D&D, 100 copper = 10 silver = 1 gold. Simple enough? If that still sounds complicated, we can say that 1 gold is 1 dollar, 1 silver is 1 dime, and 1 penny is 1 copper. That's no their monetary value, but it does make the ratio make sense, doesn't it? Anyhow—
A Day's Spending[]
| $ | 6 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⇌ | 6 | 4 | 6 |
As 1 gold still equals $104, the initial payout stays the same.
| 6 | 4 | 6 | . | 0 | 0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | . | 9 | 0 | |||
| _______________ | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | 5 | . | 1 | 0 | |
| - | . | 5 | 0 | |||
| _______________ | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | 4 | . | 6 | 0 | |
You go out to Shiverchill and grab some breakfast, paying with a gold coin and four silver, feeling great after receiving your pay roll. You need some new clothes, and as you sit there, warming up in the small cavern shop, you hear that Magi-threads is in style, but a single robe costs 1,150 silver—about 115 gold. You measure the pros and cons, you exit the shop, deciding to buy the robes.
| 6 | 4 | 6 | . | 6 | 0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1 | 1 | 5 | . | 0 | 0 |
| _______________ | ||||||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | . | 6 | 0 | |
You quite like the quality of the robes, and decide to buy the matching hat and boots as well—costing 1000 and 750 silver, respectively. Seeing you'll be paying in gold, that's 175 gold out of your wallet.
| 5 | 3 | 1 | . | 6 | 0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1 | 0 | 0 | . | 0 | 0 |
| _______________ | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | . | 6 | 0 | |
| - | 7 | 5 | . | 0 | 0 | |
| _______________ | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 7 | . | 6 | 0 | |
You need a new wand after it broke in a friendly spar with another warden, and you decide to get a Mystic Staff as you liked the aesthetic it gives you. However the wizard you haggled with charged you a grand 270 gold for it. At least it's better than nothing.
| 3 | 5 | 7 | . | 6 | 0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 2 | 7 | 0 | . | 0 | 0 |
| _______________ | ||||||
| 1 | 3 | 5 | . | 6 | 0 | |
Everything went along much faster than you expected, and you grab some lunch for another gold coin and four silver, leaving you with 134 gold and 2 silver. You decide to head back home to pay your rent to Mozza Ella. You live in a small house, paying 1300 copper a year—about 130 gold. Moving to a medium house would cost you 195 gold a year, so this is good enough for you. You're left with five gold and six silver, but taking down a random bounty will keep you set for the next few months, so food isn't a big concern. Not that you wouldn't appreciate a raise, of course. Teaching is tiring, and you really don't feel like catching another Luminite...
Back to Overview[]
This system is decently better, even if the rent is high. Of course, using this system would add two new types of currency to the roleplay world, and can get complicated with the math.