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Currency in the Kingdoms

When Alchemy allows lead to be transformed into gold, what do people use for money?

In the Kingdoms, the answer is simple. The most valuable materials are those that cannot be altered by Alchemy: dragon scales and Alchemist's Glass.

The highest valued currency is, quite literally, the scales of dragons. Dragons are beings of pure Element (Stone, Fire, Crystal, Water, Metal, or Void), making their scales completely immune to the effects of Alchemy. No alchemist can create them, duplicate them, or transform them into something else.

That doesn't mean adventurers can simply slay a dragon and spend its scales. Each Kingdom regulates its currency by acid-etching genuine dragon scales with the Kingdom's official glyphs and sigils, certifying them for use as legal tender.

Even so, dragon scales are extraordinarily rare. Most people in the Kingdoms will never see one in their lifetime. They are reserved for diplomacy between Kingdoms, major commercial exchanges, and the storage of immense fortunes.

The second most valuable material is Alchemist's Glass, the crystal used to make alchemical instruments. Like dragon scales, it cannot be altered by Alchemy. Discs of this material, a form of currency known as Rondels, are worth slightly less than dragon scales but have one important advantage: they are not issued by any particular Kingdom. As a result, wealthy merchants often prefer Rondels when conducting large transactions.

For everyday commerce, however, people use ordinary, teardrop-shaped coins.

These coins are known as 'scales', a nod to the dragon scales that underpin the Kingdoms' economies. They are minted from brass, silver, and gold, in increasing order of value.

Could an Alchemist create these metals?

Yes—but doing so requires time, skill, and costly materials. In practice, the expense of producing meaningful quantities of precious metals through Alchemy can often be greater greater than their value as coinage, making large-scale counterfeiting economically impractical.

In the Kingdoms, Alchemy is not some mysterous art that is practiced only in far off wizards' towers. Alchemy is a fact of daily life for most of the Kingdoms, and the choice of materials used as currency reflects this.

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