Cogent 0.7/Commerce Points

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Below is an item value system that ranges from 1 to 8 that is to be used by the DM to help calculate the value of any given item in the game.

**Item Value** *(these values are suggestions, as narrative settings and their values will vary)*

*One Base Dice*

1. A meal, simple pants, bottle of rum, night at an inn, a video game, rope/camping gear
2. An extravagant night out, an adequate weapon, common livestock, shack
3. A well-crafted weapon, a basic horse/car/vehicle, average armor, a small building
4. A very fancy horse/vehicle, home, extravagant weapon, full plate armor, bodyguards
5. A mansion, yacht, jet, estate, small army, established business, patent of nobility, small starship, weapon of mass destruction
6. A castle/skyscraper, enterprise level company, large army, a town, carrier starship
7. Metropolis, armada, small country
8. Kingdom, nation, established planet (sci-fi)

At the beginning of the game the narrator will assign the players a number of commerce points based on their background (a beggar who grew up on the streets would have a lot less money than a knight from a noble family) and then throughout the game the players may receive additional points when they do an action that would gain them more money, or lose commerce points when making purchases.

Commerce points and associated **Levels of Wealth**

1. Pauper/Homeless
2. Commoner
3. Tradesperson/craftsman
4. Well off, higher income
5. Wealthy, successful merchant
6. Rich, CEO
7. Magnate/Tycoon, Captain of Industry
8. Owns a powerful nation **(max)**

Players can purchase any item that has a value score equivalent to, or less than, their total commerce points. Purchasing an item/service with **value equivalent** to your current level of commerce points will **subtract/cost 2 commerce points** from your total pool.

Purchasing an item/service with value equivalent to **1 point less than** your current level of commerce points will **subtract/cost 1 commerce point** from your total pool.

Purchasing an item/service with value equivalent to **2 points under or less** than your current level of commerce points will **not remove any points** from your total pool – unless purchased in large quantities or regularly.

One way to think about it might be like this:

Purchasing an item with a value equal to my level of wealth, will cost a great deal of my total finances (Such as someone with a high income [4 commerce points] buying a nice home [lvl 4 purchase, costing two commerce points], reducing their financial status to ‘common’ [level 2] after the purchase is made).

This ratio of cost for the specified item values is present because commerce points go up exponentially in value. If item values need to be compared to one another, for a general guide their values can be thought of as 1 of 10 going up, or 10 of 1 going down. EG: 10 cars (each with an item value of ‘4’) might equate to the value of a single house (item value 5). This is an example, but we recommend players use this mechanic as a guide rather than a means of precise valuation.

This means that the third commerce point is essentially worth ten level two commerce points and the fifth commerce point is worth one hundred level three. The narrator needs to take this into account when awarding commerce points as going from **2 to 3** commerce points is infinitely more easy than going from **5 to 6**.

Players will gain commerce points throughout gameplay which will be assigned by the narrator as reward for quests (as the narrative dictates) either through the flow of narrative (finding treasure) or roleplay (selling loot to shopkeepers).