by DiasEesha on Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:16 pm
While it is not normal for me to chime in on basically a dead thread this one is quite interesting to me and has provided not only multiple questions of things that we do tend to take for granted [which frankly is fine by me considering the nature of the channel and its foci].
However, from a world building standpoint it offers a lot of notes that could be played upon perhaps opening new avenues to explore down the line.
My input on the matter of MHL [mehrial] which I will henceforth refer to by its abbreviation.
Long before the empire was the empire, long before the will of him who we all honor and respect as our Emperor, back when the elves themselves had grand empires bereft of the conflicts and divisions that we all well know. The first coins where minted, by the grand empires of the elven nations, originally they where but simple things, poured metal into molds, lacking any mark or form. Little more than tokens to trade their value in the metal itself. While this in and of itself made trade and mercantile far more convenient, it also allowed for the spread of the coin to flow to the furthest reaches of elven kind. However, as all things do time would see the simple flaws in this first production. For the elves live long, and even metal can succumb to time. These first coins fell eventually to this fate, corrosion being the core of their death. As such a new improved form needed to be made. [One may surmise that in the interim actual forms where added its not particularly important.] Hence forth the currency that we now call mhl came into the world. These where better, by all means, made through specific processes, infused with magics that most now could barely fathom. Many would argue that it was simple mithril many would be proven wrong. While the metal itself was nothing particularly of note, it was the second part of the process, the infusing that produced the vaunted currency to its current status. Beyond being as convenient as coin, mhl proved to be exceptionally light, durable, and seemingly unbreakable. This, my friends is where the proliferation came from if one believes the tales. While any nation with sufficient resources, could produce coin, the dwarves, and even our own come to mind. What sets this apart is simple as it is effective. The fact that we can not particularly reproduce it without the influence of the elves also lends credence to the facts above. In short my friends, many a coin can be minted, but few can be called a mhl. The other benefit of these coins though, is that while certainly producing them has its own unique quandaries, they never lose value, and can be made of any worth we need. [my twenty cents?]
On a less world building note: it was common for nations with contact with each other to have exchange rates far before our real world example. As far as the imperial credit part, to some extent yes to some no. Aside from my worldbuilder rambling, the metals are valuable, what they are can be left to the imagination, one could consider copper, silver, gold, platinum, and mithril variants. Itd make perfect sense beyond the additional influence of their creation and method being a protected secret that lends additional value because of their nature.
On the matter of land "ownership": Yes this is simplified a lot, cause to do otherwise would be an absolute migraine. The way it works now makes it viable for an rp and system. Elsewise itd be well a lot of pay/payroll/taxes esque stuff, at the base level it works out the same with the pricing and limitations in place.
To compare a little: If a feudal lord [noble] decided to run roughshod over a current peasants property for well any reason the result would be the same as when a pcs "bought" land is reclaimed. The land would be repurposed according to either the lords will or the will of whomever the land was awarded to. The results remain roughly the same we just forgo a lot of the politics and red tape that would have to be processed for that system side. Additionally, since this is an rp, it can be considered that those lands are "protected" until such time as the "protected" decide to vacate.