Trading
While gold pieces and other coinage are used to describe the value of items throughout this chapter, they are not the only way wealth manifests itself in the world. Merchants and crafters accept coins, and most people will have access to coins to give as quest rewards. Other types of currency and trade are common too. Gems, information, services, and exchanged goods are useful ways for the average person to acquire what they need. Working people of every stripe may find it easier to barter day-to-day, and many local governments accept taxes in valuable items that meet the amount due—whether that be poultry or fine wines. The wealthy may trade in the same way albeit on a grander scale such as with deeds, parcels of land, or full bars of precious metal.

Trading Valuables and Treasure
It’s likely that on your adventures you’ll come across an immense variety of valuables ranging from unusual trinkets to weapons and armor of every make, shape, and size. While common items can be sold in almost any town, some more unique items may be difficult to sell without locating a specialist or a sufficiently wealthy collector.

Used Weapons, Armor, and Equipment
Used equipment in good working order will usually sell, but it may be worth half (or even less) than a new item. This is not a hard and fast situation and vendors may be swayed into giving more—how your character persuades someone to do that is up to them.

Magical Junk
The ease of selling magical junk differs from place to place. If in a region where magic is commonplace—perhaps an arcane academy is nearby—selling these items is relatively straightforward and can be highly profitable. In regions where magic is rare, vendors may not believe the item is genuine let alone be willing to buy it. If they can be sold, magical junk is valuable and often cost more gold than the average person would see in a year or even a lifetime.

Treasure and Art
Items such as gems, precious metals, jewelry, and art are valuable because they are sought after across the world. For this reason, they rarely diminish in price and may even gain value as time goes by. Lost relics or pieces by master crafters are especially likely to bring in vast amounts of gold despite their lack of magical or practical utility.

Basic Trade Goods
Trade goods such as grain, salt, and domesticated beasts are sought after everywhere and so are unlikely to diminish much in value from place to place. Because of their almost universal usefulness, these are the items most commonly used to barter for the average person.

Trade Goods
You can’t eat money, and all wealth is eventually measured in commodities, luxuries, and trade goods. Local shortages, surpluses, trade embargoes, and treaties may shift values, but the following trade goods table shows the value of many commonly exchanged goods.

Table: Trade Goods