Spells Is Gold!

This is for Wizard City, which currently exists in a state of random tables and coagulating ideas. It's the place with all the Wizard Gangs, with Wizard Cops and Robbers. and gonzo out the wazoo.

~~~~~

There are a few notable problems for Wizard City (in which there are nothing but wizards, including the party). How do I make Counterspell, Dispel Magic, and Detect Magic not suck? What system do we build this for? What spell list is useful? How do you dole out experience for criiiiiiiimes?

Accurate representation of wizards about to be doing the crimes.
Night In The Woods

In a Wizard City, magic is going to be the currency, no matter what what market looks like. That's a given. Wizards need power. Magic is power. Everything else is window dressing.

The biggest, latest innovation in THE MULTIVERSE - the thing that made Wizard City possible - was the commodification and distillation of spells. FRET NAUGHT, YOUNG DEFORMED HIRELING! Your master no longer requires that you lug around all of those books and spell scrolls and potions! Instead he can keep the latest Arcanocurrency right in his localized pant-pocket dimension! Now, hireling, you may be fed to the Shoggoth in the basement, as was designed!

"But vhat about my pension, master?"

But seriously, Spells Are Gold Are XP in Wizard City. Spells are literally spell scrolls in coin form. You can burn your currency to cast the spell on the coin. Every type of coin has a one-use disposable spell inscribed on it. The value of each coin (and spell) exists on a logarithmic scale of value.

So, when your Wizard Criminals decide to go stick up the local Selling-Puppies-For-Experiments-Only Shop, they're stealing something they can actually use, not just dead weight in order to go buy castles or row boats or fancy spoons or whatever it is adventurers usually do with their money.

Assuming the system we're using has level 0-9 spells.

Spell Coins By Power Level

For point of reference, assume Spell Value given in USD. So a level 9 spell in the base 10 system is worth a billion buckaroos.

Coin Type	Spell Level	Spell Value (10 base)	Spell Value (5 base)	Spell Value (2 base)
Wood	Cantrip	1	1	1
Copper	1	10	5	2
Silver	2	100	25	4
Electrum	3	1,000	125	8
Gold	4	10,000	625	16
Platinum	5	100,000	3,000*	32
Plutonium	6	1,000,000	15,000*	64
Diamond	7	10,000,000	80,000*	128
Condensed Dark Matter	8	100,000,000	400,000*	256
Anti-Matter	9	1,000,000,000	2,000,000*	512

*Values rounded off to be easier for everyone.

Enough treasure to bring down a small country.
Pic by Draelen

Spells may be the main currency in Wizard City, but proper wizards always make sure to diversify their investments. Important Investors, speaking in perfect unison from atop the Mountains of Madness, will periodically give insight to all the newest rage in speculative currency!

What New Speculative Currency 

Is All The Rage In Wizard City?

1. Secrets

2. Memories

3. Body Augmentations

4. Arms (functional/attachable ones only)

5. Saint Bones

6. Commemorative Spoons

7. Opium Bars

8. Gems with the souls of adventurers dissolving within.

9. Talking Goats

10. Ambitions, distilled.

11. Fantasies.

12. Babies, Fresh

13. Babies, Preserved

14. Familiars on Sticks

15. Years, Good Health

16. Years, Bad Health

17. Ancestor Spirits

18. Hauntings

19. Living Statues

20. Designer Diseases

21. Cursed Objects

22. Cursed Objects, Ironic

23. Generic Word Trademarks

24. Alliances

25. Chocolate Coins

26. Tulips

27. Books, Ancient

28. Books, Pornographic

29. Books, Talking

30. Books, Screaming

31. Books, For Throwing At Hirelings

32. Tongues
33. Vertebrae
34. Hirelings
35. Hirelings, Deformed
36. Hirelings, Miniaturized
37. Minotaurs
38. Deadly Traps
39. Languages
40. Bottles of Tears
41. Virgins
42. Ponies
43. Dragons
44. Manticores
45. Other Wizards
46. Nephews
47. Clones
48. Small Island Nations
49. Snowglobes
50. Snowglobes, With Pocket Dimensions Trapped Inside Them
51. Snowglobes, With Horrible Horrible Things Trapped Within
52. Alternate Universes
53. Mimics
54. Sunlight
55. Hallucinogenic Toads
56. Mind-Controlling Toads
57. Grandmotherly Wisdom
58. Awkward Conversations
59. Weddings
60. The Weather
61. Letters of the Alphabet
62. Impractically Tall Hats
63. Increasingly Longer Dogs
64. Milk
65. Firstborn Children
66. Chronic/Inheritable Diseases
67. Magic Rings
68. Golems
69. STDs
70. Guano
71. Particular Sausages
72. Cocaine
73. 4th Dimensional Hypercubes
74. Brains in Jars
75. Booze That Makes You Go Blind
76. Mismatched Socks
77. Breathable Air
78. Coupons For Canned Corn
79. Pocket Monsters
80. Designer Wands
81. Animals Polymorphed Into Vehicles
82. Philosophers
83. Molerats That Squeak When They Should Be Speculated On... No Wait They Do That All The Time
84. In-Laws
85. Wacky Wonky Inflatable Flailing Tube Men
86. Grains of Sands
87. Crackhouses
88. Potable Water
89. Triangles, The Shape, Everywhere
90. Fools
91. Warm Blankets
92. Jokes
93. Messiahs
94. Terrible Accidents
95. Sidewalks
96. Heat
97. Stars
98. Sick Disses
99. Everything
100. ...And Kitchen Sinks