The Arcane Exchange

(Some materials of this post are re-posted from previous posts.)

It's said that there are no temples left in Wizard City. Propaganda, that. One stands true and proud, hidden in plain sight near The Bank Inerrable: The Arcane Exchange. Inside, traders furiously perform and re-perform various auguries to predict shifts in the market, scraping hefty profits.

The market is fast, but the traders are faster. They have perfected and distilled the projection of market forces down to ritual form. By prayer and by augury to their Lupine-Bull god they achieve a virtually-guaranteed profit.

(Yes, I'm pretending the creature on the right is a wolf, not a bear.)

Forms of Augury are fiercely contested between traders. Some will swear by the bones and the cards, some by the birds and clouds. Many will rely on multiple methods (particularly those who can afford multiple augurs). However, haruspicy is largely considered the gold standard for market predictions. Certain creatures are better for this than others, creating a demand for strong and mysterious monsters among the traders.

Live monsters may be sold at the Arcane Exchange for 1d4x100gp per Hit Die.

A live basilisk of 4HD, for example, can go for 400-1,600gp at the Arcane Exchange. Its liver can reap profits a hundred-fold its cost if performed by an experienced augur and invested by a wealthy trader.

d12	Augur	Augury Type	Complications
1	A witch plucked right from the bog.	Bone Tossing	There is no discernable pattern.
2	An old hermit-ascetic bribed to abandon solitude with fat stacks of cash.	Sand Reading	The augury tool broke or lost.
3	Some young lad who learned by secretly watching other augurs’ techniques.	Sacred Chickens	Interference by another nearby augury.
4	Kidnapped and caged state cultist from rival nation.	Hydromancy	Rival broker attempting a distraction.
5	A holy monkey-man paid in literal peanuts.	Tarot Card Draw	Rival auger stealing/copying result.
6	A charlatan fortune teller who’s just gotten incredibly and consistently lucky	Haruspicy	Rival augur made exact same prediction.
7	Blind homeless man taken off the street and given nice clothes	Reading Bird Behavior	Strong winds.
8	Three-eyed frog man.	Demonic Possession	Pressure - Incorrect reading leads to sacrifice of augur.
9	Criminalized oracle serving out their life sentence.	Crystal Ball	Police are looking for a ‘fraud’, causing a ruckus.
10	Graduate student in Economics paying off their student loans.	Die Casting	Wizard brawl on the trade floor.
11	Demon in a magic circle.	Vortex Staring	Someone’s demon got out.
12	Mercenary augur. Works for the highest bidder.	Mystery Algorithm	Crowded space - too many augurs and/or traders.

The lower levels hold the avatar of a God of the Market: equal parts man, bull, and she-wolf. Only accomplished traders or affluent patrons of the Exchange are permitted to suckle its blood-milk. In return, it consumes only but a few of them - the losers, of course. Those who fail one too many auguries or go bankrupt are inevitably dragged into the bowels of the building by the market cultists to be fed to their god.

The Market God is protected by layers upon layers of bodies: trade-wizards seeking blessings from the divine, animate bronze beast statues at the temple thresholds, frothing free market cultists wielding buzzing weapons of gold and silver, and of course The Secret Police.

~~~~~

Gold Coins to Spellgold Exchange Rates

Columns are based by Edition. Each Spellgold can be used as a Spell Scroll of its appropriate Spell Level.

Numbers given are in terms of gold coins required for a Spellgold of a given level.

Coin Type	Spell Level	5th Edition D&D	B/X, OSR	GLOG
Wood	Cantrip	5	100	100*
Copper	1	25	500
Silver	2	250	1,000
Electrum	3	500	2,000
Gold	4	2,500	3,000
Platinum	5	5,000	4,000
Plutonium	6	15,000	6,000
Diamond	7	25,000	8,000
Condensed Dark Matter	8	50,000	10,000
Anti-Matter	9	250,000	20,000

*In GLOG, 1 Spellgold = 1 Magic Die = 100gp

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