A lesson in Gorean currency

I think it's time to bore you a bit  with Gorean currency, as many RPers don't have an idea about what they are talking off and even the lowest caste people throw around Gold Tarns like pennies.

Sooo, let's see.... In Gor there are Copper Tarsk Bits, Copper Tarsks, Silver Tarsks, Gold Tarns and Double Gold Tarns.

8 Copper Tarsk bits = 1 Copper Tarsk

100 Copper Tarsk = 1 Silver Tarsk

10 Silver Tarsk = 1 Gold Tarn

2 Gold Tarn = 1 double Gold Tarn

According to Luther's Scrolls the relation to nowadays would be:

1 Tarsk bit = $2.50 USD
1 copper Tarsk = 8 Tarsk Bits = $20 USD
1 Silver Tarsk = 100 Copper Tarsks = $2000 USD
1 gold Tarn = 10 Silver Tarsks = $20000 USD
1 double gold Tarn = 2 gold Tarns = $ 40000 USD

I don't fully agree to that, but at least it gives you an imagination. In "Assassins of Gor" Tarl Cabot aka Kuruus got 20 double Gold Tarns for a kill. It is mentioned, that 1 double gold tarn would be as much as a lower caste worker earns the whole year. So, if we look at an average income of a lowclass worker, 1 double gold tarn would be about 20.000-25.000 U$, I think.

It's also mentioned, that you'd get a good meal and drinks in a taverne for about 3-5 Copper Tarsks. Soooo... that would be in a middle-class diner something between 10-20 U$ for a meal including drinks? (I have to admit I'm not so familiar with americen prices). So, if 20 U$ = 5 CT, then 1 Gold Tarn = 10 Silver Tarsk = 1.000 Copper Tarsks = 1.000 : 5 x 20  = 4000 U$.

I think the biggest problem is, that John Norman as usual isn't consequent and logical, and he seems never to remember what he wrote in a book before or even some pages before... Like the price for a several day sea-passage would be the same (1 Silver Tarsk) as the price for the ferry to cross the Laurius River? And two boys in Tor get just for dragging in customers  to a taverne 1 Copper Tarsk, while in another book it is mentioned, that a low caste worker earns maybe 1-3 copper tarsks per day? And you pay for a coin girl (= a street hooker gslave) only a copper bit. So, the boys earn for 1 customer 1 copper tarsk, can go and fuck 8-10 coin girls, which come back to their Master with maybe 1-2 copper tarsks per day, who pays then about 5 copper tarks to feed them, not talking of the price he might have paid for the purchase? It's just not logical. Gor can't exist, cause it's economy would have gone down centuries ago. So can someone with more brain (and talent!) please re-write the books? Thanks!

However, you can assume something between 10.000 and 20.000 U$ for a Gold Tarsk. And you see: To demand 20 Gold Tarns for a barrel of Black Wine Beans (200.000-400.000 U$!!!!) is a fortune. No wonder we have to find a way to steal it! :-)

[And on a side-note: Black Wine is expensive on Gor. A cup costs about 1 Silver Tarsk and only highest castes could afford it. A simple taverne wouldn't have it. And  that's why we started the RP about it. To have enough black wine for my addiction... and some slaves I know.  *winks to  Misha*]

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Now another problem is the goods in the GM-system. We try to encourage the trading with those goods, encourage people to really pay coins (from the GM! Of course not L$!!!)  in a taverne instead of just RP. To pay for the use of bathslaves. To pay for goods and to pay for services. To use the trading system instead of only hiding your GM server as good as possible and store as much as you can in it.

The idea of the RP goods in the GM-Hud is fine and in the new version there's even a coin/currency system in it, which looks like this:

Copper Tarsk         10 coins
Silver Tarsk        1000 coins
Gold Tarn         10.000 coins

Now that would be consequent, if 1 coin would be equal 1 copper tarsk bit. BUT there's in no way any relation to the goods in there! The creators really, really, really should start to think about it. But I doubt they will. They just change the goods and their worth now and then without any warning and without any information, like happened these days again. It's a shame! But I still hope one day someone will create a better and more logical RP-Hud. That would be nice and encourage trades and the possibilities of "realistic" roleplay. 

P.S.: And my apologies to the few non-Gorean readers who are not interested in this a little bit... or tarsk... or tarn...