Time & Money

The trading houses of the Wildlands employ a calendar of uncertain origin, though stories hint that it is based upon the calendar of the old world. These merchants have a great interest in recording the passage of time so that they may accurately record the trading that they do with the many clans of the Wildlands. As such, they teach the calendar wherever they trade, and it has become well known and commonly used. This calendar, called the trade calendar, divides the year into 12 months, three for each season. Each month is roughly 30 days, although there are variations. The reasons for these variations are long forgotten, but storytellers claim that the ancient scholars based these variations on magical cycles they saw in the stars. The numbering of the year began 1005 years ago, and the significance of that event has been forgotten. (The real world of 2005 has the in play date of 1005).

The four seasons are the Awakening, the Greening, the Harvest, and the Sleeping. Each new year begins on the first day of the Awakening.

The Awakening includes the months of Firstmarch, Rainwash, and Warmgrowth. The Wildlands come alive during the Awakening, as the Sun gains strength, plants blossom and animals awake from their slumber. The first day of Firstmarch is the first day of the new year, prompting many clans to celebrate both the new year and the coming of the Awakening.

The Greening has the months of Flametide, Firebreath, and Stormsong. These months are hot and the Sun is strongest. Trading and traveling are common in these months, as food is more plentiful and shelter not as critical. Highsun, the longest day of the year, falls in the middle of Flametide.

The Harvest passes during the months of Spiderhaunt, Bloodleaf, and Frostweave. Many trees release the fire they stole from the sun in a display that turns their leaves red and yellow and orange. The world takes its last breaths of life for the year, and people finish their harvests and hunts to ready for the coming cold. During the Harvest, the Wild Hunt sometimes roams the forests and hills of the Wildlands. Oathbreaker’s Night comes at the end of Bloodleaf, lasting a score and ten hours, from midnight through until the second morning. On this day, Chaos walks unchecked through the lands. It is said that no oath holds sacred on this Night, not even those with Death and Time.

The Sleeping falls on the months of Snowcloak, Graybreath, and Icemelt. The cold and dark of these months are testament to the strength of the Moon, which is greatest during this season. The land sleeps, and the folk of the Wildlands must live off work finished during the Harvest. Highmoon, the longest night of the year, falls in the middle of Snowcloak.

Each date is given with the day first, the month second, and the year third. 1 Firstmarch, 1005, was the first day of the present year. The Wildlands year is the same length as the year in the real world. Each month corresponds to a month in the real world and has the same number of days as its real world counterpart. The seasons also match those of the real world. The Awakening, the Greening, the Harvest, and the Sleeping correspond to Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter respectively. The Wildlands year starts at the beginning of Firstmarch, so the Wildlands year changes on the first day of March.

Money
The Western Wildlands has long depended upon coins and gems for use in trading as money. It often is the case that hard goods are traded and bartered for survival, yet cool, hard, precious metals have always had value in the eyes of the clans. The merchant houses are responsible for creating currency and stabilizing its value in the Wildlands. For coins, they use the same process as dwarven smiths of old, and their coins are stable in value. Gemstones are more difficult to work, as an error destroys the substance. As such, these gems are smaller and lighter than the coins to which they are equivalent. The merchants currently make coins from three substances: silver, ivory, and gold. Silver coins are the cheapest and most common. The coinsmiths introduce impurities into the silver to reduce its value, a technique used by smiths of old to ensure the value of smaller coins stayed low. Pieces of ivory, taken from graveyards of magical beasts, are used in the larger coins. 10 silver coins can be traded for 1 ivory coin. Gold, a substance with a strong magical aura, is used for the most valuable coins. Each gold coin can be traded for 10 ivory coins. Actual coins of gold are very rare, and it is more often encountered in jewelry.

Wildlands Money Conversion
100 silver = 10 ivory = 1 gold = 1 ruby
50 silver = 5 ivory = 1 opal
Other gems are interchanged from time to time. Most often, they are worth about the same as an opal. Certain gems are more valuable than rubies. As such, these gems are more influenced by market variances.



All characters begin play with 4 ivory pieces, plus any additional money they earn for Profession skills. The cost of a starting character’s equipment typically comes from this money, and a starting character may purchase this equipment before entering the game for the first time. After entering the game, characters must craft their own equipment or purchase it from an in-game source, be it another player character or an NPC merchant visiting and trading in the area. The merchant houses typically pay and charge what the market will bear, so prices may fluctuate.