Prices in Erfworld: How much is a Shmucker worth?

[Aquillion]

In another thread, there was some discussion over how much Stanley's half a million treasury is actually worth. So I thought it might be good to collect all the various references for prices in one place, and see if we can get a general sense of what currency is worth from that. We can add more as they come up in the comic.

First, of course, Stanley's treasury had 500,000 shmuckers, the exact amount the Parson-summoning spell cost with casting and support plan. Without support plan it's 350,000, so the plan itself is 150,000... this 350,000-shmucker cost is noted by several people to be extremely high.

Parson's upkeep is over a thousand shmuckers a turn. This is apparently high enough to annoy Stanley.

Charlie's Thinkagram fees are 2500 for two-way, or 1700 for one-way. These is apparently very high, too. (1700 was also apparently almost Jillian's entire purse.)

Have I missed any others?

[Occasional Sage]

As far as I know, those are the only references to actual prices in shmuckers.

There is, though, another unit of currency, the Rand. Whether it's a fraction of a shmucker or a different system altogether is unclear.

If I had to guess I'd call it an alternate scale. Training for a caster would be rather expensive; typically the cost is an exponential progression, so eight of whatever the unit is makes fair sense for the basics. More, anyway, than quoting the price in pocket change.

[dr pepper]

It would also help if we knew what the income levels and sources are. I'm guessing that cities pop money based on their resources, perhaps modified by die rolls. Jillian says that Faq used mercenary services to supplement their funds, not as the only source. Perhaps a bubble kingdom lacks even the income to support a minmal population.

Likewise, maybe the decline of Goblin Knob is not only due to Stanley's obsessions but also because Saline's empire building had exhausted the mines.

[Aquillion]

There is, though, another unit of currency, the Rand. Whether it's a fraction of a shmucker or a different system altogether is unclear.

If I had to guess I'd call it an alternate scale. Training for a caster would be rather expensive; typically the cost is an exponential progression, so eight of whatever the unit is makes fair sense for the basics. More, anyway, than quoting the price in pocket change.

Another possibility is that the Rand is a totally different currency used by individual units (whereas Shmuckers seem to be used by entire sides -- we've only seen faction leaders and people in command of a faction in one way or another dealing with them.)

[Finn Solomon]

Isn't the Rand the currency of South Africa or Rhodesia or something?

[Occasional Sage]

Another possibility is that the Rand is a totally different currency used by individual units (whereas Shmuckers seem to be used by entire sides -- we've only seen faction leaders and people in command of a faction in one way or another dealing with them.)

That's what I meant by "a different system."

And Finn: yes, it's South Africa's unit of currency.

[teratorn]

Isn't the Rand the currency of South Africa or Rhodesia or something?

Wow, you must be pretty old. When I was much younger there was a country with that name. The country's name has been Zimbabwe for more than 28 years now.

What we know is that Jillian works cheap. What she got from her squad of gwiffons, after all this time fighting for Jetstone, is barely enough to pay for a thinkagram.

[Occasional Sage]

Wow, you must be pretty old. When I was much younger there was a country with that name. The country's name has been Zimbabwe for more than 28 years now.

What we know is that Jillian works cheap. What she got from her squad of gwiffons, after all this time fighting for Jetstone, is barely enough to pay for a thinkagram.

Either JZ works cheap, or Charlie charges the Erf. I'd give even odds.

[Aquillion]

It's also possible that when she talked about her 'purse', she just meant the money she set aside for her own personal use, separate from the actual funds she has her 'barbarian' side reserve for things like popping new units, paying upkeep, or whatever else barbarians have to spend money on.

(Another possibility: Stanley couldn't take Gobwin Knob's treasury with him. So it could be that you just can't carry very much cash around, and as a Barbarian, Jillian is constrained by that limit -- almost all the money she earns has to immediately go into recruiting new units, paying upkeep, etc or she loses it anyway.)

[teratorn]

It's also possible that when she talked about her 'purse', she just meant the money she set aside for her own personal use, separate from the actual funds she has her 'barbarian' side reserve for things like popping new units, paying upkeep, or whatever else barbarians have to spend money on.

I wonder if gwiffons pop in cities and how does Jillian replenish her stock. She lost a few already. I guess the gwiffon riders from Faq who used to fly with Jillian where disbanded when Faq fell, but since the gwiffons weren't, it's possible they are just regular Erf creatures that were tamed in Faq, a bit like Stanley's dwagons.