This is from the Goods and Barter section:
[ +- ] Various Sections
Units of Worth
In standard d20 games, items have costs in gold pieces (gp). Characters are assumed to acquire and consume gold at specific rates, usually in the form of weapons taken from their foes, as well as coins, gems, objects of art, or even magical items, all of which can be resold. In MIDNIGHT, only the first and last from this list are of any value, and possessing either can have a character branded as a criminal. MIDNIGHT therefore uses a different standard when calculating the worth of items: value points (vp). Since the cultures of MIDNIGHT largely exist on a subsistence basis and food is the first thing necessary for survival, a week’s worth of rations makes an appropriate standard of easurement: 1 vp is equivalent to a week’s worth of poor-to-common food for one person, which makes its baseline value equivalent to about a gold piece. The way that value points and gold pieces differ, however, is that value points are subject to a multiplier determined by regional worth.
Types of Goods
All goods in MIDNIGHT are separated into one of five categories, each of which may have a different worth in any given region:
Baubles: These include coins, gems, jewelry, and other objects of art that have no practical use and therefore little worth.
Food: This category includes fresh water, fodder for animals, and anything that will keep a family fed; meat is usually traded "on the hoof" so it doesn’t have to be carried or kept fresh.
Raw Materials: Ore, wood, hemp, wool, hides, furs, and anything else that must be processed before it becomes a finished good or is an essential ingredient to some finished product. Beasts of burden are considered raw materials as well. Unskilled labor generally has the same multiplier as raw materials in any given region.
Finished Goods: Metal tools, barrels, spun cloth, simple watercraft or carts, rope, leatherwork, or anything else the production of which is either skill-intensive, labor-intensive, or requires specialized equipment. It is assumed that anyone raised in the Last Age has learned simple sewing, carving, construction, and food preparation skills simply in order to survive, so the results of such activities are not considered finished goods. This category also includes padded, leather, and hide armor, as well as all simple weapons other than crossbows, maces, and morningstars. Skilled labor generally has the same worth as finished goods in any given region.
Contraband: This is a catchall category that includes anything banned by the Shadow, most noticeably weapons, armor, charms, and books or scrolls. Contraband also includes any items used by orcs, legates, and collaborators, but illegal for citizens to possess, like trained war mounts or watercraft that carry more than a handful of passengers. This category nominally includes magic items as well, although anything
but a one-use item or an item low on charges would be nearly priceless. On the other hand, since the dark god’s servants seem to be able to find magic items at their whim, possessing such an item can end up having a heavy price, indeed.
Example Trades
The following examples should give both DMs and players alike an idea of the nature of trade in Eredane’s local barter economies:
• A human farmer trades a bag of cut diamonds he was given by a beggar who only wanted a place to sleep for the night to a halfling nomad for a bag of tobacco. The halfling’s children use the diamonds as sling stones with which to hunt rabbits.
This is from the GM section:
[ +- ] Limitations and Alternative Treasure
Limitations
As discussed in Chapter Six, bartering is a way of life throughout Eredane and coinage and gems alike are almost worthless. This means that characters are unlikely to find anything that can be considered portable wealth. The most compact valuable items are likely to be weapons, which are illegal throughout much of Eredane, and food, which is so eagerly sought by everyone and everything around the characters that they will have a hard time hanging onto it. Even when they do find small and light objects that are extremely valuable, like magic items, they will often be so valuable to their cause to be almost priceless, and therefore useless for trade. Because of this limitation, unless they are willing and able to invest in the organization and maintenance of a constant home base, most PCs in MIDNIGHT will never acquire vast sums of wealth.
Alternative Treasure
Since gold and gems have no objective value in MIDNIGHT, there is no strict guideline to offering them and similar non-magical treasure to the characters. Worked items such as jewelry will have a higher value than rough gems or minted coins, since they have value outside their material composition. When giving out such treasures, try to keep in mind the perceived value of such items rather than actual worth, because in a barter economy the perception of value is a much stronger force than a manufactured economic one. Consider an isolated tribe of halflings, then ask which they would find most useful—a lump of steel, a promissory note for 20 gp, or an axe. This is the basic idea behind assigning value to found goods in MIDNIGHT.
So, in short, no. You have to rethink how you think about wealth. These are people struggling to survive.
Consider: I am starving and I can not procure food and you come to me offering me money for my water. I, knowing I could not buy food with that money, would turn you down because clean water is also hard to come by. Now, if you offered me a sandwich, we might have a conversion.
There are regional acceptions I.e., area's of the world where Izrador is still fighting for control. But in the occupied lands, items we typically consider valuable have little worth.
