2 questions. 1) What actually IS rostygold? Like… moreso than anything else in FL I feel like nobody has ever addressed IG what these red hoops are. I’ve never seen them implied to have a practical barter purpose or specific source the way other goods do. Where do they come from and what are they? They’re practically treated like a second currency. which leads me to 2) are they just a second currency? Why does everyone want them instead of echos? The church and constables take donations in them, the docks apparently pay for drinks in them, you spread them around to hire hoodlooms (Which is called "spreading money" not "spreading rostygold") and all of those seem like things that should be done with echos and pence but are done with rosty instead. No other resource is as widely used on favour cards or just "I’m going to buy this thing" cards that I’ve seen. It really struck me when I got the Larking with Young Stags and they wanted 500 rostygold to commission a play so like… society and bohemians ALSO treat it as cash even though they have nothing to do with the kind of work that gets it? What the hell is up with rostygold?
You’re right on the money, it basically is a second currency, just one used by the common folk rather than an official currency distributed by the Bazaar. I’m pretty sure it’s just made of some gold alloy.
edited by Optimatum on 6/19/2018
Basically, Fallen London has a huge grey market with a lot of unofficial currencies, and red gold is one of the most popular. Spies and scholars use secrets; travellers trade in jade; anyone dealing with Rubberies will shift a lot of amber; but, for the common working folk, rostygold’s the go-to. Hell, it’s a semi-precious metal - it’s practically coinage already!
Well possibly it’s not an official currency so it can’t be traced. Society figures can be…interesting…so they may have…dealings…with those that would accept it as payment. It is traditionally used to pay those who kill something, spill blood, hunters, bodyguards, and all manner of jobs where violence is to be expected. I think we can think of who society figures would be hiring and when you hire hoodlums its only natural that those that will likely spill some blood be paid in Rostygold.
Considering where the docks are it is easy to obtain, most who live in Watchmakers Hill would be paid in it, comes with the territory. For lower classes it is easier to deal in due to how much of it is there due to the jobs available, plus criminals, which leads back to upper classes paying lower classes in it because that’s most of them are paid in anyway.
In that particular case it appears to be "for props and such", so it’s not like they’re paying bohemians with Rostygold to have them put on a play. It’s the Stags themselves that will be putting on the play, and the Rostygold would go to (presumably) lower classes who supply the physical objects needed to be bought or created for that play.
I suppose the question nobody in this thread has answered yet is where it came from. Like… there are a lot of psuedocurrencies in London for sure. But almost all the other ones have some clear source or faction affiliation. Jade is from the 4th city, glim is from the roof of the neath, nevercold brass is from hell, echos are from the bazaar, amber is from the rubbery men, surface currency is from the surface, candles are from(ish) the church, honey is from the magic neath bees… but rostygold just like… exists. The item description has “May not contain actual gold” in it which leads me to think it’s not a gold alloy but rather something with “gold” in the name that most common people aren’t sure of the exact composition of. And it’s not like it’s a pure under the table grey market thing because the Department of Menace Eradication (who I assume are a real government agency?) pays out in it.
Like… the thing I want to know is: 30 years ago there was no such thing as rostygold. Then London got pulled into the neath. Now rostygold seems to be the 2nd most common currency in London. Given these facts: what is the history and nature of rostygold? Who makes it? Out of what? Why? How did it come to be associated with murder/dirty deeds? I have at least a vague answer to these question for every other psueocurrency except rostygold.
Well for the association with Murder and other alike business; I think it may have to do with it’s untrackability, there is no unique ID stamped on them like on the Echo currency, it’s all just little rings. Thus one cannot know what you did for it, unless you tell it, you can just as well just have killed some rats or murdered someone in broad daylight.
But where it came from? I have not the slightest idea!
Nightmare Dogs can conjure Rostygold from nothing but Wounds and Dreams, which suggests Rostygold is literally blood, "transfigured" into metal. There’s certainly enough blood-shedding, although who’s doing all the transfiguring is a bit of a mystery, unless it just… happens on its own some times? Or perhaps there are quite a number of stray Dream Dogs that just want to be helpful.
I am also certain it is made of blood, though I am not sure how I came into this knowledge.
Blood money takes a whole new meaning with rostygold.
I adore the fact nightmare dogs can make it, thanks for bringing it to my attention, elderfleur!
Red things are always made of blood, or in blood, or that’s at least the case in red minds.
Red things are always made of blood, or in blood, or that’s at least the case in red minds.[/quote]
Except red honey, which is nothing like blood.
I have fond memories of having to rewrite a description of a vial of the stuff, when I stumbled across that bit of lore.
Hmm that gives me the ideia, how would be to taste someone’s memory via red honey, if said memory is… consuming red honey?
I may have came up with an answer to that…
from wikipedia: 18K red gold: 75% gold, 25% copper
Hell’s chief export is Nevercold Brass Sliver
Brass=copper+ zinc
Rostygold in Fallen London is London’s gold+ Hell’s whatever
Update: http://fallenlondon.wikia.com/wiki/Offer_him_Rostygold
Rostygold doesn’t have a density of around 19 grams per cc.
Its not AU gold or not gold at all. It is some sort of metal however.
edited by Yeaves Delacroix on 7/13/2018
I’d say it’s copper+blood magic.