PmWiki | Tripocalypse / Stuff

"I'll grab my stuff!"
"There is no time. Your sword is enough."

We're not going to try to design an economy for this setting, so this article is mostly OOC.

Equipment in the post-Event world is generally bought in Ñicks, although barter is very common. The Ñick became a common name for the one-world currency unit that came into effect when Nicolae Carpathia and the Global Community caused the world to go to a single form of currency, originally called the eurodollar. It was obviously named after Nicolae Carpathia himself. Though it was to be replaced by the cashless "mark of loyalty" system, Ñicks were still being used up until the end of the Tribulation.

Ñicks are currently printed by each of the commonwealths, and by conventions feature the same size, general color and value printed in large friendly numbers, although the decorations and personages represented are different. Due to low printing ability and the prevalence of barter, massive deflation happened. Endless arguments about what to call each commonwealth's currency allowed the Ñick moniker to stand, although people will understand if you say "buck" or "quid" while not explicitly discussing pre-Event currency. Referencing the massive deflation ironically, the HAMMER slang name for a Ñick is "Polushka".

Ñicks are divided in mils (thousandths), which are small coupons that can also be used as postage stamps -- different commonwealths issue different denominations, but 5 to 500 mils is common. Coins in various denominations also exist, but are uncommon due to the fact that purified metal is best used elsewhere; pre-Event coins are traded for their raw metal value.

For simplicity, take your country's everyday-use small bill (dollar/euro/pound/1000 yen...), multiply it by ten, and call that the value of a Ñick for things that aren't covered here (so for example, a medium quality meal at a Chinese restaurant for two might cost three Ñicks, and you can expect to leave 750 mils in tip).

With very few exceptions there is no such thing as brand names, although they are beginning to resurface in PATRIOT and SABRE territories; given how easy it is to be nomadic in the post-Apocalypse, word of mouth works really well as advertising.

In general, basic consumables cost about twice as much as they do for us today, while durable goods (toasters, clothing, books) are more expensive but last much longer, due to the basic lack of mass production; also because of this, there is little disposable anything (part of why ammunition is very expensive and spray-n-pray would not be a good strategy if prayer was still a thing). If you are familiar with the immediate post-WW2 period, use it as a guide for what is available, with a few exceptions like personal terminals and solar panels. For example, you cannot buy 2Ñ shoes - but your 10Ñ shoes will last at least three or four years, more if they're kept in repair. It is socially acceptable for a middle class household to go to school or to work with clothes that have a few tasteful patches, although they wouldn't wear them to a business meeting or even to go vote.

Clever use of the properties of yellow zones allow for cheaply creating material with high tech characteristics, such as self-healing rubber or extremely durable fabric, but mass production is generally impossible.