CHARACTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT WITH TRADE BARS OR GUILD WRITS

Some of the ways a DM can assist with long range wealth transportation is by Trade Guild Writs or Trade Bars. These are usually backed by pretty strict laws against fraud and forgery by both the guilds or players alike. As long as you're in the same kingdom under the same laws, there shouldn't be a problem unless you're trying to pass off a forgery (which requires more information than just scribbling some words on some paper). These will generally be of no use in small villages or in the wilderness, but any trade-hub town or city should have guild offices.

Guild Writs
Guild Writs are a service offered to Guild Artisans/Merchants in good standing. This is a simple voucher for a certain amount of value credit, which can be exchanged for gold within another Guilds' means, but largely for goods & services. All these records are maintained in guild ledgers.

Trade Bars
A 'Trade Bar" is a serial-marked bar of brass or a wood token (weighing no more than 1 lb.) that can be exchanged for a value of 100, 500, 1000, 5000, or 10000 gold. Players can exchange trade bars for gold once the local Adventurer's guild has received an updated ledger marking its serial number as having been issued, usually taking no longer than 30 days. These can be an alternative to the 'sack of gems' style of wealth compression, since truly valuable gems are both rare and in high demand by people of means. This is generally a safe means of transport, as the bars can have a variety of simple security features to ferret out all but the most elaborate forgeries. These are more 'liquid' than writs, assuming a merchant is willing to accept it, and they usually will prefer a simple bar of fixed value over a pile of gems of suspect value.

Innkeepers often have a strongbox that can be rented for a small fee of a few silver and can look after small amounts of wealth or small items during your stay. It's generally considered safe, as long as you're not a wealthy-looking individual paying for a room in a low-rent area to cheap out on expenses. The better the accommodations, the more secure you can safely assume it would be.



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