Rampant Inflation Settlement

A settlement suffering rampant inflation has lost confidence in ordinary prices. Coin still changes hands, but merchants constantly adjust what they will accept as shortages, speculation, new wealth or political disorder push prices upward.

At a Glance

• Common causes: mining booms, dungeon wealth, wartime shortages, revolution or unstable government.
• Street effect: yesterday’s fair price may be useless today.
• Social pressure: hoarding, profiteering, theft and bribery become more tempting.

Legacy Settlement Rules

Under the legacy settlement-quality rules, Rampant Inflation decreases Economy by 4 and increases Corruption by 2 and Crime by 4.

The original rule also requires a 1d6 roll before purchases to determine how badly the unstable market has distorted the price. Use the purchase table from the source in the rules set being played.

Using It in Play

Inflation makes ordinary shopping unpredictable. Innkeepers demand advance payment, merchants prefer goods to coins, caravan masters delay sales and officials may exploit the confusion. Adventurers carrying treasure can accidentally make the problem worse by flooding a small market with sudden wealth.

This quality is particularly useful for boom towns, besieged cities and settlements living off a newly opened ruin, mine or magical resource.

Sources & Licensing

Section 15: Copyright Notice — Cityscapes: New Settlement Options for the Pathfinder RPG. Cityscapes: New Settlement Options for the Pathfinder RPG © 2012, Otherverse Games; Author: Chris A. Field.