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In the real world, if there were wands that could cure diseases instantly, or if there were rings that could make you invisible, they would be the "gold standard" of the economy. Magic, rather than precious metals, would be at the heart of the stock market.

Dungeons and Dragons does not have any of those tings. In Dungeons and Dragons, magic items are a regular commodity, as available as leather or wine.

There is another factor to think about in terms of Dungeons and Dragons and economics. Just how much gold is there buried in all of those lost dungeons? And how much has been found? Wouldn't the single dragon's horde, discovered outside of a small town or village, completely decimate that town's economy with the influx of all of that cash? Gold in the cities surrounding Myth Drannor would be so devalued as to be almost worthless, considering the thousands of lairs that have been raided.

These aren't unique questions to Dungeons and Dragons, either. The MMORPGs have the same problem, arguably on a much larger scale, with millions of players all clammoring for quest items, gold, and whatnot.

Having said all of that, there is still one question: does it even matter?

I say yes. We strive, as DMs, to provide players with a "realistic" fantasy world: a world that resembles our own in most ways, but has these supernatural, monstrous, and heroic elements. Those are what makes Dungeons and Dragons a fantasy role-playing game. Suspended disbelief.

But, economics? Having a completely unrealistic economic system doesn't add to the fantasy element any more than having completely unrealistic geographic features adds to it (deserts and tundra can't co-exist).

What's the answer, then? I was a philosophy major in college, not an economics major. But, I do think that there may be something on the horizon that helps: in Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons, it seems that there may be fewer magic items. That may be a step in the right direction.

That might even make a decent product for a 3rd-party game designer: "Economics of the Fantasy World."

Learn more about this author, John W. Paulus.
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