By popular demand, I'm uploading my current list of general items and services available in my "4.5E" revision of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Asides from the inclusion of equipment and large investments from later supplements, the one pervasive change I have made is re-scaling the value of silver and gold coins.
Traditionally, a silver coin or 'piece' is only work 10 copper pieces (cp), and a gold piece (gp) is 10 silver pieces (sp). This creates an environment where the players' characters regularly walk around with literal pounds of gold in their pockets, tipping innkeepers and informants with coins which would have ben a *generous* month's pay (at least in Roman times, though according to my amateur historical studies its value didn't waivered too much across the Iron Age).
For the sake of resembling history, I've recast silver as 'the new gold', thus silver is worth 100cp and gold is 100sp. All equipment prices reflect this change. I'm also more explicit about the term 'pieces' referring to an general measure of weight rather than a strict coin count; after all, one kingdom's silver ducat and another's silver florin might be drastically different in appearance, weight, and denomination (and likely some annoying fraction of a gold coin like 1/12 or 1/20), but half a pound of silver is half a pound of silver. For the simplicity of the game rules, 50 pieces of any currency is one pound.
How much is 1sp worth, in our frame of reference? A dollar? A hundred dollars? Value is difficult to compare between a largely medieval fantasy economy and the modern one. Given how little labor was valued yet so much labor was required for any finished goods, it creates some incongruities with our expectations. After all, if an apprentice blacksmith makes 2sp a day, but he works all day to forge 100 nails by hand and sell them for that same amount, is one silver piece more comparable to a day's wages or a small bag of nails?
My rule of thumb is copper coins are for trivial expenses like sundry items; a handful can cover a small meal, a tip, or incidental tools that barely need to be tracked beyond their use in skill challenges. Silver is more in the range of dedicated services and tools; a couple silver makes for a modest day's wage and 10-20sp can buy you a weapon that may take all week to craft. Gold is reserved for storing large sums of wealth, measuring an entire month's wages, a house or a boat. An adventuring party will probably only obtain 10gp by the time they hit level 2.
I wanted to include large investments like buildings and ships not only for context but to give players long terms goals pillaging and plundering for its own sake, which is a bit of a throwback to earlier editions. Characters will eventually need to retire and presumably need to own something that generates its own income or at least provides what is needed to live self-sufficiently. Plus, my players like to steal big and I need a frame of reference to track how much treasure they're obtaining.
A more detailed write-up of individual items is on hold, as most are simply carry-overs from the standard 4th Edition versions, including the ones that were oddly left without any description or in-game function.
