Currency Conversion between 1e OA and 3e,

   or, "I need a Life"

Since 1e and 2e gp don't convert directly to 3e gp, translating 1e Oriental Adventures (Gygax) currency units to 3e isn't exact or easy.

Basically, it means the currency exchange chart in the 1e OA book cannot be used to translate between occidental gp and oriental tael.

The easy fix is to just keep everything in gp, but then coins with holes in them and paper money lends to the atmosphere...

So here's what I did. A common economist's approach for comparing the price of a cab ride in China to noodles in New York is to make a "commodity basket" -- pooling the prices if various staple items and basic services and then comparing the total between two different countries.  Sure, the exchange rates help, but apples in Japan really do cost about $3 US, even though one dollar is about 125 yen as I write this.

So, I did the same with 1e basic items like lodging, meals, etc. listed in OA and compared that "basket" to a basket with the same items in the 3e PHB.  The basic conversion comes out to this:

    6 tael = 1 gp

In case you're wondering, I had to throw out arms and armor and other really expensive items because it made the conversion wacky.

PS.  If you see a spare life lying about, please send it in.