Every run starts at the Captain's ledger aboard the Tempestad, and every run pays in two currencies that behave very differently. Get the difference wrong and you either hoard gear you can't keep or leave real value on the jungle floor. The contract page has the full tables; this is how to think about them.
Coins vs tokens
Coins come from selling treasure to the appraiser and buy your permanent shop kit — weapons, armor, tools. Tokens are a contract reward that buys special gear which expires after one expedition. So the rule writes itself: bank coins, but spend tokens the same run you earn them, because tomorrow they're worthless.
The treasure tier table
The appraiser pays by tier, and knowing the numbers stops you filling a slot with a 100c trinket when a 700c idol is ten feet away:
- Tier 5 (orange): Metal Idol Skull / Totem — 700c each, the top of the food chain.
- Tier 4 (purple): 450c. Tier 3 (blue): 300c. Tier 2 (green): 180c. Tier 1 (white): 100c.
- Oddities: a Coin Pile is 450c, a Bottle of Wine 300c, Huemul meat 100c — the deer is walking income if you can drop it quietly.
Greed is the point (and the trap)
Overfilling a contract's quota by 20% and 50% each earns an achievement, so the game actively rewards one more idol. But every extra minute in the jungle feeds the awakening timer, and the moment you pick up a moved treasure the Hound of Tindalosstarts hunting the carrier. The discipline is knowing your number before you go in: hit quota, grab the greed bonus if it's safe, and walk before the forest wakes. Loot converts to XP at extraction too, feeding the thirty explorer ranks that gate the better shop weapons.
The wagon is your bank vault
The ox-wagon's crates hold treasure so your six slots stay free for more of it, and finding an abandoned fort mid-run expands the map and gives your next expeditions a foothold deeper in — where the higher tiers live.
Money questions
What sells for the most in The Mound?
Tier 5 metal idols (Skull, Totem) at 700c each, then Tier 4 idols at 450c. Among oddities, a Coin Pile is 450c and a Bottle of Wine 300c.
What are tokens for in The Mound?
Tokens are a contract reward spent on special gear aboard the Tempestad. That gear expires after one expedition, so spend tokens the same run you earn them.
How do you level up in The Mound?
Loot converts to XP when you extract, feeding thirty explorer ranks. Higher ranks unlock better shop weapons; the milestone ranks 10, 20 and 30 are achievements.