D&D 5E 5E economics -The Peasants are revolting!

[lynnfredricks]

It is a problem exacerbated by being on a 'gold standard.' Most non-business transactions should be in CP (or barter).

It seems to me that rarity never quite worked in non-magic situations in D&D. It seems to me that there needs to be a step lower than 'common goods' and prices are set lower, with some variation depending on factors like famine, and what is very common in rural areas.

I do like the idea of rules of supporting a certain lifestyle so that we don't have to micromanage how many beers and pickled eggs adventurers are consuming - unless being near penniless is part of the campaign. I am currently in such a campaign and, the lack of D&D average gold really impacts what spells you can cast.

 

[Laurefindel]

Squalid:1 sp per day "you live in a desperate and often violent environment, in places rife with disease, hunger, and misfortune. You are beneath the notice of most people, and you have few legal protections.

That aligns with the job description of an adventurer’s hireling rather well actually. Well done WotC!

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Most "peasants" aren't going to earn coin or pay for their living expenses with money, they'll primarily eat what they farm and live in the cottage they inherited from their father, who in turn got it from his father. They'll make do as long as they aren't taxed too hard and monsters are kept at bay.

Now, the unskilled urban proletarians are SOL, but in an agrarian economy they aren't numerous enough to matter politically, no matter how revolting they are.

 

[Steampunkette]

So... Unskilled laborers earn 2 silver, but they also -spend- 2 silver every day. That's not weird. That's actually -really- good.

Lifestyle expenses is everything. That's food, shelter, clothing, transportation, everything. Imagine working at McDonald's (largely considered unskilled labor which is laughable) and being able to afford everything up there. Sure you might live in a terrible neighborhood, but that? That's better than what we have -now-, in most countries in the world. Okay it's not -nice- food, but it's good enough to get by.

Give it a couple months or a year and they'll be earning 3sp a day as they become more skilled. Then 4. Then 7. Then 1 gold piece per day. And they can either live in a poor household eking out a better existence than most people in the service industry while saving -most- of their paycheck...

Or upgrade to a modest lifestyle. This is where "Laborers" exist without going hungry. What's the difference between "Unskilled" and "Laborer"? No idea, honestly... Probably a few years on a given job with raises as you get more skilled, I guess? Maybe at this point you've got a proficiency bonus. 0th level commoner to 1st level commoner?

Might be easier to look at the lifestyle expenses as:

1) Homeless
2) Extreme Poverty
3) Working Poor
4) Lower Middle
5) Middle Class

With everything past that being extravagant lifestyles.

 

[Tonguez]

the poor unwashed masses are revolting, thats historically accurate especially as they didnt like bathing or swimming. Even in modern times lots of people still have to contend with daily violence, crime, and disease and depend on welfare for their sufficiency. thats why lots of people are working 2 jobs, eating one meal a day and living in ghettos.

peasant revolts are great plot fodder especially for PC landlords. Its the reason why lords host festivals (bread and circuses) and why the Manor was often charged more for food than the regular market price. Keeping peasants suffiently distractedhappy is what good Lords and Ladys do.

 

[Quickleaf]

Wealth will trickle down to them as adventurers, replete with plundered gold, spend their money back in town.

This sort of thing works in a fantasy world.

Perfect phrasing, iserith, perfect.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Halflings and gnomes can live more years, and this means a better experience for skilled works.

With the money for X-magic item a family can eat for months.. or a magic weapon could be more expensive than building a castle.

Maybe the divine magic could help the community for a better life level.

 

[Vaalingrade]

The clear solution is for every peasant to dial up their local devil and ask for an eldritch blast to solve all their problems.

 

[Dausuul]

This looks to me like a deliberate choice. Unskilled laborers in a "standard" setting do indeed live hand to mouth, in squalid conditions, with little in the way of savings or a cushion for hard times.

That said, a typical peasant (90% of the population, unless magic is used to drastically boost their productivity above their real-world counterparts) is neither kind of laborer. They live on food they themselves grow, in houses they and their neighbors build and maintain. They pay their taxes in kind. They do use money, but only for the limited number of things they can't produce on their own.

Which isn't to say their lives are any cushier than the unskilled laborer's. It's just that their suffering tends to be due to heavy taxation and occasional catastrophes (plague, famine, and war) rather than crappy pay and crime.