D&D 5E (2014) 5E economics -The Peasants are revolting!

[Ancalagon]

This is an entirely valid way of thinking. Having said that, you draw conclusions and your conclusions are only as good as your choice of yardstick. It's kind of like basic logic. Your yardstick is the given. If the given is flawed then nothing after that matters in logic. Now we could accept your given and then we might challenge your logic but I'm not. If anything I'd challenge your given.

Thank you for the response. And I think arguing about what the yardstick should be is a totally valid line of inquiry. But I can tell you that, for me at least, using income as the yardstick has proven to be very useful for world building.

Hopefully my idea (use a yard stick, decide what it is) will help us discuss more productively... but I have little hope that my idea will be that influential

 

[Ancalagon]

A "concrete" example. In my first Yoon Suin campaign, the party was rewarded with a large jar of quicksilver? How much is that worth? A "lot"?

But using a yardstick and info from Pliny the Elder, I was able to find it was about 3X silver

 

[lynnfredricks]

My yardstick is cost of living/cost of an unskilled laborer working for 2 sp/day

Your economic yardstick - the laborer

I once read this story about a tailor who had a client who was in a great hurry. The tailor measured the man's thumb circumference, and tol...

slugsandsilver.blogspot.com

I think that works, with the spread of 1 sp = miserable and 2 sp = fair, and a trade off being that values don't change much.

Two big differentiators that I don't think are accounted for enough (related to your ox):

• Local, common, rural. These will be much lower cost. Any type of logistical trade is going to jack up prices.
• Skilled. If it requires skilled labor and the supply of that labor is limited, then the cost is going to be higher.

 

[Xeviat]

I think that works, with the spread of 1 sp = miserable and 2 sp = fair, and a trade off being that values don't change much.

Two big differentiators that I don't think are accounted for enough (related to your ox):

• Local, common, rural. These will be much lower cost. Any type of logistical trade is going to jack up prices.
• Skilled. If it requires skilled labor and the supply of that labor is limited, then the cost is going to be higher.

All this talk has me really wanting to put together a community repricing of at least the PHB items (gotta check how much, if any, change was done in A5E), just for this kind of simulationist daydreaming.

3E had its gold thresholds for communities; what if in communities village and smaller, basic items actually cost less (making it easy to start adventuring there), but advanced items aren't available (or when they are, it's through the traveling merchant and it is marked up). Towns and cities use the normal prices.

Food is cheaper when you're buying it straight from the farmer. Then again, a sword should be cheaper if you're buying it from the blacksmith instead of a merchant.

 

[lynnfredricks]

Food is cheaper when you're buying it straight from the farmer. Then again, a sword should be cheaper if you're buying it from the blacksmith instead of a merchant.

True, but likely the blacksmith isn't going to have a lot of inventory. The merchant might carry a lot of used swords too.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Back to the OP eons ago, I would like to see one small table in the DMG to reflect different economic realities. One kingdom life is easy and the next one over is suffering from crippling taxes or a blight or such.

So assuming the unskilled worker wage was adjusted to 3+sp/day so it wasn't life on the edge, you add the table below which can make 3sp/day life on the edge.

Economic Climate	Price multiplier
Vibrant	80%
Strong	90%
Typical	100%
Poor	120%
Harsh	150%

You adjust prices so it impacts the visiting PCs, if wages are the only things suppressed the players won't notice. I mean, they may not notice at higher levels anyway but it's something the characters could easily notice with a really low DC.

 

[Xeviat]

True, but likely the blacksmith isn't going to have a lot of inventory. The merchant might carry a lot of used swords too.

I meant like commissioning one. Then again, asking the blacksmith to make something custom when they probably have important things to make for the village could necessitate extra.

 

[lynnfredricks]

I meant like commissioning one. Then again, asking the blacksmith to make something custom when they probably have important things to make for the village could necessitate extra.

That's possible, but they also not be paying in gold, but in chickens or bushels of whatever.

 

[kigmatzomat]

That's possible, but they also not be paying in gold, but in chickens or bushels of whatever.

That's probably for horseshoes.

Swords probably require coin, given that they are a couple weeks' of wages for a skilled worker. That requires an investment from the smith, so half up front. Maybe if you supplied the iron and coal you could pay the rest off in chickens & grains.

 

[lynnfredricks]

That's probably for horseshoes.

Swords probably require coin, given that they are a couple weeks' of wages for a skilled worker. That requires an investment from the smith, so half up front. Maybe if you supplied the iron and coal you could pay the rest off in chickens & grains.

Not just horseshoes but likely any very common item that doesn't take up much time of the master smith (nails, etc), and then up to a point where the inventory of those goods remains useful. Even in the country-side, there's just so many nights you want to have chicken-and-rice for dinner ;-)