A Farming Issue

[Matafuego]

Hello everybody

My players bought some land and decided to build a small farm with the intention of gaining some agricultural and livestock and enough food to survive (we have very long downtimes in my campaigns) while having a nice place to rest and study.
They have 5 acres near a river in the middle of a desert (such as the Egyptians did with the Nile). They are planting cereals and some lettuce, again like the egyptians.

The problem is I don't know how to handle this situation.
For the livestock I can always read some books (since they are mostly real world animals) and learn what they have to be fed, how often they reproduce, etc. (the players should have this knowledge because of their skill ranks)
But I don't know how to handle the income from the harvest.
Any ideas?
Please I'm in the void about this situation.

PS: I like realism in my games, that's why I research the subjects to make it seem more "real", but any advice no matter how simple it may sound is welcomed.

I should also add that the players have access to the "Plant Growth" spell and that the year is 20 months long (600 days, some years one or two days more since it depends on some astrological/godly stuff)

The players have a family of commoners living with them to help them in their regular tasks also and they are in very good terms with the god of agriculture (his priests gave them this land)

Thanks a lot =)

 

[Silveras]

Best bet: Pick up a copy of A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe.

It covers the management, income, and expenses of small holdings (Manors), talking about how the land is used and what it generates, etc.

However, 5 acres is VERY small for a holding; 200 acres is more in line with a single manor.

 

[Hand of Evil]

2nd the point about A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe.

Chickens and goats would be the animals I would select.

 

[Wolffenjugend]

You could also check out the 2nd Edition Druid's Handbook which had rules on farming, IIRC.

 

[DanMcS]

Bah. What is this, Peasant: the Subsistance? If they have access to Plant Growth spells, some NPC dedicated workers, and water and soil, they automatically succeed at growing enough food to keep them hale and whole. Get on with the adventure!

Though, as noted, 5 acres probably isn't enough to feed that many people. Depending on farming techniques, it could take 3 to 5 acres to feed a person for a year, plus you also have to feed all the associated livestock.

I don't think the length of the year should matter, by the way, because there will be a correspondingly longer growing season to make up for the longer period of non-growing season.

 

[Matafuego]

Actually I got confused and they have 12 acres, I know it isn't a lot either but it's far more than I had previously thought.
Thank's for the replys

 

[Arnwyn]

Bah. What is this, Peasant: the Subsistance? If they have access to Plant Growth spells, some NPC dedicated workers, and water and soil, they automatically succeed at growing enough food to keep them hale and whole. Get on with the adventure!

Ah, because some players might expect actual income from their endeavors. And not just income... profits! And, at that point, saying "What is this, Peasant: the Subsistance?" doesn't really help the DM, now does it?

Like others said, your best bet in this situation is definitely get a copy of A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe. It's got the best info out there on that kind of thing.

 

[DanMcS]

Ah, because some players might expect actual income from their endeavors. And not just income... profits! And, at that point, saying "What is this, Peasant: the Subsistance?" doesn't really help the DM, now does it?

He said their goal was to grow enough food to survive. With the conditions he set, and subject to the limitation that 5 acres may not be enough, isn't it better to say, "yes, you can accomplish this goal, especially with liberal use of Plant Growth", than to worry about it? If they're doing it for food, tell them "yes".

Also, given that they are playing D&D, the income derived from selling off the excess left over from subsistence farming a couple of acres is going to be rather less than they probably get on any adventure they could conceivably go on, a drop in the bucket even, and adventures take days or weeks, as opposed to an entire growing season. If they are doing this for income, tell them "no".

It's not like it will be worth his time to calculate the exact yield a field can produce, given climate, crop rotation patterns, a big dose of fudging for magical effects, what the impact of a big lot of adventurers moving into the area will be on local grain prices, how much it costs to ship it all to market, etc, etc, etc, when their goal is to have something to say their characters did during the downtime of the campaign.

Besides, I thought "Peasant: the Subsistance" was kind of funny. So nyah.

 

[Kichwas]

In addition to Magical Medieval Society (which every gamer should own) I recommend Gary Gaygax's Living Fantasy and this website

 

[Matafuego]

Wow! That last website was good!
But being that english isn't my native language I don't understand what a "bu." is...
And maybe I should consider giving them more land (since there are 7 grown adults living off the land and trying to make some profit)