John Morrow
First Post
fusangite said:
Fair enough. I was simply trying to expand on your point, not criticize it.
D&D Economics
- Thread starter Viktyr Gehrig
- Start date
Fair enough. I was simply trying to expand on your point, not criticize it.
I make a few other assumptions, eg:
The economics of my campaign world resembles the Roman Empire far more than medieval Europe. So coins aren't uncommon.
Coins weigh 1/100 of a pound, except Gold Crowns which are big coins worth a platinum piece, weigh 1/10 pound.
Gold is far more common than IRL, about 4 times as common/less valuable. Silver & copper too; so there's a gold standar rather than silver standard. So a typical soldier IMC, equivalent to a Roman legionary, earns ca 12gp as a monthly wage, most of which gets deducted in expenses (food, housing, equipment). A labourer on a monthly wage gets 6gp or 2sp/day, but for irregular day work he'll want ca 5sp/day. High level or elite jobs like the King's Steward can earn hundreds of gp a month, most of which goes on high living/maintaining social status.
The economics of my campaign world resembles the Roman Empire far more than medieval Europe. So coins aren't uncommon.
Coins weigh 1/100 of a pound, except Gold Crowns which are big coins worth a platinum piece, weigh 1/10 pound.
Gold is far more common than IRL, about 4 times as common/less valuable. Silver & copper too; so there's a gold standar rather than silver standard. So a typical soldier IMC, equivalent to a Roman legionary, earns ca 12gp as a monthly wage, most of which gets deducted in expenses (food, housing, equipment). A labourer on a monthly wage gets 6gp or 2sp/day, but for irregular day work he'll want ca 5sp/day. High level or elite jobs like the King's Steward can earn hundreds of gp a month, most of which goes on high living/maintaining social status.
VirgilCaine
First Post
Ace said:
How about it wasn't hand waved, it was all talked out? Determined? Over pages and pages of debate? That the spells in the PHB are focused on individuals and that there simply aren't enough spellcasters, even with wands to keep keep disease down.
Odysseus
Explorer
I wouldn't try making econmics work , just show the players some of the effects.
A few things i've done in the past are
In towns where there are lots of succesful adventurers , treat it like a gold rush town. All the prices have gone up, because of the amount of money Adventurers are bringing into the town.
Introduced banks and paper money. The notes were called grain notes, one note was worth a ton of grain, or 10 gp.
Vary prices on availablity.
A few things i've done in the past are
In towns where there are lots of succesful adventurers , treat it like a gold rush town. All the prices have gone up, because of the amount of money Adventurers are bringing into the town.
Introduced banks and paper money. The notes were called grain notes, one note was worth a ton of grain, or 10 gp.
Vary prices on availablity.
John Morrow
First Post
fusangite said:
No problem. I'm not sure if I'd want to play in one of your games for style reasons but I'd sure like to see how the things you advocate work in practice. They sound really interesting.
Wilphe
Adventurer
Define obvious in this case.
It is printed in the DMG after all - whether stuff costs what it costs in the DMG is a setting decision.
Jewellry has been treated as cash equivalent when used as hacksilver and based on weight.
Magic items aren't equivalent to art unless either:
a) They are unique (which is one reason why artefcats have no prices)
or
b) They have an inherent value based on who made them and craftmanship; rather than just as a store of magic.
It is printed in the DMG after all - whether stuff costs what it costs in the DMG is a setting decision.
Jewellry has been treated as cash equivalent when used as hacksilver and based on weight.
Magic items aren't equivalent to art unless either:
a) They are unique (which is one reason why artefcats have no prices)
or
b) They have an inherent value based on who made them and craftmanship; rather than just as a store of magic.
Victim
First Post
The amount of "life force" (aka, XP) that an item requires to construct might be one determinant of a fixed magic item value.
If you back a moderate reserve of curing magic with an aggressive divination campaign to detect incoming plagues, you might be able to nip most major epidemics in the bud.
If you back a moderate reserve of curing magic with an aggressive divination campaign to detect incoming plagues, you might be able to nip most major epidemics in the bud.
ThoughtBubble
First Post
Well, assuming I run another game with more standard item practices in it (I'm very ham fisted in the one I'm currently DMing), I have this plan. First, there's not all that much cash around. I mean, sure there's cash, but not the situation were each member of the party is hauling around 10 pounds of coinage with mighty jingle jangling. There'd be a lot of copper, some silver, a little gold. I'd consider the wealth guidelines as a sort of invisible score. See, the large quantity of money that a magic item costs isn't really what it's about, the cost associated with the item represents instead the sort of influence it can pull in.
It'd work via interactinons with the rich and powerful. Say our fighter has his trusty longsword, bitey (+1 keen). Now, after their crawl into a deep dark dungeon, he gets a new sword, burney (+2, flaming burst). So, he presents the sword to his liege saying, "Bitey has served me well, protecting my life with its fierce edge. I present it to you in the hopes you may find him a worthy successor." Behind the scene, the fighter's score just goes up by bitey's sale price. Now the king is really impressed by this, which is the third gift he's recieved. So, he gets up and says "This shield was carried by my father's champion into battle. Carry it with honor." And the item's cost is deducted from his score. Now, later on fighter really wants some boots of springing and striding, so he talks to the king, who is, after all, really impressed with fighter's work. The king puts in a good word in with the wizard on forgotten keep, and the player's score (or at least a part of it) is transferred to be used as invisible spending cash at the wizard's 'store'.
Now, let's say fighter's used up all of his score, but after a recent dungeon raid, has a few items that are unclaimed by the party. He gives one or two as gifts to the king as he makes his audience, and asks "Magesty, I was hoping that you could help me. My family has been displaced, and I need your favor to find them a new home." The king is so impressed that he sets them up with as good of a household as those items' worth tranferred into gold can buy.
The downside of all of this assumes that there are some large, powerful entities (guilds, kings, churches, Wizrds, planar creatures) that the party is willing to work with, accept gifts, and can give stuff back.
On the other hand, it gives me a good way to have a favor 'meter', and even better, I can still have ridiculously well equipped adventurers who can't afford a roof over their heads and are living on favors, and for whom an easy guard job that offers gold is still enticing.
It'd work via interactinons with the rich and powerful. Say our fighter has his trusty longsword, bitey (+1 keen). Now, after their crawl into a deep dark dungeon, he gets a new sword, burney (+2, flaming burst). So, he presents the sword to his liege saying, "Bitey has served me well, protecting my life with its fierce edge. I present it to you in the hopes you may find him a worthy successor." Behind the scene, the fighter's score just goes up by bitey's sale price. Now the king is really impressed by this, which is the third gift he's recieved. So, he gets up and says "This shield was carried by my father's champion into battle. Carry it with honor." And the item's cost is deducted from his score. Now, later on fighter really wants some boots of springing and striding, so he talks to the king, who is, after all, really impressed with fighter's work. The king puts in a good word in with the wizard on forgotten keep, and the player's score (or at least a part of it) is transferred to be used as invisible spending cash at the wizard's 'store'.
Now, let's say fighter's used up all of his score, but after a recent dungeon raid, has a few items that are unclaimed by the party. He gives one or two as gifts to the king as he makes his audience, and asks "Magesty, I was hoping that you could help me. My family has been displaced, and I need your favor to find them a new home." The king is so impressed that he sets them up with as good of a household as those items' worth tranferred into gold can buy.
The downside of all of this assumes that there are some large, powerful entities (guilds, kings, churches, Wizrds, planar creatures) that the party is willing to work with, accept gifts, and can give stuff back.
On the other hand, it gives me a good way to have a favor 'meter', and even better, I can still have ridiculously well equipped adventurers who can't afford a roof over their heads and are living on favors, and for whom an easy guard job that offers gold is still enticing.
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