Daily Income

[Motorskills]

The PHB has guidance on typical daily expenditure for each lifestyle level (I'm ignoring Wretched, Squalid, and Aristocratic):

Poor 2 sp
Modest 1 gp
Comfortable 2 gp
Wealthy 4 gp


AFAIK, these numbers cover everything from food, mortgage, taxes, plus the occasional exceptional expenses averaged out over time.


For the most part, adventurers don't get paid salaries, rather they are mercenaries that get paid bounties (100gp to rescue the Princess), plus access to some or all loot encountered in the process of completing the mission (I get the Evil Book of Evilness, you keep everything else).


But for the purposes of some sorta-downtime stuff the PCs in my campaign are doing, I need to identify salaries, at least for the first few character levels.

So I'm trying to figure what would be the typical daily income to offset those levels of lifestyle expenditure, when there isn't a specific mission to be performed?

I was thinking the above +50%, and pitched the lifestyle at the key "pain points" in early character level development:

When hired as "Poor" first-level mercenaries, they would be paid 3sp per day.
When hired as "Modest" third-level mercenaries, they would be paid 1.5gp per day
When hired as "Comfortable" fifth-level mercenaries, they would be paid 3gp per day
When hired as "Wealthy" eighth-level mercenaries, they would be paid 6gp per day


Now there's an argument that if they are on exclusive retainer, i.e. sitting around munching Dorito's, waiting for the employer's call, they should be paid less than that - maybe half or maybe all the lifestyle rate? (Adventure rates would then apply for the actual mission).

Thoughts?

 

[iserith]

See the Work downtime activity in Xanathar's Guide to Everything or the Practicing a Profession downtime activity in the Player's Handbook.

 

[Motorskills]

Yep, while interesting, Xanathar's doesn't quite cover what I am looking for though.

In simpler terms, what might a Wealthy merchant's (personal) daily income be expected to be? Or Baron von Greenback has two fifth level fighters in his permanent employ, how much do their salaries cost him per day?


As an aside, the PHB also includes the following expenditure rates:
Hireling
Skilled 2 gp per day
Untrained 2 sp per day

This reflects employment of an NPC to access a highly-specialised skill (e.g Lore or Gemcrafting), rather than the general thuggery associated with adventurers. On the other hand some accounting for danger money probably needs to be included as well.

 

[Satyrn]

Yep, while interesting, Xanathar's doesn't quite cover what I am looking for though.
In simpler terms, what might a Wealthy merchant's (personal) daily income be expected to be? Or Baron von Greenback has two fifth level fighters in his permanent employ, how much do their salaries cost him per day?

I start by deciding what lifestyle those soldiers have. Then I decide how often they have to work. If the work the standard work week (or more) I double the cost of a daily modest lifestyle and say that's their salary. The doubling is meant to account for savings, dependents, etc. although I doubt it comes close to accurately reflecting anything. But it's close enough to being fine for a game so it works great for me.

I'd set the Baron as paying those two fighters 2 x Modest, although if he was being generous that'd be 2 x comfortable.

Now, if the character in question is making his living in a leisurely way, like how Sherlock Holmes takes just the cases he wants, I calculate his daily fee by multiplying his lifestyle by 5 or 10 or even higher if the character in question is the absolute top of his field.

So Sherlock Holmes, living a comfortable lifestyle, might only take a case for 40 gp/day (20 x Comfortable)