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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mynex" data-source="post: 1872459" data-attributes="member: 2136">There's another factor in here you're missing.  Some trades (whether craft or profession) require advanced learning.  Hence the term 'learned trades'.  any bloody fool like me can take a hammer and chisel and try to make a rectangular block of stone to set against another stone and slap some mud and straw in the cracks. However, without the advanced training in math, to make precise measurements (or at least better than eyeball measurements), I'm going to have a lot of 'almost the same size, but not quite' blocks, and that leads to castles in ruin, easier to seige/break into, and other manner of problems in that castle.Now I take that learned professional, mark lines for the untrained to hammer on, I do the finishing work and my blocks are more or less the same size, fit closer together, and take less 'other material' to seal up tight as a drum.  This also eases the workload of those that have to seal it, saves money on the raw materials made, and has a more durable 'finish' to it.This other bit, this 'discrepancy' in wages could reflect a simple "school loan" that is being paid back for the rest of their lives (For simplicities sake I suggest this), but in return they get '1st dibs' on new work.  Now - the hard aspect of this; Changing the wages.  I came to the same conclusion you did about the wages (error in calculation), but I took it a step further, as you alluded to, and changed the amount a given 'learned trade' makes per week and how much in resources the can handle.For me, this makes things more realistic, still makes it easy to do the math (just more mulitplying. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />), and I have something I'm happy with to use at my game table and it makes my players happy (yea, they mutter, but they enjoy it. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />).To take it even a step further, I've broken it into 'ranks' as we have in the real world.  Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, Grand Master.  Different name ranks for different skill ranks.  Since we're talking commoners (or experts here), I've kept it simple: 0-4 Apprentice, 5-9 Journeyman, 10-19 Master, 20+ Grandmaster.Each name rank gets bonuses to how much they can earn per week as well as how much they can produce and raw materials they use.  Some government types also have 'building regulations' that only Masters and Grandmaster can 'lead a construction crew', others that only a Master or Grandmaster may bid upon a project, etc... It all comes down to where in the world you are and what type of government is in charge.As a general rule Grandmasters have anywhere from 5-10 Masters, 10-100 Journeyman, and 10-1000 apprentices training 'under them' at any given time - usually this is a school where the Grandmasters lessons are handed down to throught the ranks with him only 'spot checking' his students.  However this can easily be converted to being 'on the job' of constructing a castle.It's also possible that the Grandmaster simply takes orders in and assigns Masters, Journeymen, or Apprentice's to go do a project, depending on the influence, flattery, bribes, or whatever he gets to take a project.okay.. enough of that. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />While this entire thread is an excersize in anal attentive attention to detail, I love it. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I will say that most of what you've summed up in here I've done as well, or really, really close... and it's going into a series of supplements we're working on (yes, they're aimed at the anal retentive GM. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />) with a lot of things you haven't hit on yet that affects a kingdoms economy (but most likely will LOL).While things _could_ get bogged down in all the math involved, some players like that attention to detail and other times it's a simple question posed by a player to the GM that the GM has to 'spot guess'... So these types of musings are useful, informative, and fun! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />Anyways, I was trying really hard to resist piping in here, but finally, I just couldn't resist anymore. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />Many good thoughts, keep at it!</blockquote>

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