AD&D 1E What is the cost of one night at an Inn?

[billd91]

Funny guy. The thread is tagged AD&D 1e.

Could be worse. Any of us could have answered enough that it "makes a hard man humble" or the "tough guys tumble". But I suppose that depends on exactly where that inn is.

 

[Celebrim]

In central London about £140-£200 a night for a reasonable, clean inn. Not including breakfast.

~$189-$270 US. That's 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 silver pieces, or an equivalent number of gold pieces if you use a gold piece standard where everything is normally priced in gold pieces. A good test is how much is a dagger. If you price a knife or dagger in gold pieces, then it's highly likely 1 gold piece is a typical day's wage.

Of course, a more "medieval" feeling private room won't have quite as large of rooms or as good of heating, certainly no AC. It won't be as clean unless you pay extra for laundry service. The sheets might get washed every two weeks normally, because fabrics are proportionately more expensive. If you bring in lice or fleas, you'll get charged for the laundry service. There won't be indoor plumbing. You'll get a chamber pot under the bed, the maids will come and toss and clean once a day.

 

[aco175]

I noticed the new 5e box set just has gold and nothing else. Might be to keep things simple or to use the gold cardboard chits, but it just as well be an arbitrary system. The menu it comes with has an ale for a gold and a piece of cake for a gold, but you can do a quest to melt down some old weapons for 20 gold and half a day's work.

 

[AlexofBarbaria]

Funny guy. The thread is tagged AD&D 1e.

But seriously, you should get comfortable with D&D coinage to real-life currency conversion. That'll allow you to come up with a reasonable price for any mundane item.

I use 1cp = ~$2, 1sp = $25, 1gp = $500. A night at a cheap inn is 2-5sp ($50-125). Middling inn is 5-20sp ($125-500). Luxury inn is 1gp+ ($500+).

 

[MGibster]

Could be worse. Any of us could have answered enough that it "makes a hard man humble" or the "tough guys tumble". But I suppose that depends on exactly where that inn is.

On inn's very like another when your head's down over your miniatures, brother!

Of course, a more "medieval" feeling private room won't have quite as large of rooms or as good of heating, certainly no AC. It won't be as clean unless you pay extra for laundry service

This is one of those D&Disms where we tend to think of inns in a similar way we do a modern hotel. Most medieval inns didn't have private rooms, with the few that did reserved for the wealthy, which would apply to the PCs of course. You're more likely to be sleeping in a common area, even if there's a bed you probably need to supply your own bedding material, where you'll have to deal with everyone's burps, farts, and snoring.

 

[haakon1]

50 coins to a pound, right?

A Troy ounce of gold is worth about USD $4000 now - about double the long-term rate of roughly $2000-$2500 due to a spike of about 50% recently.

14.58 Troy ounces in a pound. So $58,320 a pound.

Divided by 50, 1 GP = USD 1166.

In 1834-1933, the USD was on the gold standard, at $20.67 per Troy ounce. Or $301.37 a pound or $6.03 to 50 per pound gp. So at 20 sp to a gp, an AD&D sp is $0.30 old pre-Depression money.

This approach seems off, right?

 

[John R Davis]

I imagine most ad&d modules with an inn have a list of prices. Have a peek at a couple of those?

 

[mixmastashizz]

I just lump in living costs with the monthly upkeep

 

[Gus L]

What is the cost of one night at an Inn? I've looked at the PHB and DMG and can't find the info. Is there an expanded 'equipment and services' list in another book?

Does it matter a lot? I'd assume that's a setting question and even in a Gygaxian vernacular fantasy setting its going to depend on the Inn. Generally I'd figure in big towns its more expensive then in roadhouses ... unless they happen to have a monopoly on a safe place to sleep.

Personally the thing I tend to do is say that "upkeep" (including restocking basic dungeoneering equipment like rope and torches) is essentially free. Instead I tend to offer overpriced ways to live more extravagantly in exchange for small bonuses (e.g. Pay for the inn to slaughter a pig/goat or other medium sized beast and feed you a nice meal from it - 25 GP - and gain a +1 to HP next session). In a big town it might be some kind of sybaritic high living for 500 - 1,000 GP and a reroll in the next session. My theory is that fixed cost sinks are boring and easy to forget - they feel like a tax on playing, while buying little bonuses with some kind of diegetic aspect is a player choice and feels better, mostly as it makes sense to people ("If I'd just found $30,000 in a scary tomb I'd get drunk on the best wine and food etc.") Carousing is another option but I tend to make that a gamble for extra XP vs. some consequence.

 

[aco175]

I imagine most ad&d modules with an inn have a list of prices. Have a peek at a couple of those?

I first read this and thought about the PCs going into a place and there be a list of prices and what rooms they go to, kind of like a pizza shop with a billboard above the counter. Then I saw the word peak and thought about peak times and flex pricing. Like going to stay at a beach house and it being summer, high-summer, or off-season and you paying all sorts of prices.

Not that innkeepers can't do this with adventurers and guest rooms. A lot of people coming into town for the festival, so prices triple. A frontier keep with one place to stay- prices triple due to scarcity and danger. It is the 'last' room we have and I have someone it was promised to...