David the Wanderer
Legendary AK!
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The best way to decide how much something costs is to do a bit of "metagame": Disclaimer: I'm not an economist. I'm using my very bare knowledge of economy and some arithmetic. This isn't how economy in the real world works, but we're talking about a Fantasy setting, so I consider it a good enough approximation. Let's suppose that the King's Economist has calculated that average yearly income for Greenguard's Middle Class is 1200 Gold Coins, and the average output is 1000 Gold Coins. That means 1000 Gold Coins is enough to buy a year's worth of food and necessary goods such as firewood and clothing. That leaves our Middle Class with 200 Gold Coins to spend on amusement and gifts and unnecessary stuff. The average monthly output is 83 Gold Coins (rounded down). The average weekly output is 21 gold Coins (rounded up). The average daily output is 3 Gold Coins. 3 Gold Coins is, therefore, enough to buy food for one day. What does this mean for us Adventurers, that don't concern with such silly things as 'eating', 'drinking' and 'sleeping'? Well, from these numbers, we can calculate that: A simple tunic would cost between 10 and 20 Gold Coins. A hoe might cost about 50 Gold Coins. A small house for one person probably costs between 300 and 500 Gold Coins. Now, an average sword probably doesn't costs more than an house. So let's say the lowest price you can buy a sword for is 200 Gold Coins. This is a very simply sword, made by an average blacksmith with average materials. We can assume a full set of armor (meaning it covers you from head to toe) costs something like 500 Gold Coins, since it requires more work and materials than a sword, and might potentially take as much as an house to craft. The chest plate is probably what costs more (200 gold), while the helm, gauntlets and boots would probably have the same cost (100 gold each). An high-quality weapon would probably cost two times than an average one, so 400 Gold Coins. Same for armor: 1000 Gold Coins. A perfectly crafted weapon, made by the best blacksmith around with the best materials available would be something like 1000 coins, while an armor made with the same criteria is probably 1500 Gold Coins. Again, this is an HUGE simplification, but I don't think anybody wants to start comparing modern economy with medieval economy (which is a mess), nor do we want to craft a perfectly realistic system: just one that works for the game. And now we hit the most problematic part: magic and potions. Those kinda mess things up, BUT! The price of a good is, generally, dictated by how available it is. So, a sheet of paper costs many times less than a sheet of pure gold. How common is magic in Lore? It's very, very common. It's a part of everyday life, like electricity is part of our everyday lives. How common are alchemists in Lore? They have roughly the same presence as magicians, I'd say. Now, what establishes the prices of magic and alchemy is: how hard is it for a mage/alchemists to cast a spell/craft a potion? How much does it costs them to do so? Obviously, the answer is "depends": a simple healing potion probably isn't too hard to make, nor are its ingredients really that rare, so I'd give it a price tag of 50 Gold Coins: this accounts for the fact it's the result of specialised labor. A "Better" healing potion (meaning it heals double the HP) would be double the price, an even better one is triple the price, etc. etc. (More specific potions -Haste, Shield, Regen, all that kind of stuff- would depend on how easily available the staff wants to make them) Now, a mage that sells stuff primarily sells enchanted stuff: they can make a fancy tunic protect as much as a full suit of armor, even though it would give you no more protection than the clothes you're wearing right now. They can make it so an axe is elementally aligned, or is more effective against a certain type of monster. They can sell you staves and wands that will allow you to channel arcane energies, or offer you a ring that increases your endurance. The price of this stuff, again, depends on "How hard is it for a mage to make it?" Now, since we don't want to penalise Wizards, we must assume that level-appropriate equipment has, roughly, the same cost for all classes. So, an average staff costs as much as an average sword, an average mage's robe (which would boost your Magic Defences, primarily) costs as much as an average set of armor, the gloves that enchant your spellcasting have the same price as the iron bracers that defend your arms, and so on and so forth.
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