Acquirement and a Silver Based Economy (Oh Gary...)

In my last posting I was extolling your economic genius. Your AD&D was the only D&D system where the cost of hiring an armorer versus the output of the armorer made any sense.


Since my last post was a fair size ramble here is the relevant paragraphs copied again:

I hire an armorer in B/X and Menzter and it costs me 100gp/month (and that’s not taking into account building them an armory) and they make for me 1 plate mail suit, which I could buy for 60gp elsewhere and during this time they can’t maintain my other soldiers armor. Or they make for the month 5 weapons (5 swords = 50gp). I think I’ll have 10 off the shelf please and not bother having an armorer at all. I know supply demand –but it still doesn’t make sense.

AD&D 400gp plate mail and it takes my armorer 90 days for 300gp hiring cost – this is better. I might just hire one and he may even be able to feed his family. 180 gp worth of long swords for the cost of 100gp – yeah, I’ll have a weapon smith in my castle.
As for the armorer costs / month and their output – AD&D the whole way – Gary obviously put some thought into this very topic. I’m stepping in the footprints of a giant.


Unfortunately when I looked at chain mail it all goes wrong. AD&D DMG page 29. Armorer 100gp/month and takes 45 days to make a suit of chain mail. Chain mail can be bought in the Players Handbook for 75gp. As in, I pay 150 gold and he makes me a 75 gold piece of armor. And that's forgetting the DMG obscure rule that suggests it costs 10% additional to make an item on a per job basis. I assume that's for an armorer usually doing general duties and then tasked with an additional per job request, or not set up to churn out chain mail after chain mail.


Leather armor is just as confusing. Supposedly DMG says I need an armorer 100gp/month + leather worker 30sp/month (3gp/month) to make in 10 days a 5gp suit of leather armor. Seems, on price, more logical to be made solely by the leather worker but DMG says they make backpacks and other simple leather items, not armor.


Shields make an excellent profit - Armorer 100gp/month
Large shield 15/month (2days each) at 15gp each = 225gp
Small shield 30/month (1day each) at 10gp each = 300gp


Naturally it is unlikely there is a market for that quantity of shields or the ability to continue at this pace unless during wartime - but bang for buck shields are very economical.


Let's look at the weapon maker at 100gp/month (DMG page 34)
Scimitar 10/month at 15gp each = 150gp worth
Sword, bastard 8/month at 25gp each = 200gp worth
Sword, broad 15/month at 10gp each = 150gp worth
Sword, long 12/month at 15gp each = 180gp worth
Sword, short 20/month at 8gp each = 160gp worth
Sword, two-handed 5/month at 30gp each = 150gp worth


All very good economic sense.


What to do, what to do...


Ok, concentrating on the B/X armor and ignoring scale and banded etc, for KotB:


Metal armor is made by armorers. Leather armor by leather workers.


Chain Mail takes 30 days and costs 150gp (double it's current 75gp cost) Remember rule number 2 from previous blog.


Leather is made by a leather worker (3gp/month) who, let's say, specialises in armor (extra 2gp/month and perhaps works under the armorer) and can be made in 10 days for 5gp (AD&D price). Cost 5gp/month to make 15gp, but unlikely will make 3/month as assisting the armorer in other work. Alternatively made by armorer or mostly by his apprentices and can be made over 10 days additional to his other work, hence it's cheaper cost.


And let all of the above gp=sp since silver based economy.


That'll do pig.