Acquirement and a Silver Based Economy

Delta and others have suggested the D&D economy (as well as XP gained) should be based on a silver piece, instead of gold piece, economy. I heartily agree – though the devil as always is in the detail.

Rule Number 1:

D&D is a game of acquirement.

I’ll say it again for emphasis: D&D is a game of acquirement.

The player role-plays a character in a fantasy world using D&D rules and that character acquires things.  The character acquires greater power through the acquisition of more spells, better THACO, more hit points and better equipment. Though some of this acquisition is related to XP gained from defeating monsters the vast majority is from treasure.

Rule Number 2

Level 1 characters are Level 1.

A Level 1 character, though strong compared to the normal man, is a newbie. They should not be able to exploit the full breadth of the game at 1’st level, since that breaks Rule Number 1 – there is no need for acquisition.  A Level 1 character must be hungry to acquire things – and this should be literally so because they should go hungry when they run out of money.

Starting a Level 1 character in a gold-based economy with 30-180 gp (3d6) breaks rules number 1 & 2.

Let me illustrate using B/X rules.

Roderick the baker’s son is a Level 1 fighter. He rolls 12 on 3d6 and starts with 120 gp.

In B/X he purchases

Plate mail                  60gp

Shield                        10gp

Sword (normal)           10gp

Backpack                      5gp

And he still has 35 gp for other items and cost of living. Since he is likely to start adventuring immediately cost of living won’t be large – a single night at an inn is likely and from B2 a common room berth is 1sp and a private room 1gp; roast joint 2gp.

From Level 1 Roderick the baker’s son can afford the best armor in the game, stay in a private room, and eat roast joint the best meal in town.

Some baker his Dad must be: especially when bread is sold at the tavern (with markup naturally) for 1cp / slice. Assuming the baker is lucky enough to get 1sp / loaf to sell to the tavern that’s 1200 loaves of bread Roderick’s Dad has sold (requiring 100% profit since I have not accounted for any ingredients costs or the general upkeep and staffing of a bakery).

All the characters in D&D must have rich Dad’s indeed to start at 30-180gp, even the thieves. No rags to riches story here.

So rich baker’s son Roderick and his chums go adventuring kill a few goblins and gain d6 silver pieces per goblin. Hardly worth taking the time to search the bodies – foolhardy and reckless in fact to waste that time.

In the Goblin chieftain’s room Roderick and chums discover a pewter bowl holding 273 silver (27gp) and 321 cp (3.21 gp). 600 cn encumbrance for 30gp – NO thank you he’s leaving that behind.

They make their way into the Hobgoblins lair and discover the armory, where they see 1 suit of man-sized plate mail (yawn he’s wearing one already), 3 suits of man-sized chain mail (triple yawn – it’s worse then what he owns already) and many weapons that he’s not interested in since he has his trusty sword already.

"Give me magic or give me nothing," he cries. And he is 1^st level. Where’s the hungry acquisitive drive in that. Rule Number 1 is badly broken.

When my players find that hobgoblin armory (location 27) I want spontaneous nudity as they strip off their leather and put on the vestments of armor! This armory should be all their Christmas’ come at once. NOT HO HUM, it all looks a bit heavy, and no wonder the hobgoblins are easy to defeat look at their poor quality armor.

Options for KotB campaign

Move to a silver based economy

Increase the cost of adventuring

Moving to a silver based economy will make the finding of gold pieces far more exciting and even make copper pieces worth taking. A simple change in modules of pp=gp, gp=sp, sp=cp and cp= dropped; will achieve this fairly easily. 1sp=1XP.

But this change alone will still allow Level 1 Roderick to afford the best non-magical armor at 1^st level and turn up his nose at the hobgoblin armory.

Increasing the cost of adventuring is also required to keep Level 1 characters hungry and acquisitive.

Interlude Rules Retrospective.

Money through the Rule editions
	OD&D	Holmes	B/X	Mentzer/Allston	AD&D
Exchange	1gp=10sp=50cp 1ep= 2gp OR ½gp 1pp = 5gp	1gp=10sp=50cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp	1gp=10sp=100cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp	1gp=10sp=100cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp	1gp=20sp=200cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp
Leather	15	15	20	20	5
Chain mail	30	30	40	40	75
Plate mail	50	50	60	60	400
Shield	10	10	10	10	1-15 (variety)
Long Bow	40	40	40	40	60
Sword	10	10	10	10	15
2H-Sword	15	15	15	15	30
Mace	5	5	5	5	8
Hireling: Armorer	No rules	No rules	100 gp/month 1 suit armor 3 shields or 5 weapons / month.	100 gp/month 1 suit armor 3 shields or 5 weapons / month.	100 gp/month 90days plate, 45 days chain. Weapon maker 100gp/month, long swords 12/month

A few observations. OD&D had no idea about EP did it? The gp/sp/cp varies between OD&D and Holmes; B/X and Mentzer D&D; and AD&D.

Long Bows are expensive? Considering “In 1363 all men were ordered to practice archery on Sunday and holidays, hence the appearance of target ranges beside churches.” I would have thought they might be cheaper but the D&D campaign doesn’t have to be set in medieval England.

B/X and Mentzer D&D slightly increase the cost of armor; AD&D has big increases especially in plate mail. The cost of weapons identical in all rule sets until AD&D.

So AD&D increases the cost of adventuring. It even describes the D&D economy (player handbook page 35) as akin to Alaskan boom towns during the gold rush. “Costs in the adventuring area are distorted because of the law of supply and demand – the supply of coin is high, whiles supplies of equipment for adventurers are in great demand.”

Really. A starting Level 1 Fighter 50-200gp, Cleric 30-180, MU 20-80 and Thief 20-120. Apart from plate mail, which is an improvement, what can’t they buy at Level 1?

I also am intrigued by why anyone would hire an armorer to make armor, or how the armorer can make a living. (Or afford to have a Level 1 adventuring son)

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.

So in AD&D at least we are closer to satisfying Rule number 1 & 2 and also having an economy that superficially at least, makes sense. And superficial is all I want I am not playing a sim or solving the credit crunch, though the so-called expert economists might do well to play D&D more.

But I want to play B/X. Just finding the rules above in my ancient AD&D books is headache enough.

A simple moving to silver based economy won’t do. My characters will still be too rich at Level 1. If I make all the weapons and armor stay as gp – that will hurt. 100 sp for that sword. Ouch. 400sp for chain mail. I’ll rob the town guard for that. 200sp for leather – I may as well adventure naked. 10x increase in cost - this seems too much.

I could just start the characters with less money. 1d6+charisma bonus x10 (Roderick was well loved by his Dad). This is good. Simple, quick, no major changes to rules, or having to reevaluate the cost of every piece of equipment.

Roderick could still afford plate mail at Level 1. Damn.

Not if I use AD&D prices, converted to silver pieces. Eureka. And it makes leather cheaper, which makes sense and gives Roderick some chance of surviving, since life is harder now he can’t start with plate mail. Oh he will love that hobgoblin armory, if he survives that long.

Honestly though, it’s my job as DM, to give him some help with equipment early on. If I feel generous that is. He could be loaned some chain mail, with strings naturally, but that sets up some good role-playing opportunities and stops shopping for equipment being like a visit to Wal-Mart. Perhaps a seasoned chain mail wearing Level 2 NPC could join the party – and ask for 25 % of the treasure!

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.

So in summary for my KotB campaign.

Silver based economy. Gold->silver->copper (no EP or PP)

1gp:10sp:100cp.

I like the maths, it’s easier.

To add confusion (can’t help myself but shouldn’t be hard for my newbie players who know no better) silver pieces are minted by the guilds, called oh dear, guild pieces or gp. Gold pieces are minted by the sovereign: GP or SP.

Copper for peasants (day laborer 1cp/day), silver for the town (day soldier 1sp/day) and gold for the nobles.

Starting silver pieces = 1d6+Charisma bonus x10

Armor and weapon costs as per AD&D (or as equivalent as I can make it). I might just keep all the living costs (food, night in an inn) at the same costs as they are already in B2 in gp – that will keep characters hungry!

Next job - my DM screen will need to be adapted again!
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Image of pound coins from: http://www.irishviews.com/pound-coins.html