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Author Topic: Nailing down prices  (Read 1122 times)

1of3

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Nailing down prices
« on: December 04, 2006, 04:11:22 PM »
Hi.

I have a practical question: Imagine you make an RPG with "real" money the characters can earn (i.e. not with money traits like those from Exalted, Donjon or the like). Now, how would you settle the prices?


I'm currently working on a game, but I do not really know how to do it. I have identified the types of goods that would be central for the game:

- ships and parts of ships
- cannons
- tools and hand weapons
- different types of food (broad categories ranging from "water and bread" to "Lucullian" would be enough)
- different types of cloths
- magic communication mirrors
- raw materials like metals, grain, spices, textiles

- passages on a ship
- wages for crew men and officers


I'd like silver coins to be the most important type of money.

James McMurray

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Nailing down prices
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2006, 04:26:50 PM »
There are tons of equipment books out there that have prices already. One of the more recent ones I've seen is the Kingdoms of Kalamar equipment book )can't remember the name offhand). Or you could roll farther back in gaming history with Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog. The KoK book has more crunch, but the Catalog is a more interesting read, as it's actually laid out like a catalog. It was designed to be dropped into Forgotten Realms D&D games as a business the players could order deliveries from.

Mcrow

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Nailing down prices
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2006, 04:33:28 PM »
Quote from: 1of3
Hi.

I have a practical question: Imagine you make an RPG with "real" money the characters can earn (i.e. not with money traits like those from Exalted, Donjon or the like). Now, how would you settle the prices?


I'm currently working on a game, but I do not really know how to do it. I have identified the types of goods that would be central for the game:

- ships and parts of ships
- cannons
- tools and hand weapons
- different types of food (broad categories ranging from "water and bread" to "Lucullian" would be enough)
- different types of cloths
- magic communication mirrors
- raw materials like metals, grain, spices, textiles

- passages on a ship
- wages for crew men and officers


I'd like silver coins to be the most important type of money.


Like james said it is way easier just to get an equipment book. If you don't like how they name money or whatever just change it.

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Settembrini

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Nailing down prices
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2006, 09:18:50 PM »
Hi Stefan, welcome to where free speech is valued!

Go and fetch yourself "...and a ten foot pole". It has "real world" prices in silver drachme (pennies) for all your mentioned goods, as well as different eras.
Or you get yourself the Harnmaster price list, it is also penny based. I once double checked prices for cows and a knights armour from the Harnmaster price list to real world data, and it was a very close match

All other methods involve textbooks on economic history, and way more work (been there, tried that).
If there can't be a TPK against the will of the players it's not an RPG.- Pierce Inverarity

James McMurray

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Nailing down prices
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2006, 09:22:01 PM »
I'd forgotten about And a ten foot pole. It's definitely a contender as well. I'm not sure about getting the others online, but Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog is available as a pdf.

Settembrini

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Nailing down prices
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2006, 09:27:56 PM »
I´d not go after Aurora. Aurora has no ships, cannons or services in it. Aurora is all about atmosphere and nothing about silver prices
If there can't be a TPK against the will of the players it's not an RPG.- Pierce Inverarity