### B. Party Economics
Typical Party Size: 4-5 characters
Monthly Operating Costs (All Members):
Housing: 20-50 gold talents (depends on comfort level)
Food: 10-20 gold talents
Equipment maintenance: 5-10 gold talents
Supplies (rope, candles, etc.): 2-5 gold talents
Transportation (horses, passage): 5-20 gold talents
Contingency fund: 10-20 gold talents
Total: 50-125 gold talents/month
Sustainable Questing:
- Party needs 100+ gold talents/month in quest income to operate comfortably
- Below this = poverty/desperation (forces dangerous work)
- Above 200+ = wealth accumulation (can invest/save)
## V. EQUIPMENT PRICING
### A. Weapons
Common Weapons:
Knife/dagger: 1-3 silver talents
Club/staff: 2 silver talents
Sword (simple): 5-10 silver talents
Sword (quality Modegan cutlass): 20-50 silver talents
Spear/pike: 3-5 silver talents
Bow: 10-20 silver talents
Arrows (20): 1 silver talent
Crossbow: 20-30 silver talents
Bolts (20): 2 silver talents
Axe: 5-10 silver talents
Rare/Magical Weapons:
Sygaldric blade (glyph-enhanced): 50-200 gold talents
Fae weapon (if findable): 100-1000+ gold talents
Historical/famous blade: 500-5000+ gold talents
### B. Armor
Basic Armor:
Leather jerkin: 5 silver talents
Leather armor (full): 20 silver talents
Metal breastplate: 50-100 silver talents
Full plate armor: 200-500 silver talents
Helmet: 5-20 silver talents
Quality/Magical:
Master-crafted armor: 1.5-3x base cost
Sygaldric armor (protection glyph): 100-300+ gold talents
Fae-touched armor: 500+ gold talents
### C. Adventuring Gear
Standard Kit:
Rope (50 feet): 1 silver talent
Grappling hook: 2 silver talents
Lantern: 2 silver talents
Oil (per flask): 1 copper talent
Candles (10): 1 copper talent
Bedroll: 1 silver talent
Waterskin: 2 copper talents
Backpack: 3 silver talents
Pickaxe: 2 silver talents
Shovel: 2 silver talents
Lockpicks: 5-20 silver talents (quality varies)
Total Basic Kit: 20-30 silver talents (~0.3 gold talents)
### D. Horses & Transportation
Horses:
Draft horse (pack/plow): 20-40 gold talents
Riding horse (common): 30-60 gold talents
War horse (trained): 80-150 gold talents
Quality saddle: 5-15 gold talents
Bridle/tack: 1-3 gold talents
Horseshoes/maintenance: 1 silver talent/month
Travel:
Ship passage (basic, 1 week): 5-10 gold talents
Ship passage (cabin, 1 week): 20-50 gold talents
Coach travel (per 100 miles): 2-5 gold talents
Innkeeper’s lodging (per night): 1-5 silver talents
## VI. MAGICAL COSTS
### A. Sygaldric Works
Simple Gram (Single Rune):
Basic materials (parchment, ink): 1-2 silver talents
Energy cost (caster’s body heat): variable (1-10 silver talents equivalent)
Professional inscription fee: 5-20 silver talents
Total: 10-30 silver talents
Moderate Grammarie (4-7 Runes):
Materials (durable surface, special inks): 5-20 silver talents
Energy cost: significant (20-100 silver talents equivalent)
Professional inscription fee: 50-150 silver talents
Total: 100-300 silver talents (~1-3 gold talents)
Complex Grammarie (8-15+ Runes):
Materials (rare metals, special dyes): 50-200 gold talents.
Energy cost: extensive (master-level sympathist required)
Professional inscription fee: 200-1000+ gold talents
Total: 500-2000+ gold talents
### B. Sympathy (Active Casting)
Energy Cost (In Silver Talents Equivalent):
Simple working (light/heat): 1-5 talents
Moderate working (moving object): 10-50 talents
Complex working (multi-link): 50-200 talents
Dangerous working (combat, extended): 200+ talents
Sympathist's Hourly Rate (Mercenary Work):
Apprentice: 5 silver talents/hour
Skilled (Re’lar): 20 silver talents/hour
Expert (El’the): 100 silver talents/hour
Master: 500 silver talents/hour (rarely hired as labor)
### C. Naming (Theoretical Cost)
Research Phase:
Months/years of study: unpaid (personal obsession)
Materials (books, rituals): 10-100 gold talents
Failed attempts: potential death (infinite cost)
Activation Cost:
Speaking name once: unknown (existential change)
Continued use: unknown (possible corruption/binding)
## VII. BLACK MARKET PRICING
### A. Forbidden Goods
Contraceptive Knowledge:
Herbal recipe: 5-20 silver talents
Private instruction: 1-5 gold talents
Abortion Services:
Street Doctor treatment: 10-50 silver talents (very risky)
Experienced healer: 5-20 gold talents (safer)
Magical acceleration: 50-200 gold talents (Fae-touched? Sympathist?)
Addictive Substances:
Moonflower (per dose): 5-20 silver talents
Grief vine (per dose): 3-10 silver talents
Opium (per dose): 2-8 silver talents
Smoke powders (recreational): 1-5 silver talents/dose
Poisons:
Common poison (hemlock, nightshade): 5-20 silver talents
Rare poison (aconite, custom blend): 50-500 gold talents
Antidote (varies by poison): 10-1000 gold talents
Poison master’s service: 100-1000+ gold talents
Magical Artifacts:
Sygaldric trap (minor): 10-50 gold talents
Fae artifact (small, non-sentient): 100-500 gold talents
Chandrian evidence (if obtainable): 1000+ gold talents
Ancient tome: 50-500 gold talents
Name research (partial): 100-1000+ gold talents
### B. Stolen Goods Values
Typical Merchant Goods:
Bolts of silk: 5-10 gold talents (retail), 2-3 gold (fenced)
Quality wine (case): 20-50 silver talents (retail), 5-10 (fenced)
Jewelry: highly variable, 20-50% of retail when fenced
High-Value Goods:
Noble painting: 50-500 gold talents (retail), 10-50% when fenced
Jeweled crown: 100-1000+ gold talents (retail), 10-30% fenced
Magical item: 500-5000+ gold talents (if recoverable at all)
## VIII. FACTION WEALTH & RESOURCES
### A. University Annual Budget (Estimated)
Income:
Maer patronage: 500+ gold talents/year
Student tuition: 800-1200 gold talents/year
Fishery (arcane construction): 200-500 gold talents/year
Rents (property holdings): 100-200 gold talents/year
Other: 100+ gold talents/year
Total: ~2000+ gold talents/year
Expenditures:
Master salaries: 400-600 gold talents/year
Student stipends: 200-300 gold talents/year
Building maintenance: 300-500 gold talents/year
Materials/research: 200-400 gold talents/year
Staff: 150-250 gold talents/year
Other: 200+ gold talents/year
Total: ~1500-2000 gold talents/year
Typical University Surplus: 0-500 gold talents/year (tight budget; dependent on patronage)
### B. Church Annual Budget (Estimated)
Income:
Tithes (all classes): 5000+ gold talents/year
Noble donations: 500-1000 gold talents/year
Land rents: 500-1000 gold talents/year
Burial/sacrament fees: 200-500 gold talents/year
Total: ~6000+ gold talents/year
Expenditures:
Clergy salaries: 2000+ gold talents/year
Hospitaler operations: 1000+ gold talents/year
Building maintenance: 500-1000 gold talents/year
Charity/poor relief: 500-1000 gold talents/year
Administration: 300-500 gold talents/year
Other: 500+ gold talents/year
Total: ~4500-6000 gold talents/year
Typical Church Surplus: 500-1500 gold talents/year (stable; conservative spending)
### C. Maer's Court Annual Budget (Estimated)
Income:
Taxation: 20,000+ gold talents/year
Trade tariffs: 5,000-10,000 gold talents/year
Military contracts: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Noble tributes: 1,000-3,000 gold talents/year
Other: 2,000+ gold talents/year
Total: ~30,000+ gold talents/year
Expenditures:
Military (army, navy): 10,000-15,000 gold talents/year
Court operations: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
University patronage: 500-1000 gold talents/year
Church tribute: 500-1000 gold talents/year
Intelligence (Amyr proxy): 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Infrastructure: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Luxury/royal: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Other: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Total: ~20,000-35,000 gold talents/year
Typical Maer Surplus/Deficit: -5,000 to +10,000 gold talents/year (highly variable; Maer often in debt)
### D. Tarbean Underworld Annual Revenue (Estimated)
Income:
Theft/robbery: 5,000-10,000 gold talents/year
Gambling houses: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Brothels/vice: 2,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Protection rackets: 1,000-3,000 gold talents/year
Black market: 1,000-2,000 gold talents/year
Assassination contracts: 500-1,000 gold talents/year
Total: ~12,000-26,000 gold talents/year
Expenditures (Internal):
Soldier/enforcer salaries: 3,000-5,000 gold talents/year
Leadership payoffs: 2,000-4,000 gold talents/year
Overhead (hideouts, tools): 1,000-2,000 gold talents/year
Bribes (guards, officials): 1,000-3,000 gold talents/year
Losses (theft, violence): 1,000-2,000 gold talents/year
Other: 1,000+ gold talents/year
Total: ~8,000-16,000 gold talents/year
Typical Underworld Surplus: 4,000-10,000 gold talents/year (wealthy but volatile; war losses can be catastrophic)
---
## IX. ADVENTURE ECONOMIC SCENARIOS
### A. Party Poverty (100-500 gold total)
Situation: Recently formed party; limited resources.
Options:
- Take risky low-level quests (1-5 gold/job)
- Work for factions (Church, Doctors) in exchange for gold
- Steal/burglarize (high risk, moderate reward)
- Sell equipment/possessions
Timeline: 2-6 months to achieve stable cash flow
### B. Party Comfort (5,000-20,000 gold total)
Situation: Established party; regular income.
Options:
- Invest in property/business
- Upgrade equipment/horses
- Hire retainers/servants
- Commission sygaldric works
- Fund faction loyalty (patronage)
Timeline: 6-12 months of successful questing
### C. Party Wealth (50,000+ gold total)
Situation: High-level adventurers; major faction notice.
Options:
- Commission rare/magical equipment
- Purchase land/property
- Become patrons (fund other adventurers)
- Influence factional politics
- Commission name research
- Acquire Fae artifacts
Risk: Attracts enemies (thieves, assassins, factions wanting control)
---
## X. INFLATION & ECONOMIC CHANGE
### A. Long-Term Trends
Historical Inflation:
- Talent values stable over centuries (University influence?)
- Major wars cause temporary inflation (20-30% price increase)
- Trade disruptions cause shortages (black market premiums)
- Discovery of new resources (rare herbs) lowers prices
Campaign Adjustments:
- If campaign spans many years: inflation 1-2% annually (minimal)
- If campaign includes major war: inflation 20-50% during/after
- If party gains faction influence: prices may shift based on their influence
### B. Black Market Inflation
Controlled Substances (if shortage):