Article: 136425 of rec.games.frp.dnd Path: news.tuwien.ac.at!newsfeed.ACO.net!swidir.switch.ch!swsbe6.switch.ch!news.belnet.be!news.sri.ucl.ac.be!jussieu.fr!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!lerc.nasa.gov!purdue!haven.umd.edu!hecate.umd.edu!fre.fsu.umd.edu!D2DCBLU From: d2dcblu@fre.fsu.umd.edu (L.L. Cool Ranch Dressing) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd Subject: Cost of a Slave Date: 8 May 1996 22:48:19 GMT Organization: Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD Lines: 133 Message-ID: <4mr8bj$4s2@hecate.umd.edu> Reply-To: d2dcblu@fre.fsu.umd.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: fre.fsu.umd.edu Hi, Based on the discussions on slavery, I've come up with a fomula for the cost of a slave. Any suggestions you have are welcome. LL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PRICE OF A SLAVE This formula should give the GM a good basis for the price of the slave. Note that supply and demand should greatly influence the price. For example, during harvest time field workers may be hard to buy so prices will be high. Also, if it's the end of a war maybe there is a nice crop of POW slaves that brings the price down. Also note bidding typically starts out at 50% of the cost calculated with this formula so slaves may be sold for less or more. GMs may also add more modifiers for things like race. Certain races may be worth more. For example, elf slaves may be valued for their beauty, dwarf slaves may be valued for their hardiness and hard work at manual labor. One other modifier the GM should consider is slave reliability. Some types of slaves may be harder to control (i.e. cause trouble, try to escape). They could be of a certain race, nation, adventurers, etc.. Children raised as slaves would likely be worth more because they are easier to control compared to those needing "domestication." Slave Cost = (Yearly wage of Non-Slave Labor) X (Hit Die) X (Key Attribute X .10) X (Age Category Multiplier X Social Level Multiplier) Yearly Wage of Non-Slave Labor The base to the formula is this wage. Find the wage a non-slave laborer (of the same occupation/skill of the slave) makes in a year. Most game systems have common wages in their rule books. As a general rule a common laborer makes roughly 100 to 120 silver pieces a year (equal to $100-$120 American). The more skilled a person, the more he makes a year. Some examples: Laborer Yearly Wage Shield Bearer 50 House Servant 100 Groom 120 Baker, Cook 240 Carpenter 600 Huntsman 1000 Bowyer 1000 Armorer 1200 Weaponsmith 1200 Hit Die This is the level of the slave if the slave is of a particular character class. Of course most slaves are not in which case this is the hit die of the character/monster. Note that normal slaves have a hit die of 1 or less. Key Attribute Key attribute is the character attribute that is most relevant to the abilities of the slave. As a mage's key attribute is Intelligence and a fighter's key attribute is Strength, so to do common people have key attributes. If a skill system is used, they are typically based on a key attribute. Some examples: the key attribute for a gladiator is Strength, for a mistress it is Comeliness, for a field worker it is Constitution, for a sage it is Intelligence, for a Soothsayer it is Wisdom. Multipliers The age category multiplier is based on the age of the slave which varies depending on race. Multi. Age Category .01 Infant Age .50 Child Age 1 Adolescent Age 2 Young Adult 1 Middle Age .50 Old Age .01 Venerable Age The social level multiplier is based on the social standing of the slave. This is usually the pre-slave social level as most people's social level dwindles once they become a slave. Multi. Social Level .01 Lower Lower Class .25 Middle Lower Class .50 Upper Lower Class .75 Lower Middle Class 1.00 Middle Middle Class 1.25 Upper Middle Class 1.50 Lower Upper Class 1.75 Middle Upper Class 2.00 Upper Upper Class EXAMPLE Laborer = 100 X 1 X (9 X .10) X (2 X .25) = 45 A normal laborer who is a young adult from a Middle Lower Class background is worth 45 silvers. Mage = 5,000 X 5 X (16 X .10) X (.5 X 1.5) = 30,000 An old 5th level mage from a Lower Upper Class background is worth a whopping 30,000 silvers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- L.L. Cool "Hand Luke" Ranch Dressing D2DCBLU@FRE.FSU.UMD.EDU Good Ole Boy What you talkin' 'bout Willis? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-