Updated dominion and trade rules
by Fabrizio Nuzzaci from Threshold Magazine issue 29
Updated rules for dominion economics and trade, following the author's work on Known World nations: Vestland published in issue #28 http://pandius.com/Threshold_28.pdf (html article here: http://pandius.com/vstecon2.html) and Ylaruam published in this issue.
Using Standard Income (S.I.)
1) Coinage and/or Extracting Gems (resources: Minerals)
A) Coinage: the S.I. receipt from families employed in metal mining indicates the “value” of the metals extracted and delivered to the ruler.
The “number” of coins produced depends on the type of metal used to mint the coins.
Note that minting is, as a rule, the prerogative of the governing prince, not of his vassals.
B) Extracting Gems: the S.I. receipt from families employed in gem mining indicates the “value” of the gems extracted and delivered to the ruler.
2) Artisans and Traders (resources: Vegetables, Animals, Minerals)
A) The S.I. received by the Artisans allows the ruler to obtain any item with a value equal or less than the amount received for such S.I.; the item will be delivered after the months necessary to obtain the relative value of S.I.
B) The S.I. received by the Traders has the following peculiarities:
it is delivered in cash, immediately available and spendable (unlike the other S.I.);
allows the ruler to obtain any item with a value equal or less than the amount received for such S.I.; the item will be delivered after the months necessary to obtain the relative value of S.I.
3) Producing Goods (resources: Wood, Animals, Minerals)
The S.I. received by families employed on resources Wood, Animals and Minerals indicates the value of the materials delivered; these materials will be sold for cash the following month.
Also note that, sometimes, a nation may be devoid of goods that are normally considered common (e.g. Ylaruam is almost woodless); thus, if a fiefdom does not produce the required materials, it could obtain them elsewhere: by merchants, paying additional costs based on the type of good (common or precious) and the place where it is found (see § 5); by war; magically; etc.
These materials can also be used to produce weapons and equipment (see § 4).
4) Producing Weapons and Equipment (resources: Wood, Animals, Minerals)
Premise: no wise ruler allows his vassals to manufacture or trade weapons and equipment as they please; whoever would allow it, will do it as long as necessary to maintain his power and not so that someone can turn against him!
Anyone wishing to produce such items without the express consent of the regent can do so, but at his own risk.
In this game there aren’t weapons supermarkets; those purchased by adventurers for their first raids are always low quality equipment and, certainly, the local stores do not sell hundreds.
The S.I. received by families employed on resources that can be used to craft weapons and equipments indicates the value of the materials available, but not processed, in the domain:
- if you have wood resources, you can craft wooden equipment;
- if you have animal resources, you can craft leather equipment;
- if you have metal resources, you can craft equipment made with the related metal;
- for weapons made of different materials (e.g. crossbows), reference the prevailing material.
To produce weapons and equipment, the ruler must hire armorers; the rules of the game state that, in a year, 1 armorer (1,200 gp / year) + 2 blacksmiths (600 gp / year) + 4 assistants (240 gp / year) can produce 48 armors, or 144 shields, or 240 various weapons (also bows / crossbows + 20 arrows / 30 darts), or 144 saddle bags, saddle and bridle (total cost = 2,040 gp); this is a low quality production. For an average quality, the production is reduced by 1/3; for a high quality, it is reduced by 2/3.
Since it is evident that the selling price indicated in the manuals (e.g. expert rulebook) for most of the items (e.g. 48 leather armour = 960 gp) would not even cover the production cost (2,040 gp), we must assume that: 1) the price on the manuals must be considered as the cost of the materials required to produce; 2) the production cost must be added to that price.
So,
to know how many items of a certain type can be produced by a domain,
we have to see if it produces a sufficient amount of S.I. of that
material (e.g. to produce 240 swords, is needed a S.I. in iron of
2,400
gp).
If not, the ruler will have
to find elsewhere the needed resources; one way is doing trade.
5) Trading (every item)
Costs and Profits
Premise: I preferred to develop the GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam rules because they are simpler than those described in GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds and GAZ11 The Republic of Darokin.
1st argument: in GAZ2 (p. 30) a merchant advises: “buy coffee, spices, textiles, and expensive household crafts in Darokin, Karameikos, or Thyatis. Sell high in Tameronikas, or better yet, ship across the caravan routes and sell at twice the price in Ylaruam, or three times the price in a rural market. Buy the best horses from the nomads, the best rugs and pottery from rural craftsmen and weapons, glass, and jewelry from urban craftsmen, and export them;” GAZ9 (Player’s Book, p. 31) confirms that “a standard retail price … can be 100% or more of the wholesale price.”
Basically, GAZ2 allows us to establish the profitability of a trade (the Gross Revenue) basing it on the distance, as well as on the type of goods traded (precious or common), without too many complications.
So, we can state that the Gross Revenue:
for precious good is: 1) 50% of the Good Value, if sold in a nearby city (same nation); 2) 100% of the Good Value, if sold in a nearby village (same nation) or in a distant city (other nation); 3) 200% of the Good Value, if sold in a distant village (other nation);
for common good is: 1) 25% of the Good Value, if sold in a nearby city (same nation); 2) 50% of the Good Value, if sold in a nearby village (same nation) or in a distant city (other nation); 3) 100% of the Good Value, if sold in a distant village (other nation).
2nd argument: in GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos is stated (p. 34) that the ruler receives a tax equal to 5% of the value of each transaction from families engaged in trade.
3rd argument: in GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds (DM’s Book, p. 28) is stated that, if no more detailed rules apply, the Management Cost is equal to 50% of the Gross Revenue; moreover, if an item comes from another country, an additional 2d10% for customs duties must be paid (on average); and, finally, both GAZ9 and GAZ11 list precious and common goods, with a lot of useful informations.
In the following Value Calculations table, the Good Value would be the cost of the material and the expense to produce an item.
Therefore, knowing the Good Value and distinguishing only the Type of Good and the Distance at which it will be sold, it is possible to calculate all the other percentages (Tax, Gross Revenue, Management Cost and Net Revenue) and determine the purchase cost of an item (Final Price + Customs Duty):
Type of Good |
Distance |
Good Value * |
Tax (local) |
Gross Revenue |
= Final Price |
+ Customs Duty ** |
|
Management Cost |
Net Revenue *** |
a) |
1 |
64.00% |
5% |
31.00% |
= 100% |
0% |
|
16.50% |
16.50% |
precious |
2 |
47.50% |
5% |
47.50% |
= 100% |
0% (+11%) |
|
23.75% |
23.75% |
|
3 |
31.00% |
5% |
64.00% |
= 100% |
+11% |
|
32.00% |
32.00% |
b) |
1 |
71.00% |
5% |
24.00% |
= 100% |
0% |
|
12.00% |
12.00% |
common |
2 |
64.00% |
5% |
31.00% |
= 100% |
0% (+11%) |
|
16.50% |
16.50% |
|
3 |
47.50% |
5% |
47.50% |
= 100% |
+11% |
|
23.75% |
23.75% |
(*) The Good Value for weapons or other equipment (crafted by an armorer) listed on the game books is equal to their stated price plus the proportion of 2,040 gp (1 armourer + 2 blacksmiths + 4 assistants) as production expenses (see § 4).
(**) The Customs Duty is an additional cost that, on average, I set at 11% ((2d10%)/2); thus, when a trade is directed in “… (other nation)” (at distances “2” and “3”), you should add an additional 11%. The customs duty could also be higher, depending on politics and… GM wish.
(***) The Net Revenue is the actual gain of the merchant, equal to 50% of the Gross Revenue; the other part (the Management Cost) is to pay supplies, workers and some warriors, etc.
E.g. 1: the Final Price for a common good (Good Value 60 gp) in a nearby city (Distance 1) is 84.51 gp, of which: 60 gp (71%) is Good Value, 4.23 gp (5%) is Tax and 20.28 gp (24%) is Gross Revenue.
E.g. 2: the Final Price for the same common good (Good Value 60 gp) in a remote village in another country (Distance 3) is 140.21 gp, of which: 60 gp (47.5%) is Good Value, 6.32 gp (5%) is Tax, 60 gp (47.5%) is Gross Revenue and an extra of 13.89 gp (= 11%) is Customs Duty.
E.g. 3: the Final Price for a low quality plate armor (note: it’s a precious good) [Good Value 68.50 gp of which: 60 gp is material (see § 4) and 8.50 gp is producing cost] in a remote village in another country (Distance 3) is 245.28 gp, of which: 68.50 gp (31%) is Good Value, 11.05 gp (5%) is Tax, 141.42 gp (7.5%) is Gross Revenue and an extra of 24.31 gp (= 11%) is Customs Duty.
This system is compatible with that outlined in GAZ9 and GAZ11: in practice the Final Price of an object, determined on the basis of the table above, corresponds to the Modified Price described in those manuals; thus, to determine the Final Price according to those rules, you must just apply the valuation and negotiation rules as indicated in Step 5 of GAZ9 (DM’s Book, p. 33) or GAZ11 (Player’s Book, p. 27).
Additional sources
Creating and maintaining a commercial route is explained on page 8 of "Regni and Nobilità: Modulo per la Gestione dei Possedimenti" (Italian only) available in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/RN.pdf
Determining
of commercial activities of an urban centre
is
explained in "Medieval
Demographics Made Easy"
by S. John Ross, which is available here
https://gamingballistic.com/2018/11/05/medieval-demographics-made-easy-by-s-john-ross/