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Taxes and Nationality in Mystara

by TheNewPippinStrano

I am on a quest to create a D&D environment that finds the sweet spot between fitting with what is published in BECMI and the Gazetteers, something approaching realist enough to not make it overly difficult to suspend disbelief, as well as something that is actually workable and palatable to players. I like solutions that allow differences to be more than window dressing while still being manageable. I'm not a rule light person, but not quite not at the Role Master level either. Hopefully that all makes some sort of sense.

That stated, I've run up to the question of taxes. The players being murder hobos is not acceptable to me or my player (not really). I checked the tax rate listed in Gaz 1 and applied a 25% tax rate to the player's characters, without factoring in magic items gained into the equation. Here is what I compiled of the tax information listed in the Known World Gazetteers.

While the players understood the idea of them having to pay taxes, 25% was a hell of bite. So I started thinking about taxes in a D&D world, and reading other's thoughts on it. I didn't find anything that really thread the needle that is what I'm looking for (as described above). It would be one thing if the player's characters didn't need the treasure they gain, but between training and the higher than canon prices for some items and services, they actually do need their money to be effective adventurers. Most of the treasure they gain is obtained while on adventures that benefit the nation they are in. Further, given that adventurers do exist, solutions that would indicate that there are no adventurers are not valid answers. I'm amazed at how often that rule can be applied.

A linked question is how character's nationality would impact taxes, and to a broader degree what it means to be a foreigner in various Mystaran nations. I got thinking about this because Thyatis expects to tax income made outside of their borders, and Darokin's low tax rates.

So let me know what your thoughts are.......help!