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Fiefdom Generator (v. 7.5)

by Fabrizio Nuzzaci from Threshold Magazine issue 31

Domain management file developed by Fabrizio Nuzzaci

Adaptation for the Mystara setting of D&D BECMI

I started developing my 'Fiefdom Generator' (or FG) on Excel in July 1999, maybe before, after years of game settings made with 'paper and pencil'; I continued until 2007 and resumed it in 2018.

The following is an adaptation of the FG to the rules for managing domains described in D&D BECMI —later Rules Cyclopedia (or RC)— with a single hint taken from the 3.0 edition of D&D (the 'gp limit').

Wanting to create a more realistic system, I also considered some other aspects, normally ignored in RPGs, and for which I carried out specific research (you will find the references indicated in appropriate notes).

Although I haven't integrated them into these rules, I still have to mention the Champions of Mystara Boxed Set for D&D, as well as the article 'more economics' and Bruce Heard's further work on these issues¹.

However, my intent remained to adapt the FG to the BECMI rules because: 1) it is a very complex system and already known to all of us players; 2) it was my desire to find a way to apply the BECMI economic system to the descriptions of the nations of Mystara made in the various Atlases; 3) anyone wishing to limit the amount of gold in circulation would just have to 'pretend' that the reference currency is silver.

A note on considering the Standard Income (S.I. from now on): a problem of low profitability of mines compared to other resources remains.

Finally, I point out that the following rules were born as my 'notes', written to remind me of the reasoning made, not for disclosure to any third party; you will excuse me, therefore, if they are not perfectly clear to the reader. The following rules assume a good knowledge of economic rules for D&D BECMI.

Where to find the Fiefdom Generator Excel spreadsheet:

Link in english http://pandius.com/GeneratoreDiFeudi.xls

Link in italian http://pandius.com/GeneratoreDiFeudiIta.xls

Also available on the author's Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/82744933

The file must be downloaded from one of the above links in order to be used

0) How to use the file, without reading further than this page

A) Premise

The cells highlighted in yellow and the drop-down menus are for information important for the operation of the FG; cells in light blue are for optional information. The sheet can be printed horizontally on 4 A4 sides.

B) Domain Sheet description

Screenshot lines 1-25: http://pandius.com/Threshold31FiefdomGeneratorFig1.png

PART 1 (lines 1 to 25): general information

- Line 1: domain's type and name, name of the leader, number of game's months of play considered;

- Lines 3–11: description of the population based on races and cults, followed by a list of main settlements (for each one: name, territory type where it is located, inhabitants, housing surface in acres and gp limit);

- Line 12: total number of inhabitants, percentage of nomadic population (not controlled, nor taxable), diameter of the hexes on the map (in miles);

- Lines 13–24: description of the territories (grouped by homogeneous types and resources²) and related number of hexes, density, inhabitants of rural areas and housing surface (in acres), inhabitants of urban areas and housing surface (in acres) (note: data for the urban areas must corresponds to those in lines 3–11), number of families available for production (excluding the nomads and the employable inhabitants), number of acres available for economic activities, and number of residual acres for pasture/breeding only;

- Line 25: percentage and number of employable inhabitants, followed by a calculator used to determine the housing surfaces of the rural or urban population.

Screenshot lines 27-99: http://pandius.com/Threshold31FiefdomGeneratorFig2.png

PART 2 (lines 27 to 99): production

- Line 27: the rightmost section indicates the levels of Taxes and Standard Income (in gp);

- Lines 29–50: number of families employed on vegetable resources distinguished according to the types of the domain's territories (see lines 13–24) (each type of territory has two lines for its vegetable resources), followed by the number of still available families in each territory after having assigned those dedicated to cultivation (they can be assigned to animals, minerals or wood resources; the FG automatically calculates the wealthy families, and allocates those unallocated as artisans or merchants), the collected gp (for Resource Income, Taxes and Standard income), any bonus/malus to the food production (type and percentage), number of acres used by each family (max 50) and the food units produced;

- Lines 51–55: the number of families employed for breeding distinguished according to the type of animals³, product's type obtained (meat, honey, or silk), the collected gp (for Resource Income, Taxes and Standard Income), any bonus/malus to the food production (type and percentage), number of acres used by each family (max 100), and the food units produced;

- Lines 56–58: the number of families employed for fishing distinguished according to the place of activity (river, lake, or sea)⁴, the number of hexes exploited, the collected gp (for Resource Income, Taxes and Standard Income), any bonus/malus to the food production (type and percentage), the acres used by each family (max 10), and the food units produced;

- Lines 59–70 (7 columns on the left): the number of families employed on mineral or wood resources, or artisans, merchants, and wealthy families, without considering in which territory they live⁵, and the collected gp (for Resource Income, Taxes and Standard Income);

- Line 71 (7 columns on the left): the totals of the employed families and of the various incomes received (in gp);

- Lines 72–99 (6 columns on the left): the Salt Taxes received by the vassals (reported in the Financial Balance; see below), relative inhabitants, and any notes;

- Lines 62–73 (right side sections): Thyatian Intelligence information (see TM2), local currencies and exchange rate, domain's Sustenance; percentage of families employed on vegetable or animal resources;

- Lines 74–99 (right side sections): Financial Balance, XP obtained by the Leader, State of War (if any), Consensus Index, Militia (if formed), Malus for too many miners (if too many), Domain Notes.

PART 3 (lines 101 to 182): expenses

- Lines 101–137: inhabitants employed and still employable (line 101); expenses for festivities⁶ (type, number, cost per family, number of families, total cost) and specialists (type, number, monthly cost, description and notes, total cost); in the rightmost section are noted information obtained from the game's books;

- Lines 138–182: expenses for military, both armies and fleets (location and identification of each army/fleet, number and type of the troops, number of weeks of training, class, race, equipment and extras, total cost, BFR, BR and speed), and for equipment production [type, number of armorers⁷ (hired even in fraction) quantity and quality of produced equipment, cost and type of resources needed, expenses for any merchants according to their origin and total cost].

1) Area of map hexagons and population density

A) Map Hex Size: The FG allows you to choose from the following options:

Reference measurements:	1 square km = 10,000 acres;			1 mile = 1,609.33 m
Sine (60°) = 0.866025404;	1 square km = 100 hectares;			1 acre = 4,046 m
Calculating Hexagons:	size	size	size	size	size	size
diameter side to side	1 mile	2 miles	4 miles	8 miles	24 miles	72 miles
diam. side to side (m)	1,609.330	3,218.660	6,437.320	12,874.640	38,623.920	115,871.760
diam. side to side (km)	1.609	3.219	6.437	12.875	38.624	115.872
height of triangles (km)	0.805	1.609	3.219	6.437	19.312	57.936
side of the hexagon (km)	0.929	1.858	3.717	7.433	22.300	66.899
area of the hex (sq m)	0.866	3.464	13.856	55.426	498.831	4,489.476
area of the hex (sq km)	2.243	8.972	35.887	143.549	1,291.943	11,627.486
area of the hex (hectares)	224.296	897.183	3,588.730	14,354.921	129,194.293	1,162,748.636
area of the hex (acres)	554.364	2,217.456	8,869.823	35,479.292	319,313.626	2,873,822.631

B) Density per map hex (population/square mile), should vary as shown in the following table:

Terrain type	Civilized Lands	Border Lands	Wild Lands
Volcanic	(5.01–13 only suitable races)	(1.01–5 only suitable races)	(0.1–1 only suitable races)
Frozen Land	(5.01–13 " " " )	(1.01–5 " " " )	(0.1–1 " " " )
Barren Land	(5.01–13 " " " )	(1.01–5 " " " )	(0.1–1 " " " )
Sea/Lake	(5.01–13 " " " )	(1.01–5 " " " )	(0.1–1 " " " )
Swamp/Tundra	(5.01–13 " " " )	1.01–5 N	0.1–1
Mountain	(5.01–13 " " " ) N	1.01–5 G	0.1–1 N
Desert (Oasis)	(5.01–13 " " ) (5.01–80 Y)	1.01–5	0.1–1 Y
Forest/Jungle	5.01–13+ G/N	1.01–5 A	0.1–1 A
Highland	5.01–13+ Y	1.01–5 Y	0.1–1 Y
Steppe (camp)	5.01–13+ Y (5.01–50 E)	1.01–5	0.1–1 E
Hill/Hill+Woods	5.01–25+	1.01–5	0.1–1 N
Woods	5.01–50+	1.01–5	0.1–1
Plain/River/Coast	5.01–120* G/Y	1.01–5 (1.01–12 G)	0.1–1

(*) Source: 'Medieval Demographics Made Easy' by S. John Ross (it confirms and indicates a maximum of 120 inhabitants/sq mi). (See. https://gamingballistic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Medieval-Demographics-Made-Easy-1.pdf).

Note: in RC we read that a 24-mile hexagon must be considered: 'wild' if from 10 to 100 families live there (density 0.1–1 inhabitants/sq mi); 'borderland' if it has from 200 to 1,200 families (density 2–12 inhabitants/sq mi); 'civilized' if it has from 500 to 5,000 families (density 5–50 inhabitants/sq mi).

For some terrain types I set the minimum/maximum population density as indicated in Ylaruam (Y), Northern Reaches (N), Khanate of Ethengar (E), Alfheim (A), and Principalities of Glantri (G) Gazetteers; for some others, however, I entered the densities (they are highlighted in italics and underlined) according the rules of the game.

For some terrains a human 'civilization' is never possible, but instead it is possible that other 'suitable peoples' (elves, goblins, mermen, etc.) or monsters reach high densities: the indicated density (in bold and in brackets) allows you to determine the total HD, but the actual number of creatures depends on their HD.

Also for all the other types of terrain it is possible to find settlements of demihumans or monsters instead of human beings: and here too the density allows us to determine the total number of HD of creatures present, but their actual number depends on their HD. (e.g.: in a 24-mile mountain hex 'civilized by humanoids' there may be as many as 6,485 orcs, 1,621 ogres, or other composition of creatures).

Note: any settlements/strongholds of monsters/demihumans can greatly exceed these limits.

2) People Distribution

A) How many settlements are there in a domain? What size? How many people live there?

Generally in the 11th–13th century the inhabitants of urban centers were no more than 20% of those present in the surrounding areas; however, often the descriptions given in the Atlases do not take these limits into account (e.g.: the city of Ylaruam has 13,000 inhabitants and, with the suburbs, reaches 20,000; it should be supported by a population of 65–100,000 in the surroundings, but the entire Emirate has only 78,000!).

If you have no indications about the settlements of a domain, you may want to apply the criteria indicated in 'Medieval Demographics Made Easy' (by S. John Ross): 'the largest city ... will have P*M inhabitants (where P is equal to the square root of the inhabitants of the kingdom and M is equal to a roll of 2d4+10; average result 15); the second city will be 20% to 80% smaller than the first (to determine at random, roll 2d4 x 10%; average result 50%); each successive city is from 10% to 40% smaller than the previous one (to determine it at random, roll 2d4*5%; average result 25%); keep doing this until you get results above 5,000 (for D&D BECMI) inhabitants.

To determine the population of the towns and then of the villages 'continue with the reductions of scale from 10% to 40%'; note that 'the number of towns' should still not be greater than 'the number of cities multiplied by 2d8 (average result 9).'

B) Size of the settlements

The FG may calculate (a generic average of) the area occupied by the population (rural or urban); the result must then be noted so that the file subtracts it from the 'useful' acres for the relative type of land.

To elaborate this calculation, I based myself on these premises:

- 'In the Middle Ages, a city or town of 38,850 inhabitants occupied on average an area of 1 square mile*; this means a density of about 61 inhabitants per acre (or 150 per hectare) and, therefore, that the area enclosed within the walls of a typical city of 10,000 inhabitants would be about 165 acres (difficult for a modern city, in terms of population or by size). Some extraordinarily populated supercities could reach 4 times higher density (but note that historians who suggest such densities also assume higher populations for the same cities; there is no consensus on this) and some isolated cities almost certainly had lower densities to 40 inhabitants per acre; generally an average of 61 inhabitants per acre can be a good starting point, subject to the necessary exceptions' **.

(*) Note: 1 square mile is equal to 639.99 acres, or 258.94 hectares.

(**) Source: 'Medieval Demographics Made Easy' by S. John Ross.

- Surface and population of the main cities of medieval Europe:

City (century)	Surface [1]	Population
Florence (13th)	about 1,186.11 acres	about 95,000 [4] (80.09/acres)
Bologna (13th)	about 988.42 acres	about 50,000 [2] (50.59/acres)
Bruges (13th) (harbor)	about 889.58 acres	about 35,000 [4] (38.90/acres)
Lubecca (13th)	about 444.79 acres	about 25,000 [3] (56.21/acres)
Paris (14th)	about 1,087.26 acres	about 200,000 [4] (183.95/acres)
Ghent (14th)	about 1,408.50 acres	about 50,000 [2] (35.50/acres)
Barcelona (14th) (harbor)	about 494.21 acres	about 35,000 [3] (70.82/acres)
Bruxelles (14th)	about 1,050.20 acres	about 30,000 [3] (28.57/acres)
London (medieval roman walls) (harbor)	about 395.37 acres	about 30,000 [3] (75.88/acres)
Venice (and contiguous islands) (harbor)	about 1,483.62 acres	about 150,000 [1] (101.17/acres)

Sources: [1] Leonardo Benevolo, [2] Roberto Lopez, [3] Edith Ennen, [4] Carlo Cipolla.

From the box it appears that: in the 13th century the average density of some cities varied from 38.90 (Bruges) to 80.09 (Florence) inhabitants/acre; in the 14th century the density of other cities ranged from 28.57 (Brussels) to 183.95 (Paris); many of them extended over a square mile, up to about 1,400 acres in Ghent (14th).

- Settlements table:

To calculate the surface area of a settlement, I applied the following table * modified on the above data:

settlement (inhabitants)	inhabitants/acre		settlement (inhabitants)	inhabitants/acre
Countryside & Villages (50–999)	25		City, little (up to 49,999)	70
Town, little (up to 4,999)	35		City, big (up to 99,999)	100
Town, big (up to 14,999)	50		Metropolis (above 100,000)	150

(*) Source: http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/A_Magical_Medieval_City_Guide_%28DnD_Other%29/Generating

The FG allows you to calculate the area of a city by dividing the number of inhabitants by the density/acre (the number in table above) and multiplying by the following coefficient (select the largest that applies):

- inhabitants residing in the countryside or in villages: 1.00;

- settlements with more than 1,000 inhabitants: 1.05;

- if there is also a land market ('trade route'): 1.10;

- if there is also a military area: 1.15;

- if there is also a port (commercial maritime route): 1.25;

- if the settlement is also the seat of government: 1.30.

The area thus obtained is subtracted from that available for the production of food.

3) Resources & Sustenance (the FG allows both a monthly and a more realistic annual calculation)

A) Resources: the FG considers the following (some are mixed to simulate the 'three fields rotation'):

Vegetables (gross yield)	1d100	Animals	1d100	Minerals	1d100
Oat/Millet (2.4:1) *		Apiculture		Adamantium/Uranium ♥
Paper/Papyrus		Silkworm breeding ♥		Alabaster/Marble
Cotton/Linen (or similar)		Cattle breeding		Silver
Fruit		Camel breeding ♥		Clay
Wheat (4:1) *		Horse breeding ♥		Coal/Gas/Sulfur
Wood		Sheep breeding		Tar/Mineral oils
Wood, precious ♥		Pig breeding		Cynnabril/Red Steel ♥
Legumes (3.4:1) *		Humanoid breeding		Iron
Maize (6.0:1) **		Ivory anim. breeding ♥		Gems ♥
Olive trees (or similar)		Fur animal breeding		Granite/Building Stone
Barley/Sorghum (3.6:1) *		Rare fur anim. breeding ♥		Mithril ♥
Potatoes		Hunting and poultry		Gold ♥
Rice (6,0:1) **		Fishing, river		Lead/Nickel
Rye (3.4:1) *		Fishing, lake (coast)		Platinum ♥
Spices ♥		Fishing, sea (coast)		Copper
Tea/Coffee/Tobacco		Fishing, sea+Pearls ♥		Salt
Grapes/Hops				Tin
Vegetables		DERIVATIVES		DERIVATIVES
DERIVATIVES		Leather armor ♥		Weapons/Armors ♥/Tools
Weapons/Tools		Ivory ♥		Crafts (various)
Aromas/Essences		Sausages		Bronze (iron+tin)
Wood crafts		Dairy products		Electrum (gold+silver)
Paper/Rare books ♥		Honey/Wax		Treated mineral oils
Vegetable oils/Fodder		Animal oils		Porcelain/Finished porcelain ♥
Textiles/Precious textiles ♥		Hides/Rare hides ♥		Dyes/Pigments
Wine/Beer/Spirit		Slaves ♥		Glassware

(*) Gross Yield, source: http://rm.univr.it/didattica/strumenti/cherubini/saggi/sez1/cap4.htm.

(**) Gross Yield (reduced to 6:1; see sub. D), source: The Human Web by J. R. McNeill and William H. McNeill.

(♥) Precious resources according to Gazetters 9 and 11.

(1d100) Each DM is free to generate and write here below his percentages.

B) Income: in D&D BECMI each family pays to its lord: Taxes for 1 gp; Taxes on resources (variable: 1 gp if Vegetables; 2 gp if Animals; 3 gp if Minerals); Standard Income (goods in kind) for 10 gp.

At least 20% of families must be employed on each resource; while, if more than 50% of the families are put to work in the mines, the domain will suffer penalties for consent (see RC, p. 140).

The FG will offer you the following changes and additions to the rules of the game regarding the families' employment:

- the 'precious' vegetable/animal/mineral resources yield a higher tax (+1 gp/household);

- the number of productive families is equal to 1/5 of the inhabitants, minus the percentage of those you will reserve for enrollment and any nomads;

- domains with at least 200 households have 0.5% of wealthy families, and pay only taxes (see GAZ1 The Kingdom of Karameikos, p. 34);

- the remaining families are automatically assigned half to commerce and half to craftsmanship (see § 7); for both of these categories, the FG calculates that ¾ of them pay a tax of 2 gp/month, while the remaining pay a tax of 3 gp/month (these activities were not considered by the creators of the game, but I thought them appropriate to introduce for a more realistic simulation).

C) Useful surface ('usable acres' in FG) of the map hexes, based on terrain type, is determined taking the following factors into consideration:

- http://rm.univr.it/didattica/strumenti/cherubini/saggi/sez3/cap1.htm: a medieval peasant family owned a property ('mansus') with very variable dimensions: Saint-Germain-des-Prés from 5 to 10 hectares (12.3–24.7 acres); Lobbes 15 to 38 ha (37–93 acres); Poperigne 17 to 30 ha (42–74 acres);

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugerum: the iugero was the Roman measure to indicate the arable land in 1 day by 1 man with a couple of oxen, equal to about 2,520 sq m. In the Middle Ages, this measure rose to 7,900 square meters (or 1/12 of a 'mansus') and lost the previous reference to arable land in a day;

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_ancient_Rome: in Roman times, the smallest properties ranged from 18 to 108 (Roman) iugera, or from 11 to 67 acres (1 'Roman' iugera = 2,520 sq m);

- http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/manso_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/: in the Middle Ages a 'mansus' ranged from 12 to 40 iugera (12 in Italy in the 11th century), or from 23.4 to 78.1 acres (1 'medieval' iugera = 7,900 sq m);

As a result, on average, in the FG a peasant family will be able to cultivate a 'mansus' of up to 50 acres; this respects the rules of the game, according to which when a PC receives a territory (a 24-miles hex) he can have up to 5,000 families (25,000 inhabitants), which will need up to 250,000 'useful' acres (almost 80% of its surface). Similarly, terrain hexes that can never be civilized (e.g. deserts) will have no more than 499 households (2,495 farmers), which will need no more than 24,950 'useful' acres (about 8% of its surface).

Having identified the maximum limits of the useful surface (in acres), I have drawn up the following table:

Terrain Type:	useful acres	woods	useless	NOTE: for each type of land the FG: first subtracts automatically the acres occupied by the settlements (columns F14–24 and H14–24) and calculates the 'usable acres' for crops and livestock (column J14–24); then automatically subtracts those used by the families assigned to the crops (column A29–50) and calculates the residuals acres for pastures ('pasture acres', column K14–K24). In practice, as families are assigned to cultivate a certain type of land, the remaining area for livestock will automatically be calculated.
Plain or Highland	80 %	10 %	10 %
Woods	45 %	45 %	10 %
Hill	45 %	10 %	45 %
Hill with Woods	40 %	30 %	30 %
Desert or Broken Land	8 %	0 %	92 %
Oasis (Desert)	30 %	10 %	60 %
Forest or Jungle	20 %	70 %	10 %
Mountain	20 %	10 %	70 %
Tundra or Steppes	40 %	0 %	60 %
Swamp	8 %	70%	22 %
Frozen or Volcanic	8 %	0 %	92%

Finally I established that: if it is a coastal hex, water occupies an average 50% of its surface; while, if a river flows through it, the water occupies an average 10% of it (the 'useful' acres are reduced in proportion).

For the following rules, please note that D&D BECMI rules assume that a domain has 1–4 resources; this means representing a very little varied economy; therefore we could imagine that productions with better 'yields' are only an indication of better 'development' (in practice, if a fiefdom has only a 'pig breeding' resource this does not mean that that is the only food available).

Screenshoot lines 101-182 http://pandius.com/Threshold31FiefdomGeneratorFig3.png

D) Crops Yield (see 'net yield calculation table, based on Kcal' below)

To define the 'gross' yields per acre of crops I based my work on the article by Lorenzo Cherubini (see link sub 3/A), according to which in the XIII century the 'gross' yield of cereals and legumes varied from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 4; in the table sub 3/A you will find the yields of: wheat (4:1), barley and sorghum (3.6:1), legumes and rye (3.4:1), oats and millet (2.4:1), corn and rice (6:1) (The Human Web by J. R. McNeill and William H. McNeill fixed the rice yield as double that of the wheat, but I had to reduce it to avoid excesses).

From the article Calculations with Dominions by Mike Harvey we know that, to sow 1 acre, 2 units of seeds are required; then the FG calculates the 'net' yield per acre of crops by multiplying their 'gross' yield by 2, subtracting 2 units of seeds from the total (subsequent sowing) and dividing the result by 2.

For vegetables, I calculated a 'net' yield of 1.75, dividing the average Kcal of cooked vegetables (34.17 Kcal) by the result of dividing the Kcal of cooked cereals (116 Kcal/100 g.) and their 'net' yield (6:1) rounded to the nearest 0.05; for potatoes (78 Kcal) of 2.30, dividing by 34.17 (average cooked vegetables).

I calculated the 'net' yields of grapes/hops (69 Kcal) as 1.90 and fruit (average 62 Kcal) as 1.70, dividing by 36.58 Kcal (average raw vegetables) rounded to the nearest 0.05; for olive trees a fictitious net yield of 1.75.

The crop yield also depends on the cultivated area: 1/2 of the area for monocultures (biennial rotation); 2/3 for two crops (three-year rotation); 100% for vegetables and plantations.

In short, the units of plant food are calculated according to whether they are:

- two-year rotation (monocultures): n. fam.*([(gross yield *2-2)*1/2]*modifiers)*n. acres (max 50);

- three-year rotation (two cultures): n. fam.([([(gross yield A*2-2)+(gross yield B*2-2)]/2)*2/3]*modif.)*n. acres (max 50);

- plantations (fruit, olive trees, grapes) and vegetables: n. fam.*(net yield*modifiers)*n. acres (max 50).

Modifiers: the FG allows you to apply the following bonuses/penalties that affect production (normally +/- 10% each): 1–2) land; 3–4) climate; 5–6) technology; 7–8) magical effects; 9–10) events (e.g. raids).

E) Livestock, Hunting and Poultry Yield (see 'net yield calculation table, based on Kcal' below)

To assimilate the yield of the farms to a cultivated mansus, I have divided the Kcal of the various types of cooked meat with that of cooked vegetables (34.17 Kcal) rounded to the nearest 0.05: Pigs 7.30 (250 Kcal), Cattles 7.15 (245 Kcal), Sheeps 6.05 (207 Kcal), Hunting and Poultry 6.30 (215 Kcal), Horses 5.10 (175 Kcal), Camels 4.70 (160 Kcal); for humans and 'humanoids' I established a value of 4.05 (139 Kcal, for skin, muscles and fat*); while, for 'animals for fur' and 'for ivory' I established a value of 3.85 (equal to 2/3 of the average value of the others).

(*) Sources: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4386588/Stone-Age-cannibals-Hunting-not-worth-hassle.html and

https://beppedeleonardis.blogspot.com/2017/04/il-valore-nutritivo-della-carne-umana.html.

Mike Bourke's article The Impact Of Urban Migration On Fantasy Games states that 'animals and fruit require more surface area to produce a given amount of food, sometimes much more' and 'let's assume that the average is an efficiency equal to half' (of the crops); to simulate a 'livestock mansus' of similar capacity per acre, I established an average area of 100 acres and divided the yield by 4.

The 'bred' food units are calculated as follows: n. families * ((yield * modifiers) / 4) * n. acres (max 100).

It is possible to apply the bonus/malus modifiers (+/- 10%) of the case (see § 3/D).

The value of S.I. also allows you to calculate the number of bred animals and/or food rations available to the feudal lord: divide the S.I. families obtained (120 gp/year per family) for the specific cost of the animals (and/or the desired food rations) resulting from the game manuals.

F) Fishing Yield (see 'net yield calculation table, based on Kcal' below)

To assimilate the yield of fishing to that of a cultivated mansus, I divided the Kcal of the various types of cooked fish by that of cooked vegetables (34.17 Kcal) rounded to the nearest 0.05: Freshwater Fishing 4.70 (160 Kcal), Saltwater Fishing 3.85 (132 Kcal).

Mike Bourke's article The Impact Of Urban Migration On Fantasy Games states that '20 square miles of fishing ground with a usable depth of 30 feet is 6 times the surface area of 20 square miles with only the top being used, even conceding that fish are not as densely packed as vegetables may be'; to make it easy I reduced the multiplier to 5 times; to simulate a 'fishing area' of similar capacity per acre, I established an average area of 10 acres and multiplied the yield by 5.

The 'fished' food units are calculated as follows: n. families * ((yield * modifiers) * 5) * n. acres (max 10).

It is possible to apply the bonus/malus modifiers (+/- 10%) of the case (see § 3/D).

NET YIELD CALCULATION TABLE BASED ON KCAL

Vegetables	Kcal raw*		Kcal cooked*				Meats 1: various			Kcal cooked *
Beet		19	20				Horse			175 (5.12)
Broccoli		34	35				Camel			160 (4.68)
Artichoke		47	53				Pork			250 (7.31)
Cabbage		27	24				Beef			245 (7.17)
Cauliflower		25	23				Meats 2: sheep			Kcal cooked*
Onion		40	44				Goat			143
Green bean		31	35				Mutton (lamb)			271
Lettuce		17	15				Average Kcal			207 (6.06)
Potato		77	78 (2.30)				Meats 3: hunting/poultry		Kcal cooked*
Peas		81	42				Wildboar	160
Tomato		18	18				Deer	158
Spinach		23	23				Rabbit	197
Average Kcal		36.58	34.17				Pheasant	239
Cereals		sowing	Kcal cooked*				Chicken	296
Oats		winter		-			Goose	238
Couscous		-		112			Quail	227
Sorghum		spring		-			Turkey	208
Wheat (grain) °		spring/wint.		126			Average Kcal	215 (6.29)
Maize (corn) °		spring		90			Fishing: 1 fresh water			Kcal cooked*
Millet		spring		119			Carp			162
Barley °		winter		123			Mullet			150
Rice		spring		130			Catfish			144
Rye		winter		-			Salmon			178
(°) exploitative	Average Kcal			116 (3,.39)			Trout			168
Fruit		Kcal raw*					Average Kcal			160 (4.68)
Apricot		48					Fishing 2: salt water			Kcal cooked*
Pineapple		50					Sea bass	114
Orange		47					Grouper	118
Banana		89					Cod	85
Khaki		70					Swordfish	172
Cherry		63					Turbot	122
Prickly pear		74					Tuna	184
Blueberry		57					Average Kcal	132 (3.86)
Pear		58					Legumes °°	Kcal cooked*
Average Kcal		62 (1.69)					Chickpeas	164
Grapes		69 (1.88)					Bean	143
Olive		Kcal raw*			Equated to vegetables: these cannot sustain like meat!!		Lentil	116
Black		145 -----🡪					Lupine	119
Green		235 -----🡪					Average Kcal	135 (3.95)
Average Kcal		190 (5.19) *					(°°) Kcal for legumes based on Cherubini article.

(*) Source: http://www.valori-alimenti.com/nutrizionali/categoria-1100.php

G) Consumption and food shortage

The calculations of the FG are inspired by Calculations with Dominions by Mike Harvey (2 units of seeds are necessary to sow an acre; they are equivalent to 2 units of food and are sufficient to feed a man for 28 days, while old people or children consume half); therefore a family made up of 4 workers and 1 old person or child needs 9 food units/month (or 108 food units/year).

As in the D&D BECMI rules a family is made up of 5 elements (however in RC is specified that it is made up of 5 'productive' people, creating the problem of determining how many children/old people there are); however, it is clear that the game refers to the 'nuclear' family of the early Middle Ages (4–5 individuals).

Basing ourselves on the 'services table' shown in the Dawn of the Emperors Boxed Set, we can hypothesize that a middle-class family (artisans and traders) consumes food 2.5 times compared to a poor one ('average meal' = 1 gp), while a rich consumes equivalent to 25 times ('superior meal' = 10 gp).

If the fief does not produce enough food, it can be bought; since the GAZ11 (Player's Book, page 23) states that feeding a worker costs 1 gp/week, we could agree that 1 unit of food costs 2 gp (for 2 weeks). Alternatively, it is possible to 'obtain' food from other domains, or have it created by clerics if powerful enough; the FG allows various options and calculates the expense. But you are also free to... turn off the food balance and employ all the inhabitants in rich gold mines!!

4) Financial Balance of a domain

The D&D BECMI rules does not require you to calculate every minimum management fee; with the FG it is possible to calculate the expenses for Festivities, Salt Tax, Tithe (below), as well as for Events, Sustenance, Specialists, Military, and Production of Weapons and/or Equipment (in the following paragraphs).

- Festivities: can be declared by the Rulers (usually 1/year) or by the Church (usually 2/year) and are extended to all the estates of their subordinates (e.g. those declared by the King extend to all his vassals); the FG automatically deducts them from the percentage of revenue due to who declared them (from the ecclesiastical tithe, or from the salt tax); festivities declared by a Count or lower-ranking noble costs 1 gp per peasant (5 gp per household); those declared by a Marquis or a higher-ranking noble costs the double;

- Salt tax: if the domain is a vassal, it is equal to 20% of the income (minus the relative festivity expenses);

- Tithe: it is equal to 10% of the income (minus the relative festivity expenses), but it should not be applied when the ruler is also the head of the ecclesiastical community (e.g. Patriarchate);

- Expenses for Sustenance and other Events: if food is missing, the FG allows some options to obtain it and calculates the cost; moreover, a percentage of expenditure (at least 5%) can be entered to consider the effects of sudden Events on the economy (e.g. some disaster, strong corruption or raid by bandits);

- Other Expenses of the domain: we mean those for Festivities, Specialists and Military personnel, and Production of Weapons and/or Equipment (the latter can be calculated in the last lines of the file; see § 9).

5) Expenses for Specialists and for Military personnel ('Specialists' and 'Troops')

For the description and costs of personnel ('specialists' and 'military') I referred to the indications contained in the D&D Expert, Companion, Master, Rules Cyclopedia, Dawn of Emperors books, as well as the CM2 modules, and the Gazetteers 10 and 11; in the FG I also applied the following rules.

A) SPECIALIST automatically assigned:

*) domain level:

- Free territories, villages, towns, cities and metropolises: chaplain (only with 2,000 or more inhabitants);

- Lesser Domains (from Barony to County): herald, chamberlain, chaplain, and accountant;

- Higher Domains (from Marquisate upwards): animal trainer, engineer, and chief butler;

- Independent Domains: alchemist, and sage (only if Resource I. + Taxes I. + S. I. more than 250,000/year).

*) numerical assumptions:

- armorers (1 per 50 troops and graduates);

- blacksmiths and smiths (1 per 50 knights and graduates);

- deputy-chaplains (1 per 250 inhabitants);

- chaplains (1 per 25 deputy-chaplains) (there can be 1 patriarch per cult/nation);

- provost (1 per 2,500 inhabitants);

- first magistrate (if at least 2 magistrates) (NB: the Governor is considered administering justice for 1 week/month for the first 5,000 inhabitants).

Specialists not mentioned above are assigned by the player at fiefdom creation.

B) basic monthly cost of the SPECIALIST (and their HD):

Magician (or 'magist') (9+ HD) = 3,000 (+250 gp/additional HD); herald = 300 to 500 gp; minister = 400 gp; diplomats of Class 1, 2 and lawyer = 400, 200 and 85 gp (see GAZ10); employees 10 gp (10 x number of ministers + diplomats + lawyers); patriarch (9+ HD) and chaplain (5–8 HD) = 100 gp * HD; deputy-chaplain, provost and chamberlain = 20 gp; seneschal and guard commander (9+ HD) = 4,000 gp (+400 gp/additional HD); castellan (5–9 HD) = 1,200 gp 5 HD (+200 gp/additional HD); artillerist (1–2 HD) and chief artillerist (3–5 HD) = 250 gp * HD; warden (3–5 HD), marshal (5–8 HD) and sheriff (5–8 HD) = 20 gp * HD.

C) basic monthly cost of the MILITARY (doubles if the domain is in a state of war):

- troops (1 HD) (see Expert Set or RC) but I added: 'medium' infantry (mail armor; 3 gp), distinct from 'heavy' infantry (plate armor; 4 gp); humanoid troops (up to 3+1 HD) cost half of the corresponding humans/demihumans (elves, rakasta), while troops with ½ HD cost ¼ (kobolds) and dwarves cost 1.5 times;

- troops (2 or 3 HD): the cost indicated in the rules is increased by 10 gp for each HD beyond the first;

- marines (1–3 HD): the cost is equal to the corresponding land troop type;

- sergeants (2–4 HD) and lieutenants (3–6 HD): 20 gp/month * HD;

- captains (6+ HD) and heroes (6+ HD): 200 gp/month (+50 gp/additional HD);

- casters of arcane/divine spells (both troopers and officers): they cost double.

For all military personnel, up to 20 weeks of training can be added.

Military for which you select 'SLAVES', 'FOLLOWERS' or 'ONLY in war' are not paid.

Mercenary table comparison: http://pandius.com/Threshold31FiefdomGeneratorComparison.png

In the comparison, the four values in red are the only ones I changed

D) monthly cost of SPECIALIST and MILITARY with over 9 DV (the so-called 'title level'):

If not indicated, refer to the base cost for 9 HD and, for each additional level, increase it by 10%.

E) control of public order in urban centers:

In Medieval Demographics Made Easy by S. J. Ross an average of 1 soldier for every 150 inhabitants is indicated. For simplicity, assuming 12-hour shifts and also assigning city defense tasks, I have established an average of 2 for every 100 inhabitants.

Thus, a city of 10,000 inhabitants requires a garrison of 200 men for these functions.

F) control of the territory (patrols): the RC (p. 139) underlines that, to avoid the resettlement of enemies, it is necessary to patrol the territory; the patrols go up to 24 miles from the fortress for almost all terrains (except jungles, swamps, and mountains, in which the patrols operate up to 8 miles).

A wise ruler should therefore organize part of his forces to oversee his lands.

USING STANDARD INCOME (S.I.)

6) 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.

7) 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 lesser than the amount received for such S.I. (you will have to deduct this expense from the budget yourself); 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.);

• it allows the ruler to obtain any item with a value equal or lesser than the amount received for such S.I. (you will have to deduct this expense from the budget yourself); the item will be delivered after the months necessary to obtain the relative value of S.I.

8) 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 § 10); by war; magically; etc.

These materials can also be used to produce weapons and equipment (see § 9).

9) 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 the game there aren't weapons supermarkets; those purchased by adventurers for their first raids are always average 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 an average quality production (indicated 'Eq=1' in the FG). For a good quality, the production is reduced by 1/3 ('Eq=2'); for an excellent quality, it is reduced by 2/3 ('Eq=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 armor = 960 gp) would not even cover the production cost (2,040 gp), we must assume that: 1) the selling price on the manuals must be considered as the cost of the materials required to produce; 2) the production cost (shortly, the armorers) must be added to that price.

Finally, 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.

If you must to contact the merchants to purchase the resources necessary for the production of weapons and equipment (not siege weapons), the FG allows you to calculate the cost by referring to the Goods Value and the Gross Revenue indicated for common goods (see § 10 , letter 'b'), selecting the distance of the place where they are found.

10) Trading (every item)

1. 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:

1. 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);

2. 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 (GM'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 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 armorer + 2 blacksmiths + 4 assistants) as production expenses (see § 9).

(**) The Customs Duty is an additional cost that, on average, I set at 11% ((2d10%)/2); thus, when a trade is directed to '... (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 average quality plate armor (note: it's a precious good) [Good Value 68.50 gp of which: 60 gp is material (see § 9) 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 Gazetteers 9 and 11: 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 (GM's Book, p. 33) or GAZ11 (Player's Book, p. 27).

B) Creating and maintaining a trade route (land or sea)*

In order to obtain taxes from trade, a trade route and a market (or port) must exist. If it does not exist, it is possible to create it 'but only from a city and with an investment' of:

Investment Type °	Cost (gp)	Time of realization
Trade Route (land) °°	10.000	5 months
Trade Route (sea) °°°	3.000	2 months
Market °°°°	5.000	3 months
Harbor (river) °°°°°	10.000	8 months
Harbor (sea) °°°°°	20.000	12 months

° You can only invest in one development at a time.

°° Caravan Route (land): more than one can be launched for the same hex; each time another city with 20,000 inhabitants or more will have to be connected; they can only extend over land.

°°° Trade Route (sea): can only be started from cities with 20,000 inhabitants or more and in which there is a port; for every 5 routes you have to pay the cost of another port.

°°°° Market: can only be built after establishing at least one commercial route; for every 5 commercial routes a new market will need to be built.

°°°°° Harbor (river) and Harbor (sea): they can only be built on river or sea respectively.

(*) Based on 'Reami e Nobiltà' by Omnibius V. 1.0 of 17.04.2012.

At least 1 trip per month is required to maintain the trade route (or route), organized by the ruler or whoever manages that trade; if it doesn't, you have no income for that month; if trade is interrupted for six months, the trade route (or route) is irretrievably lost and it takes 1d12 months to re-establish it.

C) Determination of the activities present in an urban center *

'The following table indicates a Support Value (SV) for each type of activity: it indicates the number of people necessary to support a single activity of that type (e.g. the SV for shoemakers is 150; this means that there will be one cobbler for every 150 people in a certain area).

These numbers can vary up to 60% in either direction, but provide a useful starting point for GMs; think about the nature of the town or city to decide if the numbers need to be changed (e.g. a city with a port will have more fishermen than indicated).

To find the number of inns in a city, divide the city's population by the SV of the inns (2,000); with a village of 400 people we will have only a 20% chance of finding them.

Business	SV	Business	SV	Business	SV	Business	SV
Shoemakers	150	Butchers	1,200	Mercers	700	Inns	2,000
Furriers	250	Fishmongers	1,200	Coopers	700	Tanners	2,000
Maidservants	250	Beer-Sellers	1,400	Bakers	800	Copyists	2,000
Tailors	250	Buckle Makers	1,400	Watercarriers	850	Sculptors	2,000
Barbers	350	Plasterers	1,400	Scabbardmakers	850	Rugmakers	2,000
Jewelers	400	Spice Merchants	1,400	Wine-Sellers	900	Harness-Makers	2,000
Taverns/Restaurants	400	Blacksmiths	1,500	Hatmakers	950	Bleachers	2,100
Old-Clothes	400	Painters	1,500	Saddlers	1,000	Hay Merchants	2,300
Pastrycooks	500	Doctors	1,700	Chicken Butchers	1,000	Cutlers	2,300
Masons	500	Roofers	1,800	Pursemakers	1,100	Glovemakers	2,400
Carpenters	550	Locksmiths	1,900	Woodsellers	2,400	Woodcarvers	2,400
Weavers	600	Bathers	1,900	Magic-Shops	2,800	Booksellers	6,300
Chandlers	700	Ropemakers	1,900	Bookbinders	3,000	Illuminators	3,900

Furthermore, there should be a nobleman for every 200 inhabitants, a priest for every 40 and a chaplain for every 25 priests, a well-maintained medieval city has a representative of the law for every 150 citizens (some poorly maintained cities have up to half, while rare they have more).'

(*) Source: 'Medieval Demographics Made Easy' by S. John Ross (data in bold have been considered in FG).

1Several resources by Bruce Heard are available in the Vaults of Pandius:

The Known World Grimoire http://pandius.com/kwgrim.html, Dominion Economics 101 http://pandius.com/eco_101.html, Dominion Economics Guideline zip http://pandius.com/eco_101.zip

or xls file http://pandius.com/dominion_economics.xls

2If the domain spans multiple hexes, I recommend grouping them in identical terrain types (e.g. all coastal plains) with identical resources (e.g. corn, iron); this is likely for small- to medium-sized domains.

3In practice, the breeders of the various territories are added together according to the type of breeding.

4In practice, the fishermen of the various territories are added together according to the place of fishing.

5In practice, all these are added together according to the type of activity, or social condition.

6Festivities expenses are deducted from the amount paid for Salt Tax and Tithe.

7For each indicated armorer (or fraction), the FG also automatically adds 2 blacksmiths and 4 assistants (or fraction); fractions are rounded up to the 2nd decimal.