The comment on my last post from Ogotai
made me think I might be doing part of the heavy lifting for his
impending "Saga Heroes" campaign, but I don't really care
since I'll be playing in it and I like Viking stuff anyway. I am not
going to do a bibliography here or anything, but I'd like to point
out that I am using other game books as sources for my prices- I
didn't just make this stuff up myself and I don't know that they are
accurate at all, but they do seem reflective of the Viking Age
distribution of items. I have AD&D 2nd Edition HR 1 Vikings
Campaign Sourcebook, GURPS Vikings, Runequest Vikings, Runequest II
Vikings and Rolemaster Vikings that I have been using as
inspirational reading while I cobble together the campaign, the
simplified money and prices are mostly from GURPS although I have
extrapolated prices for some items not present in the GURPS Vikings
book, from the AD&D book particularly, by comparing the listed
prices of similar items when available, or translating the prices
from one system to the other directly when an item appears in one
book but not the other and the price makes sense, or just making an
educated guess when it doesn't. So, thanks Steve Jackson Games and
Graeme Davis for doing the heavy lifting for me and making my D&D
game run a little smoother; I am using a modified version of your
stuff here without your permission, so I hope you all don't mind. You
guys seem pretty cool, so I figure it'll be OK.
Clothing-
Breeches, Wool
5 SP
Breeches, Linen
8 SP
Breeches, Leather
15 SP
Boots
80 SP
Shoes
40 SP
Tunic, Wool
5 SP
Tunic, Brocade
20+ SP
Cloak, Wool
8 SP
Cloak, Fine Cloth
20+ SP
Cloak, Fur
100+ SP
Undershirt, Linen
5 SP
Underdress, Linen
7 SP
Dress, Linen
12 SP
Dress, Fine Cloth
25+ Sp
Hat, Wool
2 SP
Hat, Leather
4 SP
Silk Jacket
1,600+ SP
Food, Provisions, and Lodging-
Snack
1 SP
Meal, Average
2 SP
Beer, Barrel (25 Gallons)
50 SP
Wine, Keg (4 Gallons)
100+ SP
Mead, Keg (4 Gallons)
100 SP
Figs (per pound)
160 SP
Raisins (per pound)
160 SP
Salted Herring (per 100)
6 SP
Lodging (per night)*
1 SP
*Ordinarily the Norse code of
hospitality makes this free, but in a larger settlement you might
find yourself having to pay for a room.
Livestock-
Dog
10 SP
Dog, Hunting
170 SP
Dog, Guard
250 SP
Dog, War
200 SP
Heifer
200 SP
Milking Cow
250 SP
Ox or Bull
1,500 SP
Horse, Riding
1,200 SP
Hawk
100+ SP
Ewe
100 SP
Ram
250 SP
Goat
150 SP
Sow
200 SP
Boar
400 SP
Miscellaneous Equipment-
Chess Set
30 SP
Hnefetafl Set
25 SP
Silver Arm Ring
50+/- SP
Gold Arm Ring
200+/- SP
Brooch, etc.
50+ SP
Bone or Antler Comb
1 SP
Small Knife
1 SP
Small Casket (6"x9")
5 SP
Sea Chest (2-3 cubic foot capacity)
15 SP
Door Lock
5 SP
Bone Skates
2 SP
Bearing Dial
1 SP
Cauldron and Tripod
20 SP
Transport-
Ox Cart
1,600 SP
Horse Sleigh
2,400 SP
Faering (Boat, 20')
800 SP
Sexaering (Fishing Boat, 40')
1,600 SP
Knarr, Small (Cargo Ship, 50')
10,000 SP
Knarr, Large (Cargo Ship, 75')
16,000 SP
Longship, Small (Warship, 60')
16,000 SP
Longship, Large (Warship, 75')
24,000 SP
Drakkar (Warship, 100')
240,000 SP
That's about all for today. My sister
is still in the hospital, going on three weeks now. She was home for
a little over a day last week before she had to be rushed back due to
complications for an emergency surgery. So that is kind of a bummer,
but she seems to be doing OK now and they are planning on
transferring her to a better hospital in NYC as soon as she's good
enough to go.
Sorry to hear about your sister, hope things improve for her. The Nordic stuff is pretty cool. Always loved the Scandinavian legends since school, Greek stuff just didn't hit the same spot. Apart from Ray Harryhausen's films of course!
ReplyDeleteMy best for your sister of course.
ReplyDeleteI know we talked about this over the phone, just throwing it on here so your community can see it too:
I admire your efforts to determine somewhat accurate prices, and while I didn't study the prices I scanned the list reasonably well and feel you've done a good job. That said, like we agreed, the most important function of an equipment list (besides indicating scarcity of certain goods) is to make your game function. As historians we sometimes fall into the trap of accuracy (not that you have here) to the detriment of what's good for the game.
I just looked at this and realized that it lost all of the lovely formatting I spent so much time on in the price list. Bummer. I am going to guess it did the same thing in yesterday's post too.
ReplyDeleteI could never decide if I was a bigger fan of Norse mythology because I came to it later in life or because it really is just that much cooler than Greco-Roman mythology, but I think we can agree that Harryhausen's films are awesome!
The more I think on it, the more I think the game designers must have had some reference for the prices of items in the Viking Age, although I'll be damned if I can find it, because their price lists agree with each other more than they diverge. They especially agree on big ticket items and diverge more often on smaller stuff like combs, knives and pots. They really agree, from system to system, on the prices of ships.
or the subsequent games just copied from the first...
DeleteI considered that possibility, but it seemed rather cynical; additionally they would have all had to work out their various monetary systems and convert like I did, granted they'd only be doing it for one, but it seems like a lot of work.
DeleteOccam's razor really - what seems simpler, them all finding the same source material that you are unable to locate and deriving these quite similar prices independently or converting a previously existing list to their money system... (yes I'm a cynic) (but like I've said, it makes my expectations easy to exceed...lol)
ReplyDelete