Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 JohnLynch Jun 21, 2010 5:59:39	Despite my issues with Dark Sun I found myself playing a game of it yesterday afternoon and I actually enjoyed myself. So much so I've agreed to keep playing it (that said, I have a massive problem with the free RPG day adventure that was written. However that's a reflection on the module writer WotC employed rather than Dark Sun). So I have a couple of quick questions. Can the merchant houses legally read and write? Were there any prices for slaves in 2nd edition? Don't ask us how our economy works because I have a feeling it won't and we'll be filthy rich (but we'll spend it on things such as house employees, bribes, luxury goods, etc). At the moment we're using 2nd ed prices for everything except slaves (for that we're using Pathfinder).
#2 xlorep_darkhelm Jun 21, 2010 10:22:05	Despite my issues with Dark Sun I found myself playing a game of it yesterday afternoon and I actually enjoyed myself. So much so I've agreed to keep playing it (that said, I have a massive problem with the free RPG day adventure that was written. However that's a reflection on the module writer WotC employed rather than Dark Sun). So I have a couple of quick questions. Can the merchant houses legally read and write? Were there any prices for slaves in 2nd edition? Don't ask us how our economy works because I have a feeling it won't and we'll be filthy rich (but we'll spend it on things such as house employees, bribes, luxury goods, etc). At the moment we're using 2nd ed prices for everything except slaves (for that we're using Pathfinder). Typically, yes, merchant houses (of anyone) can read and write. They exist as external entities to a city-state, and a necessary evil for most sorcerer-kings. Without the merchant houses and a consistent amount of trade happening between the city-states, their respective economies would collapse. As such, they tend to be given a status akin to nobility, despite the fact that they don't typically have noble blood in them (the nobility for several city-states considers them to be pretenders). That said, each city-state is different and very diversified. Some merchant houses are more or less exclusive to certain city-states, some actually are comprised of nobles from a city-state, etc. There isn't really a stereotypical merchant house -- other than they all tend to be motivated by greed (except in some cases -- there are exceptions for every rule).
#3 RalofTyr Jun 21, 2010 22:31:27	Do you have a copy of Dune Trader; in there, it says slave-prices are at the DM's digression. Merchants usually can only read enough to do the books. The AD&D2e Rome Historical Campaign has actual prices for slaves. Barbarian Captive: 5cp Farm Slave: 26cp Semi-Skill labor: 38cp Household Servant: 77cp Clerk (literate): 128cp Spanish Dancing Girl: 256cp Trained Gladiator: 384cp Household Manager: 512cp Reputable Greek Tutor: 1024cp Famous Gladiator: 2560cp
#4 Pennarin Jun 21, 2010 22:50:38	Wikipedia's Gladiator and Slave entries reveal a lot about the value given unto indentured or enslaved individuals, and their upkeep and selling prices.
#5 eric_anondson Jun 21, 2010 23:04:22	Were there any prices for slaves in 2nd edition? Don't ask us how our economy works because I have a feeling it won't and we'll be filthy rich (but we'll spend it on things such as house employees, bribes, luxury goods, etc). At the moment we're using 2nd ed prices for everything except slaves (for that we're using Pathfinder). There was a scene in the Verdant Passage with Agis and Ktandeo in a bidding war to buy Sadira from an elven slave trader. It was described in the run up to the bidding war that nobles were having their slaves confiscated by Kalak, thus were paying 10x more than a buyer would normally for the quality of the slaves offered. We were told the slaves were very poor as the nobles buying the slaves complained that they feared the slaves would die en route to their estates. Katandeo opened bidding for Sadira at 50 gold, the novel claims this is 5x more than the highest purchase price for slaves that day. Deconstructing arithmetic gives us . . . 10 gold for the highest slave price that day before Sadira, and 1 gold under normal market conditions . . . So, with higher quality/skilled slaves (like literacy or artistic talent) maybe a bit more than 1 gold would be normal.
#6 Pennarin Jun 22, 2010 0:04:16	From the Spartacus: Blood and Sand (tv show) entry on Wiki: "In the show, Batiatus purchases six slaves for 100 denarii. In the time, the average price for a slave was between 960 and 4000 denarii, with the cheapest known costing 75 denarii. The expense of slaves made them impossible to purchase without means, but Illythia is depicted purchasing one with her allowance from her husband." The only value given to a denarius that I can find is "The Bible refers to the denarius as a day's wage for a common laborer." If on Athas the median wage is 1 ceramic, then a Roman slave would be worth 960 to 4000 ceramic, making it...9 to 40 gold.  A cheap slave, as the entry says, would be a menial worker on a farm, that can die of exposure any day under the harsh outdoor conditions, worth...3/4 of a gold. More pricy slaves, like indoor servants, or a potential gladiator, or physically superior human and dwarven breeding stock to create a mul, would be 1 gold and up.
#7 RalofTyr Jun 22, 2010 0:43:08	Ceramic Pieces A barbarian slave costs 32 denarius
#8 RalofTyr Jun 22, 2010 1:05:51	Yup, 1,600 d.
#9 mouthymerc Jun 22, 2010 7:33:47	Technically, merchants are not permitted to read or write, but they are allowed to keep accounts.  I should note that most houses have highly developed methods of "keeping accounts".  For all practical purposes, most merchants can read and write in the secret language of their houses.  Not surprisingly, jealous templars spend a considerable amount of energy trying to prove to the king that the keeping of accounts is, in fact, a form of reading and writing. --From the Wanderer's Journal 1991
#10 Grummore Jun 22, 2010 9:26:04	I had started a supplement on slaves/slavers named "Working Too Hard" but never finished it. Maybe I just should wrap it up and throw it in the ring...
#11 aeskalis Jun 26, 2010 13:54:05	I had started a supplement on slaves/slavers named "Working Too Hard" but never finished it. Maybe I just should wrap it up and throw it in the ring...  Yes, please do.
#12 RalofTyr Jun 26, 2010 15:53:58	So in todays economy, how much would a Spanish dancing girl cost me? Alimony and child support payments; man, they're more trouble than they are worth.
#13 phoenix_m Jun 26, 2010 17:00:53	I had started a supplement on slaves/slavers named "Working Too Hard" but never finished it. Maybe I just should wrap it up and throw it in the ring...  Its not dead, just sitting on a back burner at the moment - real life and all. I had started a supplement on slaves/slavers named "Working Too Hard" but never finished it. Maybe I just should wrap it up and throw it in the ring...  Yes, please do.