tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666220838346666024.post4647569555999333677..comments2016-07-25T10:42:30.560-05:00Comments on Brigid's Writing Desk: Of Coins And Coffers: A Frustrated Dissertation On Fantasy CurrencyBrigidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03796317915330760325noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666220838346666024.post-21381863679865334492016-07-25T10:42:30.560-05:002016-07-25T10:42:30.560-05:00Thanks! And I look forward to seeing the recycled ...Thanks! And I look forward to seeing the recycled post.Brigidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03796317915330760325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666220838346666024.post-2198657665249464092016-07-25T10:41:43.139-05:002016-07-25T10:41:43.139-05:00And that's got me wanting to research Medieval...And that's got me wanting to research Medieval economics again. Thanks, Dad.Brigidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03796317915330760325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666220838346666024.post-14496787880314986382016-07-25T10:37:51.478-05:002016-07-25T10:37:51.478-05:00Last comment. Really. I mean it this time.
About ...Last comment. Really. I mean it this time.<br /><br />About Bibles, feudal economics, and helicopters: thanks for reminding me! I may have found something to recycle for my new-and-improved blog. :)<br /><br />From 2009, part of an excessively-long post about such things: https://catholiccitizenamerica.blogspot.com/2009/01/catholics-not-allowed-to-read-bible.html#cost<br /><br />Right! *Now* I'm done. Excellent article!!Brian H. Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209697542675181894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666220838346666024.post-85401920130631884772016-07-25T10:35:53.357-05:002016-07-25T10:35:53.357-05:00Excellent article.
In defense of the old AD&D...Excellent article.<br /><br />In defense of the old AD&D system, which I'll agree is "fantasy" in several senses of the word, it seemed to do a pretty good job of *approximating* a compromise between playability and realism. Someone analyzed falling damage - - - and came to the conclusion that the game system was a pretty good approximation of what would happen to zero-level characters in "real" situations. And that's another topic.<br /><br />About books, feudal-era economics, and cost: that's an underdeveloped aspect of the fantasy rpg genre, I think.<br /><br />The greatest challenge of adventurers, laden with wagonloads of gold, might be finding a place where they could "buy" a meal and place to sleep.<br /><br />I haven't thoroughly researched this, but I'm reasonably sure that most places before the 10th or 11th century in Europe operated on "barter" - - - as you said.<br /><br />A complicating factor is that the "barter" was, I gather, a matter of well-defined personal relationships. For example, Sir Wattleneck, Lord of Lower Puddly, might give 12 furlongs ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furlong#History ) to the neighboring monastery in exchange for a set quantity of bread, cooked game birds, and field work, each year.<br /><br />Sir Wattleneck might not order his men-at-arms to attack the adventurers, the villagers might see them as a welcome change of routine - not a threat, and the monks might ask them questions about their travels.<br /><br />But getting a square meal? *That* would, as you said, almost certainly involve barter. Most likely, if I were setting up the scenario, involving something in the damper portions of Lower Puddly.Brian H. Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209697542675181894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666220838346666024.post-47413250505614912852016-07-25T10:14:03.470-05:002016-07-25T10:14:03.470-05:00:D
I'll probably be back with more, after fin...:D<br /><br />I'll probably be back with more, after finishing your article - - - but your calculation of 1,920 pounds for a backpack full of gold coin started me thinking: just how much would that be, in terms of something I can see?<br /><br />An online resource, done by someone who seems to have 'done the math,' ( http://cars.lovetoknow.com/List_of_Car_Weights ) gives the weight in pounds of various cars used in America.<br /><br />The curb weight of what we call a compact car is, this resource says, 2,979 pounds - or 1,354 kilograms. "Curb weight" is "the weight of your vehicle with all fluids and components but without the drivers, passengers, and cargo."<br /><br />I don't have time or patience to go through the research and math now, but my guess is that the backpack-full-of-gold is pretty close to the weight of a stripped-down American compact.<br /><br />By comparison, back in 2009, Hossein Rezazadeh did a clean-and-jerk lift of 263 kg at the Olympics. I suppose that an adrenaline-fueled adventurer might, after chug-a-lugging a strength potion, carry the weight of a compact car - - - but if I was gamemastering it, there'd be consequences. ;)Brian H. Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209697542675181894noreply@blogger.com