Starting age

[ned_plants]

Is it just me or does starting characters at age fifteen and having a previous profession seem, well, improbable? I suppose you could consider the profession to be those of their parents but still . . . (Son, welcome to your first day of spy training.) This becomes even more peculiar when you consider Glorantha's short year; fifteen year olds work out to be just over twelve Earth years.

Otherwise the profession table is rather useful, although perhaps more for NPCs. Suggested incomes would be helpful. Some of them do do seem a bit strange (Full time militiaman? Isn't that just a soldier?)

 

[zozotroll]

Most grow fast there

When you consider that earth bronze age folks where possibly married and haveing a few kids. So in that context, no, already haveing a proffesion is not that weird. Just seems that way to people who dont start a job until they are 18.

 

[weasel_fierce]

Well, starting RQ characters arent always terribly competent in their skills. But age 15 in an ancient world is pretty much a grown man

In any event though, the default starting age is 15-30. If you want to play a 15 year old character, its up to you to figure out why he's as skilled as he is (or isnt, as the case may be)

 

[soltakss]

Well, by 15, women were probably married with kids and men were learning a trade as an apprentice. Don't forget they had no schools in many ancient/medieval periods, so they had to get the kids off doing something otherwise they'd become layabouts.

I know people who left school at 13 or 14 and started a job straight away, so that would give them a couple of years experience - and this was 20th century Britain.

But, if you want a later development then just adjust the ages a bit. If you like adulthood to begin at 18, then set the starting age as 18.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

There was of course the medieval obsession with numbers - for example the heptad (7).

One stopped being a child at 7 and became an apprentice (or whatever). At 14 you were an adult, at 21 reached complete majority, while at 70 you were likely dead. I missed out a lot of the other heptadic associations.

This can get really complex, but a good source is 'Medieval Number Symbolism' by Vincent F Hopper. Dover 2000

All the best

 

[Halfbat]

Otherwise the profession table is rather useful, although perhaps more for NPCs.

Actually, it works quite well for its purpose in creating starting PCs, too.

Suggested incomes would be helpful.

There's a range of incomes in the Companion (p56), and more in Arms and Equipment (p78), though they should probably be adjusted for your own world.

 

[algauble]

Speaking of the range of incomes, does anyone know if the monetary system and prices were based on any kind of historic data? Are there any hard and fast guidelines for estimating how much something should cost and how that relates to the price of a sword or a night at the inn. I seem to remember in RQ3 there was some mention of trying to model the historical relationship between how many cows equals a sheep or whatever, but I've always wondered if there really was a pre-industrial universal exchange rate for such things. I think 1 silver penny was stated to be one day's wage for a poor person? I've often suspected economics in FRPGs was highly arbitrary.
(Should this be a separate thread? Probably, huh?)

 

[zozotroll]

The problem is that not all sheep are equal. The variations can change the price considerably. And while there was money around, most folks might never see any of it. And prices certainly where not the same everywhere. Thats why all them there merchants can make a liveing.

Some times this is hard for us modern f9olks to grasp. A copy of MRQ basic costs pretty much the same everywhere, except in somew discount places. But gas prices can vary widely.

So you might have prices in 50 different places for the Poor GM to have to deal with. So, no I dont believe they are more than losely based on RW economics. But that is OK with me, I just want to have a fun game, not do a paper on the underlieing economics of Glorantha.

 

[algauble]

The problem is that not all sheep are equal. The variations can change the price considerably. And while there was money around, most folks might never see any of it. And prices certainly where not the same everywhere. Thats why all them there merchants can make a liveing.

Some times this is hard for us modern f9olks to grasp. A copy of MRQ basic costs pretty much the same everywhere, except in somew discount places. But gas prices can vary widely.

So you might have prices in 50 different places for the Poor GM to have to deal with. So, no I dont believe they are more than losely based on RW economics. But that is OK with me, I just want to have a fun game, not do a paper on the underlieing economics of Glorantha.

Well, certainly, fun should be the most important thing. A lot of games have moved to abstract Wealth ratings and such, which keeps things quick and frees you from getting wrapped up in such details. But I think it's more satisfying to find gems worth 35 silver, or whatever. But I would also like to have some sense when dividing the loot, just what 30 lunars or 2 clacks will get you. Does it make sense for those broo to be carrying 40 wheels, and does anybody have some purell?
To get more on topic, is it possible to get multiple professions in exchange for higher starting age? Say 1 profession's worth of %'s for each heptad?

 

[zozotroll]

Dont get me wrong. I have folks packing cash around all the time. Is it historical? No it is not. Same with a standard price for a sheep. But it does make the game playable.

And besides what is the real history of Glorantha?

 

[algauble]

Well, my real concern that got me thinking about fantasy economics lately, is whether or not I should adjust treasure values from the Moon Design reprints. Should I just treat a lunar and a silver piece as being equivalent? Then just out of curiosity, I started to compare some d20 prices with MRQ prices.
As for the on topic discussion, I'd probably replace the heptad with a 2d6 roll (averages 7, after all).

 

[zozotroll]

D20 prices are not based on anything. After all, they use gold as a standard, and the average person haveing a fair bit of it.

I have never tried to compare prices from system to sytem, other than in historical games. I am doing a bit of that in my Pirates game now. And it is a pain.

As for multiple proffesions, historicaly that would be very odd. But probably not impossible. However, rather than try to add another proffesion, just use the advanced starting rules in the improvement chapter. It works OK for older charecters, and could easily cover different proffesions on the same person. And you dont have to figure out anything.

 

[weasel_fierce]

Fantasy games usually base economics on sheer lunacy and fantasy.

You can get around it a bit by having very little actual currency. Use the costs in the books as relative worth, and just have people barter items of comparable worth.
Most people can figure that a sword is worth more than a pig, and a pig is propably 2 sheep or whatever

 

[soltakss]

I can't be bothered messing about with sheep etc. in my games.

If someone wants to barter, then fine, but I use local prices to work out what things should cost. So if a Sword should cost 100SP, say, and a sheep costs 20SP, then 5 sheep would buy a sword. But, if you took 5 sheep to a swordsmith in a city, you might get short shrift or be charged 10 sheep instead.

In my mind, there's nothing wrong with money and a lot of claptrap has been written on its absence in Fantasy Roleplaying Games.

Sure, when someone is carrying around 20,000SP, they have to put it on a muletrain, but that's what temples and banks are for. In my games, people store their money in temples and can draw on it as they travel. Not realistic but very playable.

 

[weasel_fierce]

actually, what you talk about is what I meant. I guess I wasnt terribly clear.

 

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

I tried to equate MRQ prices with various mediaeval ones and couldn't - this is hardly surprising since I was using 12-15th century data from England and that in itself build in a lot of societal and economic assumptions.

Regards