Agemegos

Re: Pulp Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes corpus, Professor Challenger corpus. Leslie Charteris: the early (pre-WWII) Saint stories. Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tarzan corpus, John Carter, Warlord of Mars corpus, Venus corpus, Tarzan corpus. Dashiel Hammett: 'Continental Op' stories, collected in The Big Knockover and other stories Lee Falk: Phantom comics. Alexandre Dumas (pere): The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo. Jules Verne: Around the World in Eighty Days, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea various hack writers: Ellery Queen mysteries.

Re: Medieval Wages Thank you. There used to be a fair number of copies in different places around the 'Net, but they all seem to have vanished. I would feel flattered. Knock yourself out. This is an inherently difficult thing to do, because most fantasy game price lists are made up at complete guess, or at best with an eye to game balance rather than to making any sort of economic sense. The really remarkable things that you discover when researching historical prices are: * That food was amazingly cheap: there just weren't coins small enough to buy what we now consider normal retail quantities. * That clothes were amazingly expensive: before the Industrial Revolution, when cloth was hand-woven, even a simple garment represented many hours of work. * That the relative price of horses rose drastically from the beginning to the end of the mediaeval period: grazing land was ample and free in AD 1100, by AD 1340 it was scarce. * That the relative price of metalwork fell drastically from the beginning of the mediaeval period to the end: the price of iron weapons and armour in terms of labour halved from 1100 to 1450. * That mail was in fact more expensive than plate: knights in the early mediaeval wore mail because that was what was available, they switched to plate later as the ironworking techniques improved, and plate gradually became available in ever-more-complex shaped pieces (thus allowing plate armouring of limbs and joints. Mail was never worn as a cheap alternative. It is very interesting that in the early mediaeval period the chief expense of a knight's equipment was his frightfully expensive mail coat: his horses were fairly cheap. Three hundred years later his plate armour was comparatively much cheaper, and his horses were the chief expense of his outfit. One result is that you have to acknowledge the sweeping economic change that occurred duringt he mediaeval period, and ask yourself what sort of mediaeval economy, what kind of mediaeval society, you wish to emulate in your fantasy setting. An early mediaeval economy in which forest-fattened pork was the staple of diet, labour scarce, land free for the cost of clearing it, livestock cheap, and the ranks of the knighthood open. Or a late mediaeval economy in which porridge or bread is the staple of diet, land scarce, labour available in excess, livestock expensive, and society much more rigid.

Re: Medieval Wages Fair enough. I on the other hand am afraid that if I pay no attention at all to realism I will set myself up for a fall. So I actually did some research when I was compiling my mediaeval price list. Trusty old Google seem to tell me that no-one is hosting a copy any more, so here is some grist for your mill. I hope you don't have too much trouble with the format. My players refused to understand pounds, shillings, and pence, so I have put all these figures in pennies. MEDIAEVAL PRICE LIST This price list is intended to replace those used in fantasy role-playing games, which are rarely informed by reality. It is based as far as possible on the actual prices of commodities between 1100 AD and 1400 AD, concentrating on earlier. As far as is possible, prices have been adjusted to reflect the inflation of silver and the debasement of coins, and are given in a epoch of about 1200 AD, even though some of the items were not in fact available in 1200 AD. Prices in this list are given in pence, each equal to the value of the Carolingian penny or denier of 1/240th of a (Roman) pound of silver. That is to say that a penny weighed about 1.35 gammes, which would make it about the size of a pre-decimal Australia threepence, which is rather small. The English did not mint anything other than pennies during the mediæval period, nor did they debase the penny. Groats (gros) worth four deniers were minted on the Continent, but they were soon debased. The most common gold coin seems to have weighed 3.5 grammes, and to have been called an ecu, florin, ducat, crown, bezaint, or sequin, depending on where it was minted. As the relative prices of gold and silver varied, so would its value, from about 37 to about 75 pence. A normal or average value of 60 pence (5 shillings) seems not unreasonable. Farthings were not minted in copper. They were made by cutting pennies into quarters. From the time of King John (about 1200) pennies had crosses on the back to guide their accurate cutting. Asterices (*) mark prices interpolated from RPG price lists. Armour Leather 60 Scale* 600 Mail 1,200 Partial plate 1,640 Plate armour, complete 2,000 Improved plate* 2,400 Bascinet, with lining 200 Board & Lodging College/boarding school, per week 24 Inn, London– beds, per night 1 Inn, rural– meal with drinks 2 †heat and light private chamber 1.25 †beds for gentlemen, per night 0.5 †beds for servants, per night 0.25 †hot bath 2 †stabling and fodder (per horse) 1.25 Rent, cottage, per year 60 †craftsman’s house †240 †merchant’s house †600 Building construction Church, 125’, stonework only 27,000 †cathedral 500,000+ Cottage, 2storey– w. material free 480 Hall & chamber, modest 2,880 –labour only, materials from estate Hovel, from materials available 120 Wooden gatehouse, with drawbridge –with materials from estate 1,280 –plus value of materials 3,840 Stone gatehouse, in modest private castle –with materials from estate 4,000 –plus value of materials 7,200 Tower (in large royal castle) 48,000 Well, per fathom deep 18 Buildings & real estate Row house (in York, well built) 1,200 Craftsman’s house, with shop, 2,880 workers’ quarters, and tile roof Merchant’s house, in large city 7,200 House with a courtyard, †21,600 Guildhall in large city 32,600 (hall, 2 chambers, buttery, pantry, kitchen) Clothing Prices listed are for plain, standard-quality. Apply modifiers for expensive materials, fine workmanship, and so forth. Belt, weapon 2 Boots, pair 8 Chemise, linen 8 Cloak, woolen 36 †fur-lined 116 Gown (long), woolen 36 Gloves* 3 Hat 10 Kirtle, woolen 24 Purse 1.5 Quiver, red leather 9 Robe, woolen 36 Scarf* 1 Shoes, pair 4.5 Surcoat, linen 24 Trousers*, woolen 20 Tunic (short)/doublet 24 Underlinen 12 Clothing modifiers Dyed, dear (scarlet, green, black) x1.6 †rare (purple, royal blue) x2 Fur lining, cheap +80 †luxury furs +480–720 Fine cloth x2 Shoddy (recycled rags) x0.4 Silk x12 Household furnishings Basin & ewer 16–32 Blanket, woolen 15 Bottle 3 Bowl, earthenware 0.25 Candles, tallow, in the country, per lb. 1.5 †tallow, in a large city, per lb. 2 †wax, per lb. 6.5 Chair 4 Chest 6 †large, for clothes 24 Coffer (strongbox) 12 Cup, earthenware 0.25 †glass 2.5 Ewer, metal (brass? pewter?) 6 Knife, eating 2 Mattress, straw 2 Mirror, silvered 24 Padlock 12 Pillow 1 Plate, earthenware 0.25 Pot, cooking, ceramic 0.5 †brass, large 12 Sheet, linen 4 Stool 3 Towel 6 Table 6 Information and Instruction Books, per pecia 9.5 Book rental, per pecia per year 1 (a pecia is approx. 7,500 words, the Bible is about 100 pecia) Fencing instruction, per month 120 Tuition, monastery school, per year 480 â€, private schoolmaster 160 â€, University, basic courses 480 ††fashionable lecturers &c 1200+ Livestock Item Price Capon 2 Calf, weaned 10 Cow 72 †good milker 120 Duck 1 Donkey or mule* 280 Falcon, trained gerfalcon 48 †trained goshawk 60 Fowl (hen) 0.5 Goose 3 Horse, riding hack 300+ †pony* 300+ †trained for horse-archer 480+ †draught horse 1,200+ †palfrey 1,680+ †hunter* 2,100+ †trained destrier 9,600+ Ox 108 Pig (in breeding country) 24 †(in a large city) 36 Pigeon0.25 Sheep (in breeding country) 10 †(in a large city) 17 Precious items Necklace, gold 80 †pearl 282 Ring, gold setting with diamonds 1,800 †gold setting with ruby 320 Spoon, silver 28 Provisions Ale, per gallon 0.5 Bacon, per side 9.5 Bread, 1 loaf (24 oz?) 0.25 Cider, per tun 60 Cheese, retail, per lb 2 †whole, 80 lb 40 Eggs, per dozen 0.5 Fish, herrings, per dozen 1 †Pike, whole, 3’ long 80 †Sturgeon, per barrel 396 Fruit, figs, per lb 1.5 †pears, (30) 1 †pomegranate, 1 only 6 Gingerbread, per lb 36 Grain, barley, per quarter 22 †oats, per quarter 16 †wheat, per quarter 38 Ham, whole 16 Onions, 1 bushel 8 Partridges, per brace 4.5 Raisins, per lb 2 Salt, per bushel 3 Spices, per lb up to 168 Sugar, per lb 12 Wine, fine claret, per tun (252 gal.) 480 †best, per gallon 4–5 †cheapest, per gallon 2 To feed a lord, per day 7 †a squire †4 †yeoman †3 †groom †1 Services Armour, clean & de-rust 5 †overhaul & varnish 16 Carriage, annual maintenance 12–36 Cesspit, empty out 80 Courier, 1 horse, per 50 km or day 12 †2 horses, per 100 km or day 18 Ferry, river crossing for man & horse 1 Guide, for one night 1 Milling grain, per quarter 1 Minstrel, to play at an inn 1 †Christmas gig at manor house 36 Stabling & care, warhorse, per day 5.25 †foal †1.5 Stationery Parchment, folio, per leaf 0.5 Vellum †1.25 Wax, sealing, per lb. 2 Tools and hardware Anvil 240 Armourer’s tools, complete 3,324 Auger 3 Axe 5 Barrel 3 Bellows, large (for forge) 240 Bucket 4 Canvas, 25 yards 80 Chisel 4 Loom and treadle 24 Pick* 1.5 Plough 36 Rope, light, per fathom 0.5 Sand barrel (for cleaning mail) 9 Saw, hand* 12 Saw, cross-cut* 30 Shovel* 1.5 Spade 1.5 Spinning wheel (late) 10 Vat 4 Vise 160 Yoke 16 Vehicles Barge 2,400 Boat, 10’ sailing 78 Carrack* 910 Carriage* 320 Cart, iron-bound 48 â€, wooden (unfit for long trips) 24 Cutter* 95 Dray/waggon, iron-shod wheels 120 Galley, 40-oared* 8,480 †80-oared & masted* 14,896 Wages & Incomes Labourer, per day 1.25 Craftsman, per day armourer 5–6 carpenter 3 mason 4 weaver 2.5 apprentice carpenter 1.75 apprentice armourer 3.75 Landowner, per year (£1 = 240 pence) †knight £30–£300 †baron or abbot £200–£500 †earl/count or bishop £400–£11,000 †King (of England) £30,000 Mercenary, per day Archer 3 †mounted 6 Knight banneret 48 Knight 24 Infantryman, armoured 6 Man-at-arms, mounted 12 Squire 12 Priest (in a chantry), per year 1,120 Servant, per year (plus bed & board) †squire 160–240 †carter, porter, groom, 60–104 falconer, messenger, etc. †indoor and kitchen 24–48 †boys and pages 12–72 Weapons Swords Dagger* 3.5 Main gauche* 7 Short sword* 14 Falchion 12 Scimitar* 20.5 Tulwar* 22 Rapier* 12 Sabre* 14 Broadsword* 17 Estoc* 22 Hand & a Half* 29 Claymore* 27.5 Two-handed sword* 34 Hafted weapons Hand axe 5 Battle axe* 7 Great axe* 10 Giant axe* 13 Crude club* 0.25 War club* 1 Torch 0.25 Mace* 5 Giant mace* 13.5 War hammer* 5 War pick* 7 Flail* 5 Morningstar* 7 Mattock* 6 Quarterstaff* 0.25 Sap* 0.75 Pole weapons Javelin* 1.25 Spear* 3.5 Giant spear* 7 Pike* 5 Lance 6 Halberd* 5 Poleaxe* 7 Trident* 7 Glaive* 5 Giant glaive* 10 Missile weapons Sling* 1.25 Short bow* 14.5 Long bow 18 Composite bow* 21.5 Giant bow* 57.5 Crossbow 60 Cranequin for above* 40 Spearthrower* 1.5 Blowgun* 2 Ammunition Arrows (longbow), (24) 3 Bolts (crossbow), (20) 6.25 Bullets, lead (sling), (8) 1 Entangling weapons Net* 3 Bolas* 4.5 Whip* 7.25 Anachronistic weapons Cestus* 5 Garotte* 2 Shields Buckler* 1.75 Small round shield* 2.75 Large round shield* 3.5 Kite shield* 5 Tower shield* 6.75 Main gauche* 7 Legal privileges Apprenticeship, guild of carpenters 12 †company of mercers 24 Freedom (of a city) 40–240 Marriage licence (for serf) 12–160 Membership, guild of carpenters 40 †company of mercers 240 †other guilds 80–720 Nobility, patent of 30,000

Re: Reaching Across the 19th Century Aisle Curufea gave links to a couple of good sites back in post #17 on this thread.

Re: Religious that won't emigrate

Re: Religious that won't emigrate

Re: What do you do onboard a starship?

Re: What do you do onboard a starship? Good GMs. At least two homicide detectives.

Re: Here on Earth-2: your evil counterpart! Colonel Carnage (my battlesuit character) is a serving colonel in the Australian Army. He fights supervillains because that is his current posting. I guess on Earth-2 his equivalent would fight superheroes for the same reason.

Re: Religious that won't emigrate

G'day Imagine that there is going to be a lightspeed or slower wave of emigrations from Earth starting about AD 2100. The thing is that the JAFAL or NAFAL ("just-as-fast-as-light" or "nearly-as-fast-as-light") technology relies on an enormous high-tech very expensive but indefinitely re-useable 'encapsulator' that sits in Solar orbit sending out colony ship after colony ship. It won't cost any particular ship-load of colonists to pay their share of amortising the encapsulator, but it will be centuries at least before any colony is large, rich, and advanced enough to build an encapsulator of its own. Which means that no colonist who goes out is going to come back to Earth, nor are many of their descendants ever likely to do so. It's going to be a diaspora, with different groups setting up colonies in different star-systems for different reasons, some of them to get away from people unlike themselves. Some of the colonies may be set up by religious separatists, others by religious utopists. But it strikes me that some religions will be likely to send out colonies, and others less so. For example, no muslim who goes out on this emigration will ever perform the Hajj again, nor are his descendants likely to do so. No hindu who thus goes forth, nor many of their descendants, will ever again bathe in the sacred Ganges. No jew who thus goes forth, nor any of his descendants, will ever worship at the Third Temple. So: which religions are unlikely to establish separatist or utopist colonies under these conditions? Regards, Brett

Re: Moonquakes

Re: Medieval Wages Dubious. There were no dukes in England until 1337 (when the Duchy of Cornwall was created as an appanage for the heir apparent to the throne), and none outside the royal family until 1396. The title 'baronet' was invented in 1611. The mediaeval period in England ended in 1485. What figures have you used for the 'wages' of nobles? The income of their estates? Finally, I am a bit worried about your figure for the wage of an unskilled worker. My researches showed that it was never lower than 1.25 pence per day (in the Twelfth Century) and rose to 3.75 pence per day after about 1350. Are you sure that the figures you based your adjustments on were the whole wage? Are you sure that there were not substantial payments in kind (livery) in addition to the cash wage?

Re: Moonquakes No, I don't. Under mantle pressures rock is a viscous fluid. It will transmit shock waves, but not cracks.

Re: Moonquakes

Re: Moonquakes Okay, good. The answer is that the Moon's surface will settle by 0.84 inch on average, there will be landslides on the surface erasing some smaller craters, and may be a few moonquakes about the sizes of the ones normally triggered by tidal kneading. The Moon's rotational speed will increase by a few parts per billion as the result of its decrease in moment of inertia: nutation will increase slightly, but tidal stabilisation will prevent it actually rotating. Short story: significant readings from seismometers on the Moon. Increased nutation detectable by careful astronomers. Nothing perceptible to the common man or the naked eye (on Earth).

Re: Moonquakes

Re: Reaching Across the 19th Century Aisle They were bushrangers, either of whom can make a much better case of being driven into it by the injustice and tyranny of the police than Kelly can. Thunderbolt generally tried to avoid hurting people (and ended up dying of it). There is a highway named after him not far from here. Captain Moonlight was rather more violent: his last words (to the policemen who shot him down) were "Ah! If I'd had my rifle I'd have taught you mercy."

Re: Moonquakes No, the smallness of the object isn't the issue. The issue is that this sort of event is not of a type to have any direct or appreciable effect on the Moon's orbit no matter how great the mass or volume involved were. Yes, it is a certainty. There is no such possibility. No, and this is not an issue of scale. Quakes are not the kind of thing that has an effect on the orbit of the object quaking. The re-arrangment of anomalous masses within the Moon might have a very small effect on the third-order components of its gravitational field. This might produce tiny changes in the orbits of satellites in close orbits near the Moon's surface, and over a sufficent number of years it might be possible to map the changes in the Moon's gravitational anomalies by extremely accurate measurement of the orbits of such satellites. I am afraid taht you are barking up the wrong tree. If you want to have the Moon's orbit change to any perceptible degree you are going to have to give it a very powerful shove. Or else ignore the physics.

Re: Star Wars "Science" Well spotted! No telephone, either. And here's another: droid torture.

Re: Reaching Across the 19th Century Aisle This book, Inventing the Victorians, is a must-read for anybody contemplating a campaign set in or supplemment about Victorian England.

Re: Reaching Across the 19th Century Aisle He was a murderer and a horse-thief. And a thug compared to Thunderbolt or Captain Moonlight.

Re: Is monster hunting horror? "You have given out too much Reputation in the last 24 hours, try again later." I owe Just Joe rep for this post.

Re: Is monster hunting horror? I think it has to be horrifying (which is more 'disturbing' than 'fightening') and does not have to have nasty unnatural creatures. I think a story about an alcoholic father could be very horrifying while being utterly realistic.

Re: Astronomy/Physics question There isn't any such change in velocity. Not necessarily. According to the General Theory of Relativity (which is the current state of the art) gravitational changes propagate at c. But since we are positing an instantaneous drive we are rejecting relativity: we aren't bound to assume that gravity propagates at c in teh game world, but we aren't bound to assume that it propagates instantaneously, either.