Continued from the first part
Now that I have the outlines of how the economy works, I need to work out how much everything is worth. Let's start from the farmer: How much is the net-worth of farmer's produce? Let's say that it's 10 bweepers/day spread over the entire year(I'll just assume that year is 365 days, for now. I may change that later). How much of that goes to himself and his family as food? In a village probably 2/3 people are farmers and their families(who also help running the farms), there's a smith, a major, a healer/magic user and the rest are hunters. In a village there's between 100 and 300 people total, averaging about 200. In a city, on the other hand, there are no farmers. How many capita/city? Considering technology level and limitations of caves, a reasonable number would be...I actually have no idea.
Hmm. Apparently a typical medieval city had about 300 000 inhabitants. Considering the limitations of caves(you can only have so much empty space in a limited volume without risking cave-ins, even with supporting structures. Of course the amount is bigger relative to volume close to surface(how deep do the caves extend? And how close to the surface will there be cities? what about villages? Yet more things I'll need to figure out. The more answers I figure out, the more questions there are), I think the number will have to be drastically lower. 50 000? That should be good enough approximation for now(I'll probably need to make another post about this sometime. Luckily the number isn't really vital for now(which begs the question why I just spent about quarter hour trying to figure it out), so I don't have to do that now).
So, a village has about 200 inhabitants, city 50 000 and there are 100 villages to one city. That means the amount of farmers to everyone else is about 100*133:100*67+50 000 or 13 300:56 700 (which rounds to about 1:4). Hmm. Even considering hunters(which will number around 7 000) the number of food producers is pretty low. Less than 40% of the total population. I'm not an expert on medieval economics, but that seems pretty low. Of course, there's magic involved in the equation, but it shouldn't effect the food production. Or should it?
half hour later...
After throughout research I finally stumbled upon this wikipedia article, which indicates that peasants could live with only 20% of their produce or less. So the numbers seem to be just fine.
Now, where was I...Oh, right. So an average peasant produces 10 bweepers of value per day. Since there is 4 other people who also need farm products, he uses 2 bweepers worth of that himself. That means that he gets to sell those 8 bweepers worth. Boy, is he going to be rich! That's almost 6 thrones a year(5.84, to be exact)! Yeah, right. I bet he doesn't even know what a throne looks like. Tune in next time to see what happens to all that money.
Mar 15, 2010
Mar 11, 2010
Other sentients
I've been thinking about having other races(to use the D&D term, "race" meaning sentient species like humans or elves or dwarves) in the Lightless. I don't really have to worry about making the setting even more unique, so I don't have to start from the scratch, although I don't want to make exact copies either. It's really a dilemma: On one hand I want humans to be the people around: when I introduce a character I don't want the first reaction to be "Is she human or elf or what?". On the other hand, I think exclusively human fantasy settings are rare for a reason: no matter how well you describe the humans, you're not going to get the same amount of "Wow" as you could get by introducing something new(or not so new. Just about everyone has elves. They're still better than having nothing but humans). Tolkien had elves for a reason(500-word rant and it's cause deleted. It was about the drow).
At this point I haven't decided yet whether there are other races(and I probably wouldn't tell even if I had. I'd like to keep my players dark about some things at least for a while yet), but they certainly wont be prevalent. Right now I'm thinking of having fey and dwarves. In fact, I've already decided that the fey exist at least in the legends: go beck in time far enough and just about everyone is either linked to religion in some way(a prophet, a saint, a...crusader?) or you can find a legend linking them to fey by being a fey, a half-fey, a fey-blooded or at least allied to the fey.
So, what would the fey be like(remember that all this may well be scrapped and even if it isn't, it's entirely possible that the fey don't come up)? Fairies are usually smaller than humans(varying from the size of a largish bug to child-sized). I think I'll go with fey being about 2/3rd's of a human size. Obviously they're superior to humans: they're not as strong, but they're faster, as tough(even though they're smaller), healthier, smarter and capable of flying. They also live in an area 300 miles north-northeast of the players starting point(just kidding...probably).
Dwarves are easier(same goes for dwarves). Since I don't want them in the same space as humans, I'll just move them to surface: instead of working with stone, they work with wood. Every dwarf is a master woodcrafter. Metals are not very prevalent, since they could bump into humans digging too deep(work THAT into Dwarffortress. I dare you!). Otherwise they're just standard dwarves:Hardworking, heavy-drinking, grumpy, violent short people.
At this point I haven't decided yet whether there are other races(and I probably wouldn't tell even if I had. I'd like to keep my players dark about some things at least for a while yet), but they certainly wont be prevalent. Right now I'm thinking of having fey and dwarves. In fact, I've already decided that the fey exist at least in the legends: go beck in time far enough and just about everyone is either linked to religion in some way(a prophet, a saint, a...crusader?) or you can find a legend linking them to fey by being a fey, a half-fey, a fey-blooded or at least allied to the fey.
So, what would the fey be like(remember that all this may well be scrapped and even if it isn't, it's entirely possible that the fey don't come up)? Fairies are usually smaller than humans(varying from the size of a largish bug to child-sized). I think I'll go with fey being about 2/3rd's of a human size. Obviously they're superior to humans: they're not as strong, but they're faster, as tough(even though they're smaller), healthier, smarter and capable of flying. They also live in an area 300 miles north-northeast of the players starting point(just kidding...probably).
Dwarves are easier(same goes for dwarves). Since I don't want them in the same space as humans, I'll just move them to surface: instead of working with stone, they work with wood. Every dwarf is a master woodcrafter. Metals are not very prevalent, since they could bump into humans digging too deep(work THAT into Dwarffortress. I dare you!). Otherwise they're just standard dwarves:Hardworking, heavy-drinking, grumpy, violent short people.
Mar 4, 2010
What is worth? part 1/?
Following from the previous post, now I have a money system. But it's not very useful to know that one throne is worth 500 bweepers, when we don't know what a bweeper is worth. So know I need to figure out what everything is worth.
We know have the following units:
Bweeper
Double-whistle=25 bweepers
Throne=20 double-whistles
Hmm. Double-whistle is a little cumbersome to say or write. I imagine that it would get shortened pretty quickly in spoken language and generation or two later it would be shortened in written language, too. I think just dropping the whistle part should be sufficient. So one throne=20 doubles.
Back to the topic. I should aim for the values to be at the very least realistic enough for casual observer to fail to spot anything obviously wrong. Bweeper should be small enough that it's fractions don't come into the play. I think I should start from a small village environment where there aren't that many variables. In small village with little connection to outside world apart from the occasional peddler, most of the trade is direct exchange with items and services without money being necessary.
Most people are farmers or hunters who do a little bit of everything from fixing their tools of trade(when it can be done without a forge) to making their own clothes either from wool(or equivalent, more likely) up or at least from fabric. These people are in effect nearly self-sufficient: as generalists they rarely have need for specialists, even though they would get better quality work from using one. Farming isn't very lucrative, so their net-worth isn't very high.
A village also needs a blacksmith. Farmers could probably make their own forges, but considering that a forge needs yet another separate building, it's heavy work and they don't have that much use for it themselves, it just isn't worth it. In the end a professional blacksmith is better for everyone. There are several other trades that probably have a specialist: a healer/priest who knows mostly everything there is to know about different herbs and treatments in the collective wisdom of village there is to know. Again, farmers probably could know these things themselves and probably do know at least the basics, but when you're really sick you're going to need help, anyway. There's also some kind of mayor who acts as spokesperson, judge/arbiter etc. Mayor probably has a side-trade too, at least in smaller villages. With the danger of cave-ins being everpresent, there probably is an architect as well, to regulate building. There may also be a magic-user, but since one isn't strictly necessary, it's more likely that one has taken the role of healer and uses other magic only irregularly.
I've already written almost 500 words and I've barely scratched the topic I intended to write about. On the plus side, now I have all the necessary pieces to grab the issue. I think I'll leave the rest for tomorrow. I clearly need to think about this some more.
We know have the following units:
Bweeper
Double-whistle=25 bweepers
Throne=20 double-whistles
Hmm. Double-whistle is a little cumbersome to say or write. I imagine that it would get shortened pretty quickly in spoken language and generation or two later it would be shortened in written language, too. I think just dropping the whistle part should be sufficient. So one throne=20 doubles.
Back to the topic. I should aim for the values to be at the very least realistic enough for casual observer to fail to spot anything obviously wrong. Bweeper should be small enough that it's fractions don't come into the play. I think I should start from a small village environment where there aren't that many variables. In small village with little connection to outside world apart from the occasional peddler, most of the trade is direct exchange with items and services without money being necessary.
Most people are farmers or hunters who do a little bit of everything from fixing their tools of trade(when it can be done without a forge) to making their own clothes either from wool(or equivalent, more likely) up or at least from fabric. These people are in effect nearly self-sufficient: as generalists they rarely have need for specialists, even though they would get better quality work from using one. Farming isn't very lucrative, so their net-worth isn't very high.
A village also needs a blacksmith. Farmers could probably make their own forges, but considering that a forge needs yet another separate building, it's heavy work and they don't have that much use for it themselves, it just isn't worth it. In the end a professional blacksmith is better for everyone. There are several other trades that probably have a specialist: a healer/priest who knows mostly everything there is to know about different herbs and treatments in the collective wisdom of village there is to know. Again, farmers probably could know these things themselves and probably do know at least the basics, but when you're really sick you're going to need help, anyway. There's also some kind of mayor who acts as spokesperson, judge/arbiter etc. Mayor probably has a side-trade too, at least in smaller villages. With the danger of cave-ins being everpresent, there probably is an architect as well, to regulate building. There may also be a magic-user, but since one isn't strictly necessary, it's more likely that one has taken the role of healer and uses other magic only irregularly.
I've already written almost 500 words and I've barely scratched the topic I intended to write about. On the plus side, now I have all the necessary pieces to grab the issue. I think I'll leave the rest for tomorrow. I clearly need to think about this some more.
Mar 2, 2010
Money, money, money!
Spoiler warning: while this post doesn't spoil anything about the plot, it does contain information that the characters couldn't know and that could possibly be immersion breaking.
What would be appropriate money system for the Lightless? In fantasy genre, gold is used to the exclusion of other options, with silver and copper filling for smaller units. But since most people don't use light at all except for engineers and magic-users who need to see the schematics(reading by touch is all fine and well, but it doesn't work when pictures are used), gold wouldn't really fit. After all, it was used not only for it's value, but because it's beautiful to look at and difficult to forge. But you can't sense gold's beauty without light, and the sound, weight and feel would be easier to forge. While gold may be rare, since it isn't really very useful(what is gold useful apart from electronics? False teeth? I can't really think of anything) and doesn't have aesthetic value without light, I really have to look elsewhere.
What I really need is something that either feels or sound unique. Shells of rare mollusks? Doesn't really work in day-to-day life. While I can imagine them being collected from several beaches or even a single beach perhaps only during a certain time of year and they could certainly feel and sound pleasant, they're either too large and cumbersome or too brittle.
But...Suppose there was such a rare species with easily recognizable feel and sound. Perhaps it might even have been used as a currency in the past. I'm sure the shells could have been replicated in metal. It would have to be a hard metal, otherwise they would still be damaged easily. It would also have to sound pleasant and the exact sound would have to be difficult to reproduce. Gold is obviously out of question because it's too soft at least as a pure metal. Besides, I don't want to replicate the clichee.
The shells are beautifully engraved with text identifying the mint, kingdom where they were made, year and value. They are made from silver-palladium alloy the exact recipe of which is a secret. While some forgers in the past have identified and replicated the alloy correctly, none of them has ever been able to replicate the exact sound the shells create. The secret of the sound is a small bubble of mercury in the middle of the shell. The sound is thought to be impossible to replicate exactly and most people handling money daily are well-practiced in identifying the sound of a forgery. The shells come in several variations: the smallest of the is half-inch from top to bottom and produces a sound near the high-end of the hearing spectrum. It's called bweeper. Old people sometimes have trouble identifying them correctly. The second smallest is a full inch long and is five times as valuable as the smallest one. It is called whistle. The third one is inch and a quarter long and worth ten bweepers. It's called key, and it's sound is often used to tune instruments.The fourth is the least valuable double-shell: it is made of two 3/4 inches long shells joined in the middle. It is worth twenty five times bweepers and it's named double-whistle. The second double-shell is made of two 9/8 of an inch long shells, worth two double-whistles and called double-key. The last double-shell, throne, is 11/8 of an inch long and it's worth twenty double-whistles. Numbers are usually called in bweepers and double-whistles or, when dealing with large sums, in thrones.
What would be appropriate money system for the Lightless? In fantasy genre, gold is used to the exclusion of other options, with silver and copper filling for smaller units. But since most people don't use light at all except for engineers and magic-users who need to see the schematics(reading by touch is all fine and well, but it doesn't work when pictures are used), gold wouldn't really fit. After all, it was used not only for it's value, but because it's beautiful to look at and difficult to forge. But you can't sense gold's beauty without light, and the sound, weight and feel would be easier to forge. While gold may be rare, since it isn't really very useful(what is gold useful apart from electronics? False teeth? I can't really think of anything) and doesn't have aesthetic value without light, I really have to look elsewhere.
What I really need is something that either feels or sound unique. Shells of rare mollusks? Doesn't really work in day-to-day life. While I can imagine them being collected from several beaches or even a single beach perhaps only during a certain time of year and they could certainly feel and sound pleasant, they're either too large and cumbersome or too brittle.
But...Suppose there was such a rare species with easily recognizable feel and sound. Perhaps it might even have been used as a currency in the past. I'm sure the shells could have been replicated in metal. It would have to be a hard metal, otherwise they would still be damaged easily. It would also have to sound pleasant and the exact sound would have to be difficult to reproduce. Gold is obviously out of question because it's too soft at least as a pure metal. Besides, I don't want to replicate the clichee.
The shells are beautifully engraved with text identifying the mint, kingdom where they were made, year and value. They are made from silver-palladium alloy the exact recipe of which is a secret. While some forgers in the past have identified and replicated the alloy correctly, none of them has ever been able to replicate the exact sound the shells create. The secret of the sound is a small bubble of mercury in the middle of the shell. The sound is thought to be impossible to replicate exactly and most people handling money daily are well-practiced in identifying the sound of a forgery. The shells come in several variations: the smallest of the is half-inch from top to bottom and produces a sound near the high-end of the hearing spectrum. It's called bweeper. Old people sometimes have trouble identifying them correctly. The second smallest is a full inch long and is five times as valuable as the smallest one. It is called whistle. The third one is inch and a quarter long and worth ten bweepers. It's called key, and it's sound is often used to tune instruments.The fourth is the least valuable double-shell: it is made of two 3/4 inches long shells joined in the middle. It is worth twenty five times bweepers and it's named double-whistle. The second double-shell is made of two 9/8 of an inch long shells, worth two double-whistles and called double-key. The last double-shell, throne, is 11/8 of an inch long and it's worth twenty double-whistles. Numbers are usually called in bweepers and double-whistles or, when dealing with large sums, in thrones.
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