Money!

[Sneaky Git]

I have several questions relating to money and the cost of living/items..

1)
Coinage within Angharad and Picti is mentioned as being "rare, gold and other precious metals do hold equivalent value."  Add this to the fact that Angharad appears to have no national currency (they receive coins of either Stahlnish or Ferrenshire mint during chargen), I'm assuming that trade and barter are the way of things within Angharad itself.  Might this hurt Angharad and Picti on the "international market," as it were?

2)
If they are simply an evolution of the knightly sword, why are Cut and Thrust blades so much more expensive?

3)
Were bows really that inexpensive (1 quarter bit!)?

I understand that, as Seneschal, I can do whatever I want.. I'm just curious..

[Mokkurkalfe]

I get the impression that most people in Angharad and Picti just take what they wan't from the "international market" through raiding. Those who do trade however, probably view coins in the same way as vikings did.
They are a way to transport riches that's guaranteed to have a certain amount of precious metals(silver usually). They are only valued for their wheight in whatever metal they're made of, nothing else. Therefore, they see nothing wrong in cutting a coin in half to use for pocket money.

My hazardous guess would be that a sword made more for thrusting are harder to balance and that those finger-rings and stuff are hard to make.

My book(1st edition) says that a short bow costs 7 standard imperial silver coins, and a longbow 10. The arrows OTOH costs 1b each.

[Mike Holmes]

As far as "international trade" this does not happen at this technological level on a large scale. That is, mostly it is conducted by merchants who make arrangements for their exchanges any way they can, and are ready to barter. Barter is common everywhere, so this is not difficult to arrange.

That said, just because Angharad might not have coinage of it's own, does not mean that they will not accept other counties coinage occasionally as well. Which means there will be some precious metal trade going on to make commerce more fluid. They may even have some particularly tradeable commodities of their own.

And lastly, perhaps merchants of some countries are less inclined to go to Angharad. Again, though, international trade is not something that people rely on given the small scale. So it's hardly going to be a problem if that is the case.

Unless you want it to be...then, as the Seneschal, you can rule that it's crippling or whatever. Just make sure that it drives player action.

Mike

[Lance D. Allen]

1)
Coinage within Angharad and Picti is mentioned as being "rare, gold and other precious metals do hold equivalent value." Add this to the fact that Angharad appears to have no national currency (they receive coins of either Stahlnish or Ferrenshire mint during chargen), I'm assuming that trade and barter are the way of things within Angharad itself. Might this hurt Angharad and Picti on the "international market," as it were?

Remember that Angharad and Picti aren't actually nations unto themselves. Note the lack of borders between them and Stahl. Angharad and Picti wouldn't BE on the international market, except as contributors to Stahl's wealth. They are given their own listing in the book because they have their own culture and racial statistics, but on the national scale, they are simply a protectorate of Stahl.

2)
If they are simply an evolution of the knightly sword, why are Cut and Thrust blades so much more expensive?

My guess is that, like most evolutions, they're better than their ancestor. To evolve usually means to improve in certain ways. Besides... Fight Cut-and-Thrust with only a C&T sword -vs- someone fighting, say, Sword-and-Shield with only an arming sword, no shield. I guarantee it'll be the C&Ter with the advantage (assuming all else is equal)

3)
Were bows really that inexpensive (1 quarter bit!)?

Any peasant can carve a bow, and they usually did, historically. Bows were used often as a hunting weapon by peasants poaching in the king's woods to add a little game meat to their sometimes meager foodstuffs.

[Valamir]

Any peasant can carve a bow, and they usually did, historically. Bows were used often as a hunting weapon by peasants poaching in the king's woods to add a little game meat to their sometimes meager foodstuffs.

Except remember that good ones often took 2-3 years to complete because the wood was allowed to cure for extended periods several times during the process.

[Lance D. Allen]

Except remember that good ones often took 2-3 years to complete because the wood was allowed to cure for extended periods several times during the process.

Those are the good ones. The price given is for a basic, plain-jane bow.

[Sneaky Git]

Thanks all!  I appreciate the rapid responses.