I wanted to normalize Skerples’ list of medieval prices to make it easier to compare items! I took copper as the standard, so silver pieces are multiplied by 10 and gold pieces are multiplied by 100. That being said, there are probably many costs listed that are probably better accounted for in silver or gold (too expensive, probably, for a commoner to even fathom).
Keep in mind that the minimum wage, so to speak, seems to be maybe 50 copper pieces a month or 600 pieces each year. If we assume, for convenience's sake, that one-twelfth goes to the state and another twelfth to the church (not an exact tithe, but whatever), we can say that a commoner has maybe 500 copper / 50 silver / 5 gold to spend each year. (If this were OD&D, that would be a nice 100 silver / 10 gold).
Normalized Medieval Prices
Food & Cooking |
Town |
Country |
Animal Feed |
3 |
2 |
Beer, Small |
2 |
1 |
Cheese (20 lb.?!)
|
50 |
40 |
Cookpots |
10 |
20 |
Eggs (12 c.) |
7 |
3 |
Fruit (1 lb.) |
20 |
10 |
Herbs |
3 |
1 |
Lard |
1 |
1 |
Meal, Fancy |
30 |
— |
Meal, Standard |
5 |
3 |
Travel Rations |
10 |
5 |
Wine, Skin or Bottle |
5 |
10 |
Armor |
Town |
Country |
Leather Armor |
250 |
500 |
Chain Armor |
1,000 |
— |
Plate Armor |
10,000 |
— |
Shield |
50 |
50 |
Weapons |
Town |
Country |
Light Weapon |
50 |
50 |
Medium Weapon |
200 |
500 |
Heavy Weapon |
500 |
1,500 |
Sling |
30 |
30 |
Bow |
250 |
250 |
Crossbow |
500 |
500 |
Arrow/Bolt |
5 |
5 |
Light Sources |
Town |
Country |
Candle, Small |
1 |
1 |
Candle, Night |
5 |
5 |
Lantern |
30 |
50 |
Oil, Flask |
5 |
5 |
Tinderbox |
10 |
50 |
Torch |
1 |
1 |
Animals |
Town |
Country |
Cattle |
100 |
80 |
Chicken |
2 |
1 |
Dog |
100 |
50 |
Hawk |
1,000 |
— |
Hog |
50 |
30 |
Horse, Riding |
1,000 |
1,000 |
Horse, War |
7,500 |
6,500 |
Ox |
900 |
700 |
Sheep |
900 |
700 |
Tools |
Town |
Country |
Anvil |
200 |
300 |
Axe |
40 |
30 |
Bellows |
400 |
600 |
Block & Tackle |
30 |
30 |
Chisel |
10 |
20 |
Drill |
50 |
50 |
Hammer |
10 |
20 |
Hoe |
30 |
20 |
Iron Plough |
1,500 |
1,700 |
Nails (12 c.) |
3 |
4 |
Pick, Heavy |
60 |
120 |
Pick, Medium |
30 |
60 |
Prybar |
20 |
20 |
Shovel |
30 |
20 |
Soap |
1 |
2 |
Specialty Tools |
200 |
— |
Spike, Iron |
3 |
4 |
Spike, Wooden |
1 |
1 |
Tub, Wooden |
20 |
10 |
Adventuring Gear |
Town |
Country |
Air Bladder |
10 |
10 |
Bedroll |
20 |
10 |
Caltrops |
40 |
— |
Fishing Gear |
10 |
10 |
Grappling Hook |
30 |
50 |
Holy Water |
250 |
250 |
Ladder (10’) |
60 |
30 |
Pole (10’) |
10 |
5 |
Rope (50’) |
30 |
30 |
Tent, 3-ling |
100 |
150 |
Tent, Personal |
50 |
100 |
Vial or Bottle |
20 |
— |
Waterskin |
10 |
10 |
Whistle |
5 |
5 |
Clothing |
Town |
Country |
Furs |
5,000 |
— |
General |
50 |
20 |
Noble |
3,000 |
— |
Poor |
10 |
5 |
Winter |
100 |
50 |
Books & Vain Items |
Town |
Country |
Book, Blank |
300 |
— |
Book, Magic |
3,000 |
5,000 |
Book, Reading |
600 |
— |
Holy Symbol, Plain |
2 |
2 |
Hourglass |
1,000 |
— |
Ink |
1 |
5 |
Mirror, Silver |
2,000 |
— |
Scroll Case |
10 |
30 |
Hirelings (Monthly) |
Town |
Country |
Useless Peasant |
20 |
10 |
Laborer |
50 |
50 |
Scribe |
60 |
— |
Archer/Infantry |
100 |
100 |
Mason |
100 |
100 |
Camp Follower |
150 |
150 |
Armorer/Blacksmith |
200 |
— |
Master Builder |
500 |
500 |
Barber-Surgeon |
600 |
600 |
Galley Crew (60 c.) |
3,000 |
— |
Transportation |
Town |
Country |
Sailboat |
60,000 |
— |
Cart |
300 |
300 |
Raft |
50 |
50 |
Wagon |
1,500 |
800 |
Galley (60 oars) |
80,000 |
— |
Lodging (Nightly) |
Town |
Country |
Inn |
50 |
30 |
Closing Notes
Player-characters must already be pretty rich to afford all their equipment! For comparison, Skerples' equipment costs
tend to be around 7 gold pieces / 70 silver / 700 copper (an amount that aligns well with the assumption that characters start with ~100 silver). This might
mean that a silver standard might be more apt for costs on this scale,
though it's kind of annoying how many costs are so minor anyway. Here's some quick bundling costs:
- Animal Feed (Weekly): 1 silver
- Travel Rations (Weekly): 5 silver
- Arrows/Bolts (x20): 10 silver (!?)
- Torches/Candles (x10): 1 silver
- Oil Flasks (x2): 1 silver
This gives us a consolidated price list something like below:
Item |
Cost (s.p.) |
Ammunition (x20) |
10 |
Animal Feed (Weekly) |
1 |
Armor, Leather |
25 |
Armor, Chain |
100 |
Armor, Plate |
1,000 |
Axe |
4 |
Bedroll |
1 |
Block & Tackle |
3 |
Book, Blank |
30 |
Bow |
25 |
Caltrops |
4 |
Chisel |
1 |
Crossbow |
50 |
Drill |
5 |
Fishing Gear |
1 |
Grappling Hook |
3 |
Lantern |
5 |
Melee Weapon, Light |
5 |
Melee Weapon, Medium |
20 |
Melee Weapon, Heavy |
50 |
Oil, Flask (x2) |
1 |
Pick |
5 |
Pole (10’) |
1 |
Rations (Regular, Weekly) |
5 |
Rations (Iron, Weekly) |
10 |
Rope (50’) |
3 |
Scroll Case |
1 |
Shield |
5 |
Shovel |
3 |
Sling |
3 |
Tent (Fits 1) |
5 |
Tent (Fits 3) |
10 |
Tinderbox |
1 |
Torches (x10) |
1 |
Waterskin |
1 |
Anything else might as well be handled like whatever.
thanks, this is very useful!
ReplyDeletethank you as well! glad it is :)
DeleteThis is a genuinely excellent resource. Thanks!
ReplyDeletethank you too!!
DeleteExcellent resource! As someone obsessed with this kind of stuff, I’m always searching for ways to implement the little economic History nerd stuff in my game without pushing it down my player’s throats. Standardizing in copper is also a good idea, in my opinion: gives a more down to earth perspective in costs and also is pretty useful for those (like me!) who use different gold:silver:copper ratios. Once again, wonderful job!
ReplyDeletehi rata, thank you + so glad you like it! :)
Delete