Topic: Request for Erratum: What is max pace of a war chariot?

[rdanhenry]

The list of transportation goods and service on page 104 of Gamemaster Law is missing the Max Pace entry for the "Chariot (war)" listing. I checked the RMSR list and it doesn't include Max Pace in its corresponding chart, so I am requesting an erratum be issued to fill this gap.

[rdanhenry]

Also, the rural price for a "Sledge (covered)" is listed as 1 sp, while the town and city prices are 12 cp and 15 cp respectively. I believe 1 bp would be the correct rural cost to keep it in the same range as the others.

[markc]

rdanhenry;
 You might also want to post something close to this in the RM Rome section as IMHO the author might have a good idea  on the $. I do not own a copy of RM Rome so I can not provide any input on the price or if it is in the product.
  But to me it seems like it would be.


  Also what edition, year etc of RM GM Law are you looking at? PDF or Hard Copy?
Thanks
MDC

[yammahoper]

1sp may be right, unless the rural areas have access to skilled smiths that can make sledge hammers.

[rdanhenry]

#5521 Gamemaster Law
for RMSS
1995 First Printing
and yes, hard copy

[VladD]

Looking at the tables, I must conclude that a war chariot can at least fast sprint, since a lumbering wagon can go at that pace as well, but I'd be generous and allow it to dash, since (looking at Tunanchamun's chariot) it is a thing build for speed.

As for the Sled (I think its a typo there) it simply can't be 1 Sp , nor the even lower prices. Even a horse cart costs several Gp. One can argue that wheels could be mighty expensive, but even a dog sled costs 6 Gp, NOT INCLUDING ANY DOGS!!!! they would cost you 1 Gp each extra, for a nice total of 16 Gp for a complete dog sled....

So I figure that the covered sled would cost round about 5-7 Gp... Consider it looks much like the sled of Santa Claus and probably is embellished a lot.

As for the price in the Table, I don't think a carpenter, or cart wright would sell you a children's sled for that.

Game On!

[rdanhenry]

Well, 12 cp is the RMSR listed price for a sledge. (It doesn't break things down into City/Town/Rural.) And yes, the pricing is pretty arbitrary. Mind you, they do need to be somewhat arbitrary: war chariots, dog sleds, and llamas simply don't belong in a single historical economy.

[VladD]

I think it is more relative. If a dog sled costs 6 Gp, which is not having any seats, and has just 2 runner, a small platform and a hand rail, I'm going to compare with an arresleigh that is more substantial, having sides, seats and a teamster seat. The comparison would be that I think the sleigh might be more expensive because of production time, materials and extra embellishments.

Also I think you might be wrong when you say that the tables also factor in the historical periods and the availability of materials. Of course buying a dog sled in the Sahara is not going to be at the regular price, but a sleigh will be made near a region of permanent cold and would be in scale to a similar, but smaller item, available in that same region.

But I am extremely biased on the subject as I am making a complete system of goods and goods production. I am hoping to correct the ridiculous prices appearing on the ICE tables, in fact, every equipment list in the entire history of RPG, except a few notable exceptions such as Harn master.
Speaking of the harn master tables:
Sled, cargo 80d (pennies)
Dog, sled (the animal) 50d
Wagon: 200d

People can consider these prices as researched by others and can draw their own conclusions.

Game on

[rdanhenry]

Also I think you might be wrong when you say that the tables also factor in the historical periods and the availability of materials.

Indeed, I would have been wrong, if I had made any such claim. I did not. I stated quite clearly that the pricing was arbitrary. However, there remains no historical basis for pricing the wide range of goods on these tables in common. You can create a common pricing either arbitrarily, which can lead to disparities like the one you point out, or you can create a list of assumptions on which to model an ahistorical society in which all these items are available and develop price lists accordingly.

[intothatdarkness]

Any pricing system should be based on your campaign world and the current adventure location. Anything else is obviously going to be arbitrary and based on the opinion of one designer or group of designers.

The only real exception I've seen to this was the system that Gary Gygax used in Mythus. He didn't really have cost tables (although there were some examples as I recall), but avoided the whole issue by stating that things cost the same "in game" as they do in our time, using a BUC (basic unit of currency) and comparing the BUC to one dollar (with a variation he called the QUID and based on the British pound). The BUC varied per realm, but was normally either silver or copper.

[markc]

Has anyone checked the book .... and a 10' Pole?
MDC

[Cormac Doyle]

That would be too easy! (plus - it even puts the costs in a cultural/historic context ...)

[intothatdarkness]

Has anyone checked the book .... and a 10' Pole?
MDC

Only if it's a transformed badger named Polk asking where your 10' pole is....

[arakish]

and a 10 foot pole does not give any max. pace info on the war chariot.

My best advice is that the war chariot was mostly used at full gallop until combat was joined.  I would say that is a dash.

rmfr

[markc]

 My brain was working fast and I saw prices as well as the chariot request.
MDC

[VladD]

As for the 10' pole prices; they $()(*!

Iron age pricing
Sledge (covered) 12 Bp
10' pole              10 Bp...

So a 150 Lbs woodworking puzzle compared to a 10' long lathe piece of 5 Lbs are nearly the same price. Its depressingly off balance....

@rdanhenry: yeah there was a small language problem on my side: I took arbitrary as " based on facts and according to certain rules" while it means: "randomly based on a person's judgement"

Game on!