Three economies, three ledgers.
Three reusable economy tables — village, trade city, caravan — each with 20+ rows of goods, services, and a one-line narrative pricing rationale the GM can defend at the table.
Field edition · week 14 — three ledgers, four-axis rubric, no JS.
Economy · Village
A village, ≤ 100 gp a week.
A village is a barter-dominant economy: copper in the till, livestock at the gate, and a few well-placed guild imports. The ledger below assumes ≤ 100 gp in weekly circulation; below that ceiling, prices move with the mill, the bell-ringer, and the weather, not with the gold-piece.
| Good / service | Modulation | Resolved price band |
|---|---|---|
| Field wheat → loaf (2 lb) | × village bakehouse labor + water-mill toll | 2cp · 4cp unground |
| Salt-cured pork (firkin) | × smoke-curing + hog-curfew tax | 4sp · 6sp brackish |
| Smoked rabbit (per hare) | × snared on common + herb-cure stub | 8cp · 12cp auspicious |
| Tallow candle (per dozen) | × rendered locally + winter-tax | 1sp · 2sp winter |
| Ironwork hoe (per blade) | × village forge + hayfield-fair wage | 1gp · 3gp unwrought |
| Firkin of small beer | × brew at the inn + mill-grist tariff | 3cp · 5cp hopped |
| Hand-cut firewood (per stack) | × woodlot dues + tax-day eve | 1cp · 2cp seasoned |
| Cobbler (shoe-repair, single) | × village mender + market-tally | 4cp · 8cp heeltap |
| Miller’s fee (per bushel) | × river-mill at the ford + grist levy | 1cp · 2cp river-fed |
| Vendor’s noon meal (per plate) | × inn + pilgrim-table subsidy | 2cp · 3cp potluck |
| Chicken portion (roast, half) | × plucked at coop + feast-day lap | 5cp · 8cp week-end |
| Hand-tanned hide (per side) | × oak-bark + three-week lay | 1sp · 2sp green |
| Wattle-and-daub panel (per length) | × village crew + dauber’s tithe | 8cp · 14cp per length |
| Goatsmilk (per jar) | × herd at common + kid-season bump | 1cp · 2cp on the udder |
| Traveling barber (per shave) | × market day + festival lift | 1cp · 3cp festival |
| Turnip-seed (per ounce) | × saved by old Marget + seed-rights | 1cp · traded for labor |
| Wool lap (per fleece, uncarded) | × shearing bell + wool-house bid | 8cp · 14cp washed |
| Bridle leather (per strap) | × saddler crew + reins-duty | 1sp · 3sp lined |
| Dove-headed nail (per dozen) | × smith between plowings + bellows | 4 nails per cp · 2cp per dozen |
| Lanthorn-fill of fish-oil | × rendered at the quay + lamp-tax | 2cp · 4cp per fill |
| House-warding (per moon) | × old women’s tithe + lockdown-bells | 2sp gift · 5sp undo |
| Church-bell notice (one ring) | × vicar’s per-ring fee + quoin-tap | 1cp donation · village-bread |
Economy · Trade city
A trade city, multi-guild.
A trade city is multi-guild and multi-quarter — every good is shaped by at least one guild charter, and every service by a tariff you can write down. Use the ledger below as the working price of a well-resolved free city, week 4 of any season.
| Good / service | Modulation | Resolved price band |
|---|---|---|
| Scribe’s contract (one page) | × guild clerk copy + wax-impress | 8sp · 12sp sealed |
| Port-master tonnage (per keel) | × harbor lift + wharf-tally | 3gp · 5gp undercaptain |
| Caravan notary (per stamp) | × wax + ledger-page tax | 1gp · 3gp across-passes |
| Ondine (mason, fixed fee) | × freemason guild + bowl-mark | 5gp · 9gp corner-stone |
| Paper leaf (single sheet) | × mould-cast rag + ink-reserve | 1sp · 3sp printed |
| Drawn-glass pane (per pane) | × guild chamber + lead-light | 4gp · 7gp lead-light |
| Ink thumb (per ounce) | × lamp-black ground + guild-mark | 6cp · 9cp seal-red |
| Fine spice (per dram) | × Hind trader + shelf tax | 2sp · 4sp winter |
| Silk yard (per bolt) | × Vael merchant + dyer-toll | 12sp · 18sp dyed |
| Pledged courier (per league) | × inn-rider + letter-bond | 1sp · 3sp tariff-paid |
| Wine cask (per tun) | × Provençal vintage + cellar-bond | 4gp · 8gp birth-vintage |
| Scented candle (per lb) | × beeswax + gold-leaf | 2sp · 4sp pibroch |
| Brass-bound padlock (per lock) | × smith district + key-warrant | 1gp · 3gp cracked-key |
| Sumptuary stamp (per mark) | × guild-hall serjeant + record-bench | 4sp · 8sp stamped |
| Quorum seating (one guild) | × wool guild + bench-fee | 6gp · 12gp lasting |
| House-front gilding (per front) | × gold-leafers + lift-scaffold | 14gp · 22gp per front |
| Cartographer’s chart (per chart) | × port-route + ledger-fief | 1gp · 4gp port-route |
| Surgeon (per bleed) | × university-trained + assize bond | 1gp · 3gp audit |
| Ostler’s overnight (per horse) | × inn at the south wynd + stall | 6sp · 9sp stalled |
| Wax chalice-hire (per dozen) | × guild feast-room + setter-up | 4sp · 8sp setter-up |
| Petition to the city (per page) | × scrivener at the gate + oaths | 1gp · 5gp surveyed |
| Harbour-lamp oil (per cask) | × three-month brim + wharf-tally | 1gp · 3gp per cask |
Economy · Caravan
A caravan, between stops.
A caravan is what the road hands the road: feed for the mounts, tallow for the wheels, and the off-ledger services (water, lamp-bearer, oath) that a free city never needs to price. The ledger below assumes a 12-wagon caravan running on a chartered tariff; modify by leg.
| Good / service | Modulation | Resolved price band |
|---|---|---|
| Ink ribbon (per length) | × lamp-and-bookkeeper + weather-strip | 4sp · 8sp weather-tight |
| Salt pork (per barrel) | × ration-surplus + caper-trip | 4sp · 6sp brackish |
| Oil-rendered tallow (per lb) | × kip-rating + axle-fill | 5cp · 8cp for a wheel |
| Small iron kettle (per pot) | × hammered at the bivouac + tender | 1gp · 3gp chimney-shod |
| Cordage coil (per fathom) | × hemp-master + tar-bath | 4cp · 1sp tarring |
| Road-marker cairn (per stage) | × piled by road-crew + winter-tip | X.C. resolved at table |
| Water-seller (per skin) | × day-hire + brackish-mark | 1cp · 2cp near-brine |
| Lamp-bearer (per night) | × outrider + moon-lamp + waterproof | 4sp · 8sp windproof |
| Tar-boots re-tarred (per pair) | × clapper-mark + proofing | 1sp · 2sp clap-mark |
| Coil of bell-wire (per length) | × tinker + lead-splice | 3sp · 6sp spliced |
| Hand-prop (forward, per push) | × tide-held labor + tack-rental | 1cp · 2cp tideheld |
| Pack-strap mending (per side) | × soft-tie + sweat-worn leather | 2cp · 4cp sweat-worn |
| Tether-stake (forged small) | × rally-duty + bowing-stamp | 8cp · 12cp rally |
| Day-contract outrider (per stop) | × per-stop wage + tally-lift | 4sp · 8sp per stop |
| Salted greens (per jar) | × four-spoked + ledger-shelf | 6cp · 9cp dried |
| Garbled nut (per lb) | × husk-traders + graded-bid | 1sp · 3sp graded |
| Hoof-trim (per ox) | × farrier + Annie-west lap | 4sp · 8sp Annie-west |
| Salt-pickle (per cask) | × voyage-stable + caper-bid | 1sp · 3sp caper |
| Caravan-master wage (per week) | × foreman-coin + per-stop lift | 6gp · 14gp foreman |
| Lantern-wick (per yard) | × oil-cloth + nicker-tip | 1cp · 2cp per yard |
| Trade-listing pith (per leaf) | × paper + scribe-stable stamp | 4cp · 9cp stamped |
| Hearse (lit and loaded, per mile) | × route-port + per-stop ride | 4cp · 8cp per stop, ride |
Every row above is a four-axis rubric the GM can defend: labor + scarcity + faction bias + regional risk. Carry it into a worked example by reading the village-market-foundations toolkit next to it.
Read village-market-foundations →