Wages and economy in Rolemaster/MERP

Question

We have been playing MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing game) for some years. Essentially all the old Editions by ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises), that use/extend Rolemaster.

There are some lists of prices in the rule books, but there is nothing in terms of wages/economy, etc.

Our current group plays a very open sandbox-style campaign centered around the economy of a shire in Arthedain, (comparable maybe to medieval Europe).

Do you know of any good lists of prices and wages, if possible in the Rolemaster/MERP currency (Gold/Silver/Bronze/Copper/Tin pieces)? We have been inferring prices through a mix of research into medieval economy in England/Scotland and 'translations' from other systems. This quite imprecise and laborious as well...

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Edit:

...And a 10-Foot Pole

This seems to be the go-to book for Rolemaster prices. It is out of print and amazon lists used copies starting at 100$ and more. BUT, I was able to find a PDF version on scribd! Check this out!

Answer 1

For magic items, Treasure Companion is invaluable. But for regular items, the book you want is ...And a 10-Foot Pole. Unfortunately, its out of print, copies are expensive, and one of the PDFs that's not back in print via RPGNow. But, if you search the web for it, you should be able to find the PDF.

Answer 2

Grain into Gold, A Fantasy World Economy is a generic supplement that lays out how a medieval fantasy economy would work and the relative value of goods, lands, services, and wages, starting from the price of bread and housing and working upward. It's an excellent read, well-researched, very much focused on usefulness for gaming (rather than just economic theorising for theory's sake), and available affordably in PDF.

Using the web of value that Grain into Gold describes, it's easy to figure out appropriate wages given the prices of commodities that those people rely on locally. It's not a list of wages and prices, but it does all the hard work of research for you, just leaving you to fill in the numbers that are appropriate to your game. Its sub-sub-title is truth in print: "A Simple and Sane Supplement for use with your Fantasy Role-Playing Game". For a more in-depth look without buying, there's this humorous but detailed review, which is how I originally learned of the book.

Answer 3

For any question about fantasy economies, I now almost always turn to ACKS (Adventurer, Conqueror, King System). They do a great job of handling economics from peasants to emperors with a sane, consistent system. It can actually tell you how much that castle costs and it makes sense. Their prices and wages mesh perfectly.

It's not in your selected currency, but you could adapt it, as you mentioned.

In addition to the excellent Grain Into Gold referenced above, I also recommend Farm, Forge, and Steam for a system-agnostic look at economic world-building.

For historical prices and wages, you can't go wrong with Fief. You'll also get a ton of other information along with your lists.

Answer 4

In addition to the excellent And a 10 foot pole the Castles and Ruins (#5542) supplement for RMSS has some very useful economic bits and pieces in it that you should find relevant, including

• Servants/Contractors Wages and availability
• Taxes and Income
• Standards of living modifications
• Siege artillery attack tables, okay, so that's not relevant, but it's fun.

It basically has plenty of useful stuff for managing small economic systems/fiefdoms, building a castle and running it.

I'd recommend taking a look.