some game economics for the ancient world

Before launching into a long post about economics of the ancient world, let's put the exciting part at the top, the random treasure hoard generator. These are going to be significantly smaller than typical fantasy adventure hoards, but I've tried to callibrate them to generate the kidns of hoards people actually find from the bronze and iron ages:

d4 d6 d8 d10 d12 d20

Now, for the less flashy stuff. Before we can really talk about economics, let's establish some units of measurement. These are going to be largely based on historical units of mesopotamia and the eastern mediterannean in antiquity. My sources are kind of all over the place on these so I'm not going to be citing much, but the system I'm giving here hews pretty close to the coins and measures used in Talmudic literature.

A talent (kikar, if you prefer) weighs sixty pounds (maneh), each of which is fifty weights (shekel) of about eight and a half grams; this makes a pound of about 425 grams rather than the 453.59 of the avoirdupois pound, but that's close enough to use the familiar word in my book. A wet measure or dry measure are both a unit of capacity approximately equal to 144 medium-sized eggs (about nine quarts).

goods and their prices

The basic unit of money is a weight of silver. Although actual prices vary by place and season, most people will say that a silverweight should buy:

• six measures of grain or pulse
• eight measures of fresh fruit
• six measures of dry fruit
• eighteen measures of fresh vegatables
• twelve measures of pickled vegetables
• an eighth of a measure of oil
• 4-5 measures of common wine
• a pound of raw wool
• forty weights of wool threads for woofing
• thirty-five weights of wool threads for warping
• one large raw hide or sixe small ones
• two-thirds (that is, two for three silverweight) large tanned hides or four small ones
• two fresh scraped parchments or three scraped ones

Depending on the quality of the land, a measure of grain is needed to plant a field twenty-five cubits square, from which one hopes to harvest, thresh and winnow out eight to twelve measures of grain depending on the soil and the year. About two and a half of such areas can be ploughed by a yoke of oxen in a day.

Assuming a person eats pottage, they'll eat roughly a measure of grain every three weeks. An adult also needs about a measure of dried fruit and an eighth-measure of oil every six weeks. Thus, one silverweight works out to food for one person for four weeks.

If one is to eat bread, the situation becomes somewhat more complicated. Someone must mill that grain into flour. In patriarchal households, this is done by the women. With a hand mill, producing flour for a day's bread for five people is a day's work for one person. Rotary millstones are expensive, but let one day's work mill flour for twenty peoples' bread. Larger mills can be driven by animals, water or wind, but expect the miller to take a cut of whatever you bring them to mill; flour can also be had from a miller at four measures for the silverweight.

As a rule of thumb, live stock can be had for about a silverweight for every talent of live weight, although this is estimated rather than measured. For kids this is 0.5, lambs 1.5-2, adult goats 1, adult sheep 2-4, donkeys 3-10, hogs 4-5, mules 6-8, horses 15-22 (though saddle-horses suitable for warriors will be much dearer than those sold for draft or meat) and cattle 20-25. When butchered and dressed, expect about 20 pounds of meat for every talent of live weight; less the butcher's share, expect no more than 15-18 pounds of fat meat or 10-12 pounds of lean for a weight of silver. Lean meat dried or smoked for travellers to carry will weigh one-fifth or less its wet weight and may be less filling but will retain all of its nutrition.

Fish and fowl are more affordable sources of meat, or at least available in more managable quantities. Thirty pounds of fresh fish or twenty-five pounds cleaned can be had for a silverweight. The same would get you six to nine roosters, non-laying hens or ducks or five or six geese.

finished wares

Now, most people do not buy finished goods. Households (again, chiefly the women of their households) prepare their own food and spin and weave their own textiles. Common people may buy articles of leather, pottery or wood or (if they can afford them) glass or metal if they need them. Some finished goods that adventurers and travellers might purchase for suggested prices include:

• Half a silverweight: buskins, sandals, woolen cap.
• One silverweight: a bridle, dirk or small knife, sheepskin cap, pair of walking shoes, waterskin.
• Two silverweights: metal axe- or other tool-head, pair of boots, a pair of hose, plain shirt or tunic.
• Three silverweights: hafted axe or other tool, pair of breeches
• A traveler's leather bag (10-12), metal breastplate (12), brynie of mail (no less than 30), brynie of lacquer (no less than 15), brynie of leather (no less than 7), cloak (2-3), riding coat (7), metal helm (4), saddle (5), dyed shirt or tunic (4-8), sweat-cloth (4, placed under a saddle or other load on an animal), sword (no less than 5).

coins and hoards

So fare we've quoted prices in silverweights. This is a useful fiction, but coins are not minted in one-silverweight denominations. The most commonly encountered coins are large silvers of two silverweights (about 17 grams) small silvers of half a silverweight (about 4.25 grams) and bronze odds, twelve to the silverweight and the common price of a loaf of bread. Less commonly seen are the coins known as gold talents which contain a weight of gold and are worth twenty-five weights of silver or three thousand (the "talent" which gives this coin its confusing name) of copper. The gold talent is the traditional price of a good saddle-horse.

A hoard may contain one or more lots of treasure, which we are here limiting to coin and ornaments of gold and silver.

1. Roll two dice of the indicated size for the hoard; the difference between them is the number of lots of treasure. If no lots are generated for a hoard, either someone else has looted it or that the goods were retrieved by whoever stashed them.
2. Determine the treasure type of each lot is indicated by the lower of 2d6: 1 for small silvers, 2 for ornaments of silver, 3 for large silver, 4 for gold talents and 5+ for gold ornaments.
3. Determine the contents of the hoard by type:
   • Coins. Throw a d20 repeatedly, adding that many coins to the hoard, until a roll would bring the total above 30 (ignore that roll). To this, add 20 coins for the first lot and 40 for every lot thereafter.
   • Ornaments. Roll two d20s and add an ornament of weights equal to the lower of the two to the hoard: 1-4 for anklets, bracelets and rings, 5-8 for broaches, 9-12 for chains and 13+ for circlets and torques. Continue in this fashion until the generated ornaments exceed ten weights per lot.

Let's call it good there. Precious stones and other magical treasures are a task for another day.