Difference between revisions of "Hârn HârnWorld Economics"

Incomes

Listed here are the average wages earned from various occupations on Hârn. The incomes shown are monthly, based on working 24 days, the average number of days worked per month after various holidays. Dawn to dusk hours are the norm for most work; hence in reality, summer wages are higher and winter wages are lower due to the number of hours that can be worked.

Guilded Occupations

Wages shown are for bonded masters; room and board may also be provided. The employer would bear the additional cost of providing materials and supplies, but tools are generally owned by the master. A highly skilled master, such as a mason-architect building a new castle or an exquisite sword craftsman, could earn fees up to six times higher, but such incomes are rare. Apprentices, in most cases, receive only room and board but sometimes get pocket money from generous masters. A journeyman would receive 30–60% of a master’s wages depending on experience, plus room and board.

Freemasters tend to have variable incomes, possibly even a loss. Their expenses would include rent, taxes, and supplies, and demand for their services is obviously crucial. Unless the GM wishes to take these factors into account and calculate a "profit and loss" statement for a freemaster, we suggest their net income (profit after all business expenses) is equal to the bonded master rate, varied at GM discretion.

Unguilded Occupations

Wages given are for experienced workers; others might earn 20–80% of this amount, depending on skills. Wages would also be dependent on the availability of labor.

Military Wages

The income of a man-at-arms is given. These wages apply to common legionnaires of Tharda but may serve as a guideline to all mercenaries of the lowest rank. Wages are usually paid quarterly but are listed monthly for comparison with other incomes. Considering the danger, military wages are low, but there are some perks such as booty. Traditionally, a soldier may keep two thirds of booty collected, giving one third to the next highest rank, who gives one third to the next highest rank, and so on. The commander of a large army can acquire quite a tidy sum in this way.

Income Table

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Note: ADD links for each profession skill, seperate (or Background Colour!) Guilded and Unguilded. Then expand the list to include recources, with background colouring etc.

Taxes and Tolls

Most Hârnic taxes noted below are urban in character. The levies charged on rural folk, namely aids and heriot, are discussed under feudal obligations. Average tax rates are given but they can vary. Other Hârn publications provide specific tax rates at various locales.

Property Tax

An annual tax charged on the assessed value of real estate, most of which is owned by wealthy guildsmen or gentlefolk. Bribery of civic tax assessors to deflate values is widespread. Landlords are responsible for payment of property taxes, generally on the first day of Savor in late autumn. There are two tax rates, a business rate (6%) applicable only to guildsmen and a residential rate (8%) for everyone else. Properties outside a city wall but still under civic jurisdiction (generally within one league of the citadel) probably pay lower taxes (30–70%). Tax-exempt status applies to many legal temples.

Hawking Tax

A tax payable to the bondmaster on all goods brought into a city to be sold, including raw materials for further processing but excluding foodstuffs. The tax is usually a percentage of the consignment’s value but since the bondmaster tends to rely on "declared values," assessments are generally low unless the mercantyler neglects the appropriate bribes. The average tax is 10%.

Bonding Fees

The mercantyler can delay payment of the hawking tax by placing his goods in bond, which means storing them in the government bonding house. Goods temporarily brought into a city but destined to be exported must be placed in bond. This service incurs payment of a bonding/storage fee (a percentage of declared value) payable in advance, with a minimum one-month fee. The average bonding fee is 1% per month.

Maritime Taxes

Owners of ships berthed in a port must pay the harbormaster a wharfage fee that averages 1d per foot of vessel length per day. Vessels at anchor in a port pay roughly 20% of the wharfage rate. The pilotage fee is typically 24–48d per vessel. A vessel can reduce its wharfage (but not its pilotage) in a given port by 50% by paying an annual registry fee for that port.

Tolls

Government tollhouses exist along most major roads and tolls are often charged by various parties, not always legitimately, at bridges, fords, etc. Typical tolls are:

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Guild Dues

All master guildsmen pay 10% of their gross incomes to their guild, which then pays half of this amount to the town government. Unguilded occupations pay no guild dues but do pay the higher residential property tax.

Hârn Economic Map

Trade

Most regions of Hârn are self-sufficient with the exception of salt and mineral ores. The Economic Map shows only resources and products that are available in sufficient quantity for trade. That is, there is a surplus of these items for the specific area, allowing them to be "exported" to another region. Most trade goods are exotic wares or basic goods that are scarce in specific areas.

Caravans

Nearly all land trade is transported via caravans, organized expeditions of mercantylers journeying from one town to another. The long-established routes are often patrolled by various interested parties seeking to encourage such traffic. Way-stations such as Trobridge Inn or Oselbridge have been built at strategic points to aid the caravan trade.

Tashal is the major trading center of eastern Hârn. In early summer, four large caravans converge there: from Orbaal and the north down the Fur Road, from Azadmere via the Silver Way, from Coranan and western Hârn along the Salt Route, and from Thay by way of the Genin Trail. The diverse goods brought to Tashal are traded during the summer months, mostly Larane, before the caravans begin their trips home.

Coranan is the major trading center of western Hârn. Caravans journey between Aleath and Coranan throughout the year. Goods from Golotha and Shiran move to Coranan at irregular intervals, usually by barge on the Thard River. The traditional departure date of the Salt Route caravan from Coranan to Tashal is the fifteenth of Peonu. Mercantylers from Aleath, Golotha, and Shiran join the caravan at Coranan before this date. A few mercantylers join the caravan at Moleryn.

Caravan Masters

The major caravans of Hârn and Lythia are operated by specialist members of the Mercantylers’ Guild known as caravan masters. It is not illegal for any mercantyler to organize his own caravan but the organizational complexity involved has led to the prevailing custom. Most caravan masters are individuals (often ex-military officers) who have demonstrated some skill at getting the job done. Several have become dominant because of the special relationships they have developed with guildmembers and tribesmen. Fees are charged to journey with a caravan. The GM may calculate fees based on a rough charge per ten leagues (two hexes on a regional map) of: wagon/6d, cart/3d, horse/2d, and man afoot/1d. Fees do not include tolls and might be waived or reduced if someone "works his passage."

Maritime Trade

With few exceptions, overland roads are very bad and wheeled transport slow and crude. Land trade is the preserve of a few hardy mercantylers and most commercial movement of goods is by water, although this is less true on Hârn than elsewhere. Maritime trade is dealt with in detail in the Pilots’ Almanac expansion module (COL #4002).

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