By: Jared B.
As we conclude Labor Day weekend in the USA, let’s talk about the labor mechanics in TTRPGs for things that the PCs may not directly do, but they can purchase and influence, and how this could affect the economics of a given settlement, whether that is a small town or a bustling city!
First, we will look at what the D&D 5e 2014 Dungeon Master’s Guide(DMG) and Player’s Handbook(PHB) say about hiring help, particularly for building structures and facilities.
On page 159 of the PHB, it lists “Services.” These are things like “hiring a coach,” getting a hireling, or getting a messenger to take a message for you. All these have labor prices tied to them based on some variances in the service provided and the skill level of the servicer. As an example, “hiring a coach” has a flat rate of 1 copper if you are just travelling about a city. I would personally make that a little higher, say 2-3 silver and make it by the stop, but that is just me. Whereas if you are going between cities or out into the country, it lists the price as 3 copper per mile. This is sensible, as the miles likely rack up as you are travelling cross-country and there is less stop-and-go, much like today’s taxi services.
As mentioned, another variance shown is skilled versus untrained/unskilled for hiring labor. Untrained, or what we might call “common” labor today, they list as 2 silver per day, and trained/skilled is a whopping 2 gold per day. Comparing those numbers to the lifestyle expense estimates on page 157 of the PHB shows untrained labor managing a “poor” lifestyle and skilled getting a “comfortable” level of living. This could work as a good gauge if you needed it to help figure the cost of the party bringing along help or hiring help to work with them on a crafting project during downtime. This could also be a gauge if the PCs find themselves in mundane jobs as part of an undercover operation or just need to scrape up some coin before they go on the next adventure.
With that established, we switch over to the DMG and look at what it would cost for the PCs to build and maintain an estate. Again, this is for PCs but could also be a good guide for the GM/DM to have an idea of what kind of money an estate would need to be bringing in or what a patron NPC might pay to have something built.
We will start with building things, then maintaining. So, in the DMG on page 128, it has a “Building a Stronghold” table. Listing everything from an Abbey to a Noble Estate to a Trading Post. All varying costs in gold pieces and the construction times! From this, we can get an idea of how many laborers it might need and how paying for more skilled labor might accelerate it. I am extrapolating here, as it does not break the costs down by labor and materials separately, nor does it mention how many of a type of labor is used, but we can take something like the Trading Post as an example.
The Trading Post says it costs 5,000 gold pieces to build and will take 60 days. If half the cost is materials, that leaves us with 2,500 gold for labor. Divide that by the 60 days, and you have 41 ⅔ gold per day. For ease, we will round it to 41.6 gold or 416 silver per day, and it is safe to assume this is mostly unskilled labor. A quick breakdown of that would give us about 10 skilled at 2 gold per day and 108 unskilled at 2 silver per day, amounting to 2,496 gold for the full 60 days. So, if we are using the very basic concept that more skilled laborers would get more done in proportion to their pay, yeah I know, not realistic. It is a game, folks, that would tell us we could make it all skilled labor with 30 skilled workers and possibly cut the work time down to 41 ⅔ or just 42 days. It does say that if the PC is not there to supervise, it adds 3 days to the construction time for every day the PC is not there. So if they are not there at all, it would make it take 240 days. With that in mind, it might be all unskilled labor at 208 unskilled for 2 silver a day. As a GM, I would waive the idea that the PC would need to be there if they hired a skilled laborer or a team of them above the base cost of the build to oversee the build. The listed ongoing expense for said Trading Post is 10 gold per day, with 4 skilled hirelings and 2 untrained hirelings as part of that cost. Other buildings/facilities have varying costs depending on the number of skilled and unskilled workers and the overall volume of workers that are required for those estates or businesses as a functioning system.
As with crafting costs and other similar things in my TTRPG games, I use the general 50/50split of material and labor. With that in mind, it is good to consider how the labor factor and the quality of that labor might be paid for and how much that might be. A Fort needs 50 gold a day, which makes for 1500 gold a month. The caravan hauling that might be a target for thieves, or require expensive skilled guard labor to keep it safe from thieves and bandits. The PCs want to help a Rural Inn with their ongoing expenses for a month. Well, because of the skilled and unskilled labor involved, that will cost them 300 gold for a month. The party wants to hire someone to haul their gear and loot around on their adventures? Well, if they just want a common laborer, that will be a comfortable 2 silver a day plus meals and maybe buying them a pack animal. Now, if they want a skilled soldier or a caravan of hirelings to haul their things. That is going to cost them 2 gold a day for the soldier and 2.6 gold a day for a skilled caravan lead and his 3 unskilled helpers. The value of labor can drive the value and the function of goods and services in your fantasy world just as much or as little as it does in the real world, if you let it.
I hope this has been a help in seeing how labor can enhance the experience and the interactions that players can have with a GM/DM’s game world. Game on!
About the Author
Jared “Martel” B has been GMing and playing in several TTRPG’s since late 2013. Enjoys the challenge of bringing his players worlds and stories straight from his mind in the moment that it happens. He is one of the Founders of RPGCounterpoint, happy husband to an active historian wife, and father to two puppers and a toddler!
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