Re: RE: (TFT) Magic Item Economics]

["Neil Gilmore" <raito@raito.com>]

> > Back in the older, poorer days, I turned out a simple 4 plate body
armor,
> > 4 lame spaulders, 3 plate articulating elbows, simple knees and cuisses,
> > gorget, helmet, and half gauntlets in 12 hours time. Sold it for $250. I
> > could go from sheet to gorget ready for straps in under 15 minutes in
> > standard sizes with munition grade finish.
>
> Very interesting. Was this using medieval-type equipment? I'm sure you
> started with plates - would an armorer making plate be given plates from a
> foundary (or something), or would they need to make their own?

Except for the hole punch, yes. (and even that wasn't really faster or
slower than the medieval method). By the time plate armor was in fashion,
plate was available.

> Anyone know of good sources for medieval equipment construction times?

There's a good list of 'what' somewhere over on chronique, but I don't
recall much on 'how long'.

> Even if there is a strong guild system where some specialist armorers are
> making plate all the time, there would still be more armorers making all
> the other types of equipment that require the Armorer talent. My point was
> that it seems peculiar to me to calculate the figures for the "Armorer"
> occupation based only on a single fairly rare type of product.

I agree here. What about weapons? For example, in Japan, there's a legal
limit on how many swords a smith can make in a month (2, doesn't count
shorter weapons). Most of the smiths could produce a lot more than that.

> > Pretty much in my campaigns, if you have a job straight from the table,
> > then you work for someone. Free-lancing goes by slightly different rules
> > (look up the selling price tables, and Business Sense for some ideas).
>
> Is that what ITL says? I was thinking that the occupations listed were
> often self-employed. Town wizard, town blacksmith, etc. Guilds tend to
> receive cash from their members in exchange for services, more than vice
> versa, no?

Not strictly ITL, no. But most of the self-employed didn't want to deal with
the restrictions I placed on having a job (like having to spend a certain
amount of time at it, etc.)

Neil Gilmore
raito@raito.com
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