# Wealth and Treasure
And the youth pricked forth upon a steed with head dappled grey, of four winters old, firm of limb, with shell-formed hoofs, having a bridle of linked gold on his head, and upon him a saddle of costly gold. And in the youth’s hand were two spears of silver, sharp, well-tempered, headed with steel, three ells [almost four yards] in length, of an edge to wound the wind, and cause blood to flow, and swifter than the fall of the dewdrop from the blade of reed-grass upon the earth when the dew of June is at the heaviest. A gold-hilted sword was upon his thigh, the blade of which was of gold, bearing a cross of inlaid gold of the hue of the lightning of heaven: his war-horn was of ivory. Before him were two brindled white-breasted greyhounds, having strong collars of rubies about their necks, reaching from the shoulder to the ear. And the one that was on the left side bounded across to the right side, and the one on the right to the left, and like two sea-swallows sported around him. And his courser cast up four sods with his four hoofs, like four swallows in the air, about his head, now above, now below. About him was a four-cornered cloth of purple, and an apple of gold was at each corner, and every one of the apples was of the value of an hundred kine [cows]. And there was precious gold of the value of three hundred kine upon his shoes, and upon his stirrups, from his knee to the tip of his toe. And the blade of grass bent not beneath him, so light was his courser’s tread as he journeyed towards the gate of Arthur’s Palace.
—“Culhwch and Olwen”, The Mabinogion
Knights are rarely interested in the stewardship of their manors, and few would be concerned with ledgers. Most nobles rely on others for that. Knights certainly enjoy the fruits of their peasants’ labor, and enjoy spending money freely and lavishly. The only thing knights want to know is how much they have to spend.
Treasure is portable wealth. Coins, golden goblets, silver plates, diamond rings, golden armbands, copper-inlaid wooden boxes, glass cups, tapestries, thrones, tables, chairs, fancy clothing—all are examples of portable wealth, and represent the kinds of treasure knights can find on adventures.
# Coinage and Value
Coins are rare to the commoner and non-lordly knights, and people often pay in kind in a system of barter and exchange. However, a value equivalence between bartered goods and money exists. Thus, a vassal knight’s annual income from their peasants is equal to “£10,” which is not collected in coin but rather as meat, eggs, barley, oats, other foodstuffs, and labor.
Two types of coins appear in Pendragon: the librum (pound), and the denarius (penny). Various other historical coins exist, but for simplicity’s sake we ignore shillings, sovereigns, half-sovereigns, marks, nobles, crowns, half-crowns, florins, thruppence, groats, ha’pennies, and farthings.
- Libra (singular librum), abbreviated as £, are golden coins. £1 = 240 d.
- Denarii (singular denarius), abbreviated as d, are silver coins. They are about half the size of a modern dime. People often cut or broke them in halves or quarters for small change. 1 d. = £1/240.
Libra (£) is also (and much more commonly) a unit of account. It is rare for even knights to see a gold librum. To the extent that cash changes hands at all, it is most often in the form of silver denarii.
One librum is the cost to support a peasant family for a year, including food, equipment, and housing; the annual upkeep of one squire and two horses; a feast for thirty nobles; a feast for a hundred commoners; a simple grave in a noble’s family plot; an ornamental pool; or the annual upkeep for a scholar.
One denarius is a knight’s meal; three crossbow bolts; the cost of a monk to read a letter aloud to an illiterate knight.
# Sources of Treasure
Although land is the most desired form of wealth, there are other ways to generate income as well, with ransom being the most common.
# Ransom
Captured knights may obtain their freedom by paying a ransom—money that goes to the captor. Knights have ransoms in part to motivate their fellow knights to spare their lives. It is usually their lords, vassals, or families that ransom them back because that is part of what it means to be a knight.
Prisoners provide interesting roleplaying opportunities. Goodwill often arises between captor and captive—indeed, knighthood is a mutual bond. A knight who is injured before capture may be tended to by a lady of the captor’s household, providing an opportunity for flirtation or even an Adoration Passion.
# Paying Ransom
Captured knights pay ransoms to buy their freedom. Lords pay ransoms for their household knights. Mercenary knights must supply their own ransoms, or else their families pay. Landed knights and noblemen collect ransom from their vassals, yeomen, villeins, and burghers.
# Sharing Ransom
Often several people take part in a capture and share in the ransom. The division is left to the Player-knights to decide. If Gamemaster characters helped, they too deserve a share.
As a rule of thumb, the ransom value of a person is equal to three years of their normal income. See the Knight Ransoms Table for specific amounts.
# Nobles
Player-knights never happen to randomly capture noble lords. Nobles are superbly outfitted, easily recognizable on a battlefield, and devoted bodyguards surround them. To capture them, one has to brave face-to-face melee, first against bodyguards whose defeat may convince the noble to surrender, or to fight to the end. If the latter, the Player-knights have to be careful to not kill their quarry and lose their prize.
When a knight surrenders, they must take an oath to not try to escape. Honorable knights keep their oath since that is exactly what Honor is about.
# Knight Ransoms Table
| Rank | Ransom |
|---|---|
| Squire | £1 |
| Mercenary Esquire | £2 |
| Mercenary Knight | £3 |
| Household Knight | £4 |
| Landed Vassal Knight, Poor | £8 |
| Landed Vassal Knight | £10 |
| Landed Vassal Knight, Rich | £20+ |
| Banneret | £100 |
# Noble Ransoms Table
| Rank | Ransom |
|---|---|
| Baron | £300 |
| Rich Baron | £600 |
| Count, Duke ,or Petty King | £1,000 |
| King, or independent ruler | £3,000 |
# Soldier Ransoms Table
| Rank | Ransom |
|---|---|
| Spearman, Swordsman, Archer | 60 d. |
| Guardsman | 120 d. |
| Leader of 10 | 120 d. |
| Leader of 100 | £1 |
| Cavalryman | £2 |
| Leader of 1,000 | £4 |
# Clergy Ransoms Table
| Rank | Ransom |
|---|---|
| Lay Member | 120 d. |
| Priest, Monk, or Canon | £1 |
| Bishop or Abbot | £300 |
| Archbishop | £2,000 |
All warrior cultures recognize ransoms. However, hatred often prevents knights from capturing enemy warriors, and vice versa. It is possible that the captor simply kills the captive or sells them into slavery.
# Tribal Ransoms Table
| Tribe | Rank | Ransom |
| Saxons | Heorthgeneat | £2 |
| Thegn | £4 | |
| Ætheling (chief, sub-king) | £40 | |
| King | £400 | |
| Irish | Knifeman | none |
| Bonnacht | £2 | |
| Chieftan | £20 | |
| Picts | Warrior | none |
| Chieftain | £10 |
Royal and noble captives always become the property of the king. King Arthur pays about half of the value for the captive, paying it soon after receiving the prize. He receives the captive with the pomp and circumstance due to their station, and if they swear an oath not to escape, Arthur gives them appropriate quarters.
# Collecting Ransom
Payment is not automatic. Captured foes remain prisoner until someone pays it off. Some captors keep their prisoners locked in chains, in a dungeon, or give them the freedom to wander their castle. It is even possible to release them on their word of honor to go home and collect funds, then return with the ransom; and failing that, to return to captivity within a year and a day. The Gamemaster determines whether the prisoner is honorable, treacherous, or a thief.
A particular type of low-life commoner exists called the ransom broker, working under sponsorship of a wealthy noble. They pay fifty percent of a ransom at once, take it or leave it. They own the claim thereafter, and if the knight does not pay, then it is the broker’s problem (or really, their noble sponsor’s).
# Loot
Then Sir Florence and Sir Gawaine harboured surely their people, and took great plenty of bestial, of gold and silver, and great treasure and riches, and returned unto King Arthur, which lay still at the siege. And when they came to the king they presented their prisoners and recounted their adven¬tures, and how they had vanquished their enemies.
—Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, book V, chapter 12
Knights fight for loot as well as Glory. The amounts given for various actions are expressed in portable funds, most often coinage and other treasures.
# Sharing Loot
Combatants must always pay a portion of their loot to their leader. For knights with a liege lord, this leader is whomever commands the knight on the field, usually an officer. For mercenaries, this is the captain of the company.
For simplicity’s sake, loot values in Pendragon show the net amount Player-knights receive after sharing with their lords and leaders. Thus, Players need only divide it amongst their characters as they see fit, equally or commensurate with their effort, rank, or risk.
The usual procedure for divvying loot depends on whether the knight supplies their own horses or not. If they supply their own horses, they must pay a third of their winnings to their leader. If they rely on their lord to supply horses, or if they rely on their lord to replace lost horses, they surrender half of the loot.
# Money on the Side
A knight, especially a mercenary knight, may need more income. Since they cannot work on pain of losing their knighthood, some other ways to increase income are:
- Gambling. The knight can wager their meager income with the Gaming Skill and try to win.
- Become steward to a greater lord. The knight gains a regular income but their contract does not allow them to go on lucrative campaigns without losing Honor.
- Borrow from friends. Always risky; this is a way to lose a friend if the payback is not given when promised.
- Sell their horse. This is a drastic measure, but will not affect a knight’s status. The horse fetches two-thirds its market value. Remember that most commanders will lend a horse to a knight who needs it, in exchange for a favor or a larger share of the loot.
- Pawn their armor. This is truly desperate, because if a knight does not get it back within a year, or whatever term is negotiated, then they lose the armor. A shorter period to recoup the armor gets more money up front but a year gives the knight time to be hired, collect their advance, and then get the armor back.
- Banditry. Robbing innocents is an extreme act, and if authorities catch the knight, then they will degrade (strip of rank) and then hang them.
- Become a scorcher (also called an ecorcheur or routier). This is the same as being a bandit, except it is done in a foreign land, and carries comparable risk.
# How to Use Your Wealth
Knights do not go shopping.
However, every knight values wealth. With wealth comes power and influence. Wealth buys favors, it drapes the knight and their household in rich fabrics, gold and jewels, and other accoutrement of station. They may give or receive weapons, armor, horses, and related equipment. Most importantly, wealth buys security from hunger and deprivation.
The following list provides the average market value for the most common items a knight may give or receive. When given as a gift, always use the value of an item given here for determining the value of the Favor owed (see the following section for more details). Knights avoid transactions in cash whenever possible, for such is the province of the low-born merchant. If a knight is reduced to selling their armor or horses for cash, see the preceding section under “Money on the Side” for details.
# Horse Market
# War Horses
Hobby £2
Charger, small £4
Charger £8
# Riding Horses
Rouncy, inferior £1
Rouncy, small 360 d.
Rouncy £2
Rouncy, large 600 d.
Jennet £4
Courser £4
Dales Pony 360 d.
Cambrian Pony £2
# Work Horses
Cart Horse 300 d.
Sumpter 300 d.
Sumpter, strong £1
Hackney 180 d.
Donkey 60 d.
Nag 120 d.
Cob 120 d.
# Equipage
Basic Tack 6 d.
Fancy Tack 120 d.
Riding Saddle 30 d.
War Saddle 45 d.
Pack Saddle 15 d.
# Knightly Weapons
Arming Sword 120 d.
Battle Axe 30 d.
Dagger 20 d.
Great Axe 60 d.
Great Mace 60 d.
Javelin 10 d.
Mace 30 d.
Maul 15 d.
Morning Star 75 d.
Spear 30 d.
# Others
Cheap Sword 60 d.
Club 20 d.
Cudgel, wooden 10 d.
Knife 20 d.
Quarter-staff 10 d.
Seax 40 d.
# Missile Weapons
Bow 30 d.
Francisca 15 d.
Javelin 10 d.
Light Crossbow 60 d.
Throwing Dagger 75 d.
# Armorer
# Standard Set
Aketon, Hauberk, Nasal Helm £2
# Textile
Gambeson 60 d.
Aketon 30 d.
Haubergeon 90 d.
Hauberk 180 d.
Hauberk, advanced £2
# Helms
Nasal Helm 60 d.
Nasal Helm, advanced £1
Open Helm 48 d.
Pot Helm 40 d.
Kettle Helm 40 d.
# Shields
Buckler 10 d.
Kite 30 d.
Round 30 d.
Scutum 30 d.
Simple 10 d.
Targe 10 d.
# Horse Armor
Caparison, Open Plain 60 d.
Caparison, Half Plain 60 d.
Caparison, Full Plain 90 d.
Aketon 360 d.
Gambeson, Half 120 d.
Gambeson, Full 90 d.
# Favors
Feudal society demands reciprocity: you do something for me, and I will do something for you. When a knight does a great service for another knight, the recipient must respond in kind. It is an owed Favor between two members of the nobility. Such a debt requires no contracts or oaths, for failure to repay is a loss of Honor equal to the value of the Favors owed.
For example, Count Robert of Salisbury grants a Favor to Sir Asterius for rescuing his mother, the dowager Countess Ellen. Many years later, Sir Asterius calls in the Favor when he desperately needs one hundred pack horses to go on the Grail Quest. A stunned Count Robert audibly swallows and grants the knight’s request with a brief nod. Though the cost of the Favor is great, Count Robert’s fear of losing Honor is greater.
There are several ways to repay Favors. It could be a deed for a deed, as in the above example, or an equivalent amount of coin, or the loan of a valuable servant, or really anything of value or interest to the recipient.
This system helps the Player and Gamemaster work out a fair method of exchanging Favors.
# Valuing Deeds
Favors are expressed as a numerical value preceded by the letter F. Favors returned should be equal to the Favor received. Characters may repay Favors in part or in whole. Thus, a knight owing a large Favor may repay it with many small acts over time.
For example, if a knight saves a lord’s heir from being killed, the lord would certainly return the Favor. However, there is no certainty that the knight’s son will ever need rescuing, so doing an equivalent deed quickly pays the debt.
How can one calculate the values of Favors? As a rule of thumb, doing an act on behalf of another person that would normally generate 10 Glory instead creates a Favor with a value of F1. Similarly, gifting someone an item worth £1 generates an F1 Favor.
Players should write down each gained or owed Favor on the character sheet of the person who owes or is owed a Favor.
The following approximations and examples provide guidance for Gamemasters.
# Favor Value Synopsis Table
| Favor | Value |
|---|---|
| F1 | £1 of value in goods |
| F1 | £1 of annual value in land |
| F1 | An act granting 10 Glory |
| F1 | Education sufficient to grant a Skill check |
| F1 | Skilled servant’s service for one year |
| F10 | An act associated with 1 point of Honor gain or loss |
| ×10 | If the deed is repeated for life |
| ×20 | If the yearly-repeated deed is inheritable |
Saving or returning a family member, servant, or warhorse is worth one-tenth their ransom or monetary value. If a notable Passion exists towards the saved person, the value may be even higher at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
Liberating and returning the lands of a Lord grants a Favor worth the land’s annual income.
Defeating a major threat to the lands or peasants of a lord is worth one-tenth the total annual income of a lord.
Providing Glory by giving the credit to a liege lord, an amor, or companions instead of claiming it is worth F1 per 10 Glory.
Multiple knights sharing in a deed share in the Favors as well. Thus, if five knights liberate a land with an annual income worth £140, the land’s lord owes F28 to each knight.
# Favor Equivalents
- A knight saves another knight’s £10 charger from certain death. They are now owed a Favor equal to one-tenth the value of the horse, or F1. (Note that the monetary value of a Favor is always calculated on the cost to purchase, not the price to sell it to a merchant.)
- A friend needs lute accompaniment as he recites poetry outside their beloved’s window. This gets the suitor 10 Glory, so they owe their friend F1.
- A good friend turns their £1 barley field over to a landowner for a year. This is a F1 Favor. If they turned over their £10 manor for a year, the landowner would owe F10.
- A lord arranges for a scholar to instruct their son for a year, after which the son obtains a check to the Skill. The lord does not pay the tutor, so after a year they owe the tutor F1.
- A knight saves their lord from losing 1 Honor point. The lord now owes a Favor worth F10.
- The above-named £1 barley field, if given for life, is worth F10.
- If that £1 barley field is granted for life and inheritable in the recipient’s family, it earns F20; but only if it is located within a day’s ride of the demesne of the lord.
- Arranging a marriage for a knight to a wife with a £½ land dowry is worth F10: since the dowry is likely to exist for eternity, this is a lifetime grant (value of the land times 20).
# Favor Etiquette
Collecting Favors requires a certain amount of delicacy. Simply asking for a cash payout is considered beyond gauche. Since knights are not supposed to dirty their hands with money, this leads to a loss of 1 Honor per £10 (in part or in whole) they asked for.
If a knight wishes to collect on Favors owed, it is far better to simply ask the person who owes the Favor for “a gift.” The knight may politely say how they wish to receive the compensation. For example, the knight might hint that they have no place to live and let the other make the offer to feed and lodge the knight for a duration equal to the value of a Favor expressed in cost-of-living expenses. However, that knight had better keep close track of how much advantage of this they may take! If the knight goes over the limit and is freeloading without approval, then the Gamemaster is within their rights to dock the knight 1 Honor per season.
When paying back a Favor, remember that the recipient must have a need or desire for something received. A knight going to another estate and kidnapping a dozen serfs from a friendly neighbor will not impress a lord who is receiving them. That leads to feuds and war, and so the lord will return them to their owner.
It is the recipient who decides the value of the Favor. It is calculated considering their own need and situation. Thus, a knight who returns a woman he thinks is a liege’s lover and is expecting a suitable reward will be disappointed if she is just another scullery maid. Saving the black sheep of the family will be appreciated differently than the favorite son of the lord.
Also, the deliverer of a deed worth a Favor does not get to decide the precise conditions of the return Favor, or even whether a Favor is owed—a lord may choose to immediately grant an equivalent monetary return instead.
A knight can expect a Favor if they perform a service for a foreign lord, but not from their own liege. Only extraordinary deeds during active play merit Favors from one’s liege lord. Similarly, none of the deeds associated with upholding an Ambition, or reaching an Ideal, or defending one’s family are extraordinary for the knight who performs them, and so do not merit Favors. Favors are granted for deeds done outside a knight’s normal duties and experience. Finally, and most importantly, the debt of a Favor is personal. It is a person, not a household or family, who grants a Favor. If a knight dies owing a Favor, the debt of honor dies with him.
# Declining Favors
Declining a Favor is a humble act, and warrants a Modest check. Once declined it is gone forever. To request it back calls for a Selfish check, an Arbitrary check, a loss of a point of Honor, and a firm, “No, I am afraid that time has passed.”