This article discusses some services commonly used by adventurers when in town, including price guidelines.
Establishments where travellers can get a hearty meal and a bed for the night.
Frequency: Almost all settlements have at least one tavern or inn. Large towns and cities usually have multiple establishments catering to different clientele.
| Inn/Tavern Drink | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cost |
| Ale (pint) | 5sp |
| Mead (pint) | 1gp |
| Wine (pint) | 1gp |
| Inn/Tavern Food | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cost |
| Cheese | 1sp |
| Fruit | 1sp |
| Porridge or gruel | 1sp |
| Roast fowl | 1gp |
| Roast joint | 25sp |
| Soup | 1sp |
| Stew | 5sp |
| Inn Lodgings | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cost/Night |
| Common room floor | 1sp |
| Shared room (2–4 beds) | 5sp |
| Private room | 1gp |
| Private suite | 5gp |
| Inn Services | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cost |
| Bath in private room | 5sp |
| Personal services (barber, laundry, etc.) | 1gp |
| Private dining room | 1gp/person |
| Stabling and fodder | 4sp/night |
Specialists in buying, selling, and appraising gems and jewellery.
Frequency: Large towns and cities often support multiple jewellers. Small towns close to a trade route or in a mining region may (50% chance) have a jeweller. It is very rare to find a jeweller in a village.
Buying gems/jewellery: Jewellers will purchase items from PCs at 80% of their full value.
Selling gems/jewellers: Jewellers will sell items to PCs at their full value.
Valuation (optional rule): It is generally assumed that adventurers are competent enough to appraise the value of treasures themselves. If the referee wishes to keep the value of gems and jewellery secret, PCs may ask a jeweller to appraise them. The fee for this service is typically 3% of the item’s value.
Money changers also offer some banking services.
Frequency: Large towns and cities often support multiple money changers. Small towns close to a major trade route may (50% chance) have a money changer. It is rare to find a money changer in a village
Money changing: Coins of one kind can be exchanged for coins of another kind of equivalent value (e.g. 1,000cp exchanged for 10gp). The fee is 3% of the value of the coins changed. (e.g. a 3sp fee for exchanging 1,000cp to 10gp.)
Safe storage: Funds can be left in a money changer’s safe, with a token given to vouch for the money stored. This service is free of charge if money is left for at least one month. There is a 10% fee otherwise.
Loans: Unknown (low level) characters can get a loan of up to 5gp if an item of equivalent value is left as a deposit. For larger loans, an item of double the value of the loan must be left as a deposit. The fee is 10% of the value of the loan per month. Well-known and respected characters (e.g. high level characters with land) may be able to get loans at a lower interest rate.
Trade in common tools and trade goods (e.g. fur, salt, spices, cloth).
Frequency: Almost all settlements have at least one trader or provisioner. Large towns and cities usually have multiple establishments, some specialising in specific types of goods.
Selling new equipment:
Buying used equipment:
When PCs are selling items to a jeweller or trader/provisioner, the referee may optionally roll to determine what price is offered. Roll 2d6 on the table below, modified by the PC’s reaction modifier due to CHA (see Ability Scores in Old-School Essentials).
| Haggling Results—% of Item’s Full Value | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2d6 | Jeweller | Trader |
| 2 or less | 50% | 25% |
| 3–5 | 65% | 35% |
| 6–8 | 80% | 50% |
| 9–11 | 85% | 60% |
| 12 or more | 90% | 75% |