Bannerlord is set in reality with more than a passing similarity to the V and VI centuries of Europe. The names and styles of many things - arms, armour and troops among others, is, shall we say "borrowed"? from the late Roman/early Byzantine Empire. And so it is also with money. The coin chosen is the "Denarius", which is interesting because that particular Roman silver coin had been abolished by the V century. What they used instead was gold Solidii ,bronze Follis and copper Nummi, with the occassional more or less ceremonial silver Milariense thrown in. We do have some records regarding the price of things in those times, although mainly in gold Solidii. But no matter, the gold/silver exchange rate during Roman times held fast at around 14/1, so if we assume a Calradic Denarius is a silver coin of the same weight as a Solidus (around 4,5 g), and we assume that the value of silver is more or less the same in this reality as it was in ours, then we could use those ancient prices to create a more consistent price structure for Bannerlord.
We have a few extremely relevant prices to start with though;
A horse or a camel could cost around 3-5 Solidii, or 40-70 Bannerlord denarii.
The pay of a Roman cavalryman around the time of Theodosius was around 8 solidi per year, equivalent to 112 "denarii". This is a little earlier than the Bannerlord equivalent period (end of IV century), but since the Solidus was not debased until the XI century, the info is still good.
A Roman recruit of that time was paid 6 Solidii upon enlisting to purchase his equipment and to cover some other initial costs. Translated to Bannerlord coin, that comes out as 84 denarii. Of course, the Romans (East and West) had the sense to equip their recruits not only with a shield, but also with real armour and weapons so this should probably be used as the cost of hiring an Imperial trained infantryman or archer, or even higher grade troops. I am BTW of the opinion that recruits should be properly equiped at least with shield, weapons and a helmet, but that is another discussion entirely. All in all, Bannerlord is not too far off from historic prices in this instance.
But not only that. Those 84 denarii should cover a little more than the following pieces of equipment, mass-produced but still of tolerable quality;
One Spatha (Probably "iron", whatever that means, historical weapons were made of iron and steel)
One Spear (why not the "Imperial" one)
One dagger, (Pugio, probably although I'm not sure if it was still issued by the V century)
One simple helmet
One short-sleeved mail shirt with undergarment (leather or padded)
Clothes and footwear
It is abundantly clear that the prices of armour and weapons in Bannerlord are ridiculously high, compared to the prices of hiring and equipping troops, and also compared to the wages paid to the troops. Even quite normal weapons can cost several thousand denarii, enough to equip whole companies of troops.
This warped price structure has IMHO two very bad consquences, one seriously disrupting game incentives and the other merely immersion-breaking:
1) In this game, you can afford a company of fully armed and armored troops before you can afford a decent sword or a suit of mail for yourself. You and your companions will be the paupers of the company with the most cheapo equipment of all the men. This is flyes in the face of reason and kills immersion.
2) Because equipment prices are so high, battle loot is extremly profitable. Instead of not affording to go to war, you may end up not affording to have peace, because you need battle loot to pay your army. This is also simply nuts. The main income of a lord should be from taxes.
All in all, I think these are valid reasons, both for immersion and gameplay, to radically alter the price structure in Bannerlord so that the price of equipment adds up to the price of equipping tropps. The moneymakers should be taxes and trade, not loot. And the moneysink should be your army, not the personal gear of your character and his companions.
We have a few extremely relevant prices to start with though;
A horse or a camel could cost around 3-5 Solidii, or 40-70 Bannerlord denarii.
The pay of a Roman cavalryman around the time of Theodosius was around 8 solidi per year, equivalent to 112 "denarii". This is a little earlier than the Bannerlord equivalent period (end of IV century), but since the Solidus was not debased until the XI century, the info is still good.
A Roman recruit of that time was paid 6 Solidii upon enlisting to purchase his equipment and to cover some other initial costs. Translated to Bannerlord coin, that comes out as 84 denarii. Of course, the Romans (East and West) had the sense to equip their recruits not only with a shield, but also with real armour and weapons so this should probably be used as the cost of hiring an Imperial trained infantryman or archer, or even higher grade troops. I am BTW of the opinion that recruits should be properly equiped at least with shield, weapons and a helmet, but that is another discussion entirely. All in all, Bannerlord is not too far off from historic prices in this instance.
But not only that. Those 84 denarii should cover a little more than the following pieces of equipment, mass-produced but still of tolerable quality;
One Spatha (Probably "iron", whatever that means, historical weapons were made of iron and steel)
One Spear (why not the "Imperial" one)
One dagger, (Pugio, probably although I'm not sure if it was still issued by the V century)
One simple helmet
One short-sleeved mail shirt with undergarment (leather or padded)
Clothes and footwear
It is abundantly clear that the prices of armour and weapons in Bannerlord are ridiculously high, compared to the prices of hiring and equipping troops, and also compared to the wages paid to the troops. Even quite normal weapons can cost several thousand denarii, enough to equip whole companies of troops.
This warped price structure has IMHO two very bad consquences, one seriously disrupting game incentives and the other merely immersion-breaking:
1) In this game, you can afford a company of fully armed and armored troops before you can afford a decent sword or a suit of mail for yourself. You and your companions will be the paupers of the company with the most cheapo equipment of all the men. This is flyes in the face of reason and kills immersion.
2) Because equipment prices are so high, battle loot is extremly profitable. Instead of not affording to go to war, you may end up not affording to have peace, because you need battle loot to pay your army. This is also simply nuts. The main income of a lord should be from taxes.
All in all, I think these are valid reasons, both for immersion and gameplay, to radically alter the price structure in Bannerlord so that the price of equipment adds up to the price of equipping tropps. The moneymakers should be taxes and trade, not loot. And the moneysink should be your army, not the personal gear of your character and his companions.
