Lesson 6
Cold Hard Cash: Wages and Cost of Living
Not everyone in Verdania society has bags full of money. The incomes of people range from the lowest peasant on down to the richest of nobles. The normal tax rate listed is that set by most Kingdoms, and determined in a summit meeting that usually occurs every ten years at Basillicus. The rate, %20, is rarely changed by Kingdoms and while different ones may add different types of additional taxes this is the normal taxation added. Unreported income is normally criminal, if the person is a citizen. Non-citizens are normally located every month and taxed %50 of their income or one gold piece. Failure to do so runs different punishments from spending a few days in labor, to jailtime. Also Non-citizens are normally denied certain legal rights (For example in Damocles, citizens are entitled to legal representation while non-citizens are not. Non-citizens in Axius can be declared guilty on the spot by the guard who arrested them and sentenced to jail time within hours while citizens are "Innocent till Proven Guilty. Also Non-Citizens in Terangoth can be legally robbed or captured and sold as slave labor.)
| At the bottom rung of the income bracket in Imperia is what many would consider the peasant. Usually the peasant is a person or family who do for themselves. They grow their own food, sew their own clothing and barter with others to obtain what they want instead of purchasing with currency. Their house is constructed of mostly rough stone with a basic straw roof covering a wooden frame. The average income of one in this lifestyle is less than one silver per day, and that is normally enough for them to just get by. Very rarely do they ever shop, and mostly they live along the outskirts of a town or in small hamlets and villages close to big cities or a Lord's Castle. This is the most dominant group of people found within nearly all of Verdania (With the exception of Damocles). A peasant's diet is normally whatever they can grow such as vegetables or livestock and rarely do they have a diet of more than two food types. Also their houses are not equipped with plumbing or basic bath amenities and thus have to boil their own water for drinking and warm bathing in large tubs. Citizens of this lifestyle are normally taxed 15 bronze a month. |
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Just above the peasant is the citizen, called so because they are an active, tax paying element within society. The citizen is slightly above common labor work, but not exactly a skilled craftsman either with an income ranging from 1 silver to 2 electrum a day. Mostly these people live in the basic housing areas of towns, normally within the town's own fortifications. The poorer among them fashion their houses out of wood, with the more richer and bigger families also using stone bricks. While they do grow a small amount of food, they normally depend on a grocery to purchase food from to supplement what food they do grow. They barter and purchase goods and are considered the middle-lower class in some nations. They are able to grow 1-2 different food types (Usually vegetables and some livestock) as well as purchase a third type like bread from the market. They have but the basic of toiletries (Similar to an Outhouse) and still basic bathing arrangements. Citizens of this lifestyle are normally taxed between 5 silver to 112 silver a month. |
| Above the citizens are the middle class. (However while for most of Verdania this is considered middle class, in Damocles this is considered lower class as the average Damocles citizen is far more wealthier). The average income a day ranges from 3-10 electrum and they own multi-level homes with various rooms set aside for entertaining guests and dining whereas people of lesser incomes usually have to eat and cook and live in the same room. They have houses made of wood, stone bricks and other various building materials with a good degree of craftsmanship in the houses. While people of lower conditions are not the target of thieves, these and houses above this level of income are. Rarely are the people living here wealthy enough to afford servants and while they cannot splurge vast amounts of coin they are able to afford a more varied diet as they mostly buy their foods (Ranging from 1-4 types such as meat, dairy, vegetables and bread) and have their houses connected to a city sewage system. They are also able to afford basic cold running water and a bathtub, but have to heat the water for a warm bath. Just over half have magi-tech enhancements that allow them heated water and showers. Citizens in this lifestyle are normally taxed somewhere between 16 to 56 electrum a month. |
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Citizens in this next lifestyle hold professions of either successful merchants, skilled business owners or adventurers. They are able to afford better food, wine for their meals, good furniture and decorations and also help to keep the home tidy and neat for guests. People of this lifestyle are considered about as wealthy as you can get from being nobility (However in Damocles this is considered Middle-Class). They have incomes ranging from 11 to 25 electrum a day, but they buy more consumer goods such as horses, wagons and land. They have homes connected to working sewage, with magi-tech gear to give them hot and cold running water, showers, and cold food storage boxes. Due to this they can buy fish, better meats and have the food keep for much longer. Citizens in this range are taxed around 6 gold to14 gold a month and enjoy better legal considerations and entitlements, with some even being close friends of the lawmakers and enforcers themselves. |
| This is the highest one normally gets in all of Verdania (With the exception of Damocles where this is considered Wealthy (But non-Noble) class. This is the Nobility class, the true wealthy people of the lands. They own ships, several houses, large tracts of land and even have a small security force to protect their homes. They always go out with escort, or riding beautiful steeds and they have a life most dream about. Incomes range from 26 to sometimes 200 electrum a day and they are people who the merchants scramble to get the business of. They have guest bedrooms, studies, several bathrooms (sometimes even a large pool-shaped hot bath chamber) and have several magi-tech items as house lighting, security devices, musical broadcast crystals, toilets, bathtubs and showers. They pay taxes ranging from around 14 gold to 112 gold a month and a few even own small first generation airships. |
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This is exclusive only to the very wealthy lands of Damocles, and is what is considered the nobility class within the mainland of the Empire. Admirals, Generals, First War Heroes, Corporate Heads, Former Rulers and Senators all fall within this lifestyle and have incomes ranging from at least two to ten platinum a day but some go FAR higher than that. They enjoy the best the technology of the Empire has to offer, and are well respected citizens within the lands such as Airship Pioneer Derek Gideon, First War Veteran Baiganx Windfire and DEC CEO Ian Stormgren. They pay taxes of around 112 gold to 56 platinum a month. They live a lifestyle that is beyond the dreams of many peasants and are people who take immense pride in the Damocles Empire. |
Within Verdania society the six castes/income brackets listed have been given names by the people of Verdania to best reflect them. People born into an income lifestyle only rise above it through great luck or fall down through grave misfortune.
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Peasant |
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Citizen |
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Middle-Class |
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Wealthy |
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Verdanian Nobility |
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Damoclean Nobility |
Wages
Listed below are a few professions and the acceptable rate of pay (Or Minimum Wage) for those in that field. For one to pay lower usually invokes anger and resentment among the workers and for one to pay higher sometimes spurs competitiveness among other such employers. The price listed does not include special income such as the sales of a weapon a weapon smith makes or the special chemicals an alchemist may produce. This also does not include the income one would make if they owned a shop or business.
| Job | Wage (Per Day) |
| Unskilled Laborer | 8 silver |
| Miner | 12 silver |
| Engineer (Mining Operations) | 35 silver |
| Alchemist | 20 silver |
| Animal tender/groom | 10 silver |
| Architect | 40 silver |
| Clerk | 18 silver |
| Cook | 15 silver |
| Entertainer/performer | 4 silver |
| Limner | 15 silver |
| Maid | 12 silver |
| Mason/craftsman | 12 silver |
| Mercenary (Basic) | 12 silver |
| Mercenary (Horseman) | 20 silver |
| Mercenary (Squad Commander) | 30 silver |
| Porter | 9 silver |
| Sage | 20 silver |
| Scribe | 17 silver |
| Smith | 20 silver |
| Teamster | 15 silver |
| Valet/lackey | 12 silver |
| Barrister | 35 silver |
| Artillerist | 35 silver |
| Mercenary Sea Ship Captain | 60 silver |
| Sea Ship Officer | 40 silver |
| Sailor | 15 silver |
| Ship's Cook | 12 silver |
| Enlisted Army (Rank: Private E-1) - Axius Royal Army (%20 increase per promotion) | 35 silver |
| Enlisted Army (Rank: Private E-1) - Damocles Armed Forces (%30 increase per promotion) | 55 silver |
| Enlisted Army (Rank: Private E-1) - Terangoth Militia (%5 increase per promotion) | 25 silver |
| Enlisted Army (Rank: Private E-1) - Shadow Knight Imperial Army (%15 increase per promotion) | 15 silver |
| Enlisted Army (Rank: Corporal) - Axius Royal Army | 60 silver |
| Enlisted Army (Rank: Corporal) - Damocles Armed Forces | 120 silver |
| Army Officer (Rank: 2nd Lt.) - Axius Royal Army | 62 silver |
| Army Officer (Rank: 2nd Lt.) - Damocles Armed Forces | 97 silver |
| Fleet Officer (Rank: Ensign) - Damocles Imperial Fleet | 106 silver |
| Fleet Officer (Rank: Captain) - Damocles Imperial Fleet | 393 silver |
| Army Officer (Rank: Captain) - Axius Royal Army | 89 silver |
| Tantallon City Guard "Captain" (Effective Army Rank: Colonel) | 170 silver |
| Captain (D.I.S. Victory) - Damocles Imperial Fleet | 432 silver |
| Robed Sentinel Watchwizard | 150 silver |
| Engineer (Airship Technician - nonmilitary) | 70 silver |
| Shipwright | 50 silver |
| Sculptor | 15 silver |
| Parchmentmaker | 15 silver |
| Locksmith | 25 silver |
| Army Officer (Rank: Colonel) - Damocles Armed Forces | 360 silver |
| Army Officer (Rank: Brigadier General) - Damocles Armed Forces | 468 silver |
| Commanding General of the Damocles Imperial Army | 1337 silver |
| Fleet Admiral of the Damocles Imperial Fleet | 1459 silver |
| Fletcher | 12 silver |
| Steward | 75 silver |
| Chamberlain | 29 silver |
| Barber | 19 silver |
| Doctor | 30 silver |
| Falconer | 17 silver |
| Huntsmen | 16 silver |
| Keeper of the Wardrobe | 25 silver |
| Tailor | 15 silver |
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