Tradesmen for Population Centres – Orlanthi

OK a really interesting question was made by Doyle Taverner on the Glorantha Google+ Page about stating out Alone and the shape of trades and services which would be found in a city. he references a post by S John Ross’s at

I thought this was a very interesting methodology  but the stats were for a late Medieval  Paris and not an ancient Civilization. I thought it could be improved so I have taken a flying hack at something that may be more suited to Doyles needs and come with a methodology that would suit Gloranthan cultures.

Here is my attempt and it is really a discussion peace and I would like feedback to answer the following questions

  • Does the methodology work and is it sound?
  • Are there any professions I have missed out all together?
  • Are there any professions where the proportions are grossly wrong.

I would love some detailed feedback on this, because I doubt its right first time. The methodology I believe will work for all Glorantha societies, but I think the support value table would be significantly different  for different cultures.

Methodology

I have stolen the methodology in original blog post and I think moved it on a bit. Here

  1. Calculate the entire population that will be served by the main urban centre of the area. In the case of Alone it is the alone confederation of 10,000 people.
  2. Decide on a the number of shape of the settlements in the area. In case of alone in going to invent the numbers of 1000 people in alone and another 1000 placed in 5 surrounding villages.
  3. Divide the total population by the Support  Value to generate the numbers of different Laymen, Tradesmen and Artisans with all the population. See an example table below.
  4. Change the numbers to reflect the following factors as you see fit;
    • Politics
    • Religion
    • Economics
    • History
    • Leadership
    • Making a Fun Game
  5. Assume most laymen will be placed rurally in the clans
  6. Place what you think is the correct proportion of the tradesman and artisans into the settlements you wish to define right now, for Alone I would place most of the artisans and 40% of the tradesmen. Take into consideration the placement advice.
  7. Keep a count of the remaining tradesmen and artisans and place them on the fly or as you want to specify the other urban areas, such as the villages.

Tradesmen Definitions

Layman

A clansmen with the skills or equipment to perform a tradesmen’s role within a clan in conjunction with other responsibilities. So a layman potter could very well be a cottar with responsibility for land and sheep, but has knowledge and skills in pot making which serves the clan and sometimes used to make pots for market to supplement income.  Many sellers at seasonal markets are laymen bringing their wares too trade.

However he cannot support himself full time as a potter. Thus skill levels tend to be lower than full time professionals

Tradesmen

A skilled individuals who support themselves and their family by being employed full time in their profession. Their home is usually there place of business. They can often be approved by their respected guilds in the closest city, and skill levels are usually higher than the laymen.

Tradesmen do not usually employ other people, but may apprentice family members.

Artisan

These a fully fledged business with multiple staff, and often apprentices. the place of business can be away from  the artisans home. Artisans are the major players in any City Guilds.

In theory the quality and skills on offer are better than those of tradesman but this not always the case.

Orlanthi Support Value Table

Profession Support Values Placement
Layman Tradesman Artisan
Artist/Sculpter/Wood Carver 600 2000 4000 Town from Tradesmen
Baker 120 800 1600 Village from Tradesman
Barber 200 1000 3200 Town from Tradesmen
Basket maker 120 800 2000 Village from Tradesman
Bathhouse/Public Bath 1200 6000 Town from Tradesmen
Brewer/Beer Seller 120 1200 3600 Village from Tradesman
Builder 120 2000 8000 Town from Tradesmen
Butcher/Fishmonger 120 600 2000 Village from Tradesman
Candle maker 240 800 4000 Village from Tradesman
Carter/Haulage 120 1600 4000 Village from Tradesman
Cartographer 2000 6000 10000 Small City from Tradesmen
Cartwright/Shipwright 1200 4000 8000 Town from Tradesmen
Cheese-maker 240 1600 3200 Village from Tradesman
Cobbler/Shoemaker 240 1200 3600 Village from Tradesman
Distiller 600 3000 5000 Town from Tradesmen
Engineer/Architect 4000 8000 Town from Tradesmen
Entertainer/Poet/Actor 80 3000 6000 Village from Tradesman
Furrier 240 1000 5000 Village from Tradesman
General Merchant 300 2400 4800 Village from Tradesman
Herbalist 180 1500 3000 Rural or Urban
Horse trader 300 3000 6000 Rural or Urban
Inn 2000 6000 Village from Tradesman
Jeweller/Goldsmith 600 2000 5000 Town from Tradesmen
Lawyer/law-speaker 400 3000 6000 Village from Tradesman
Leather-worker 120 1400 4000 Village from Tradesman
Miller 240 1800 4000 Village from Tradesman
Moneylender/Changer 300 3600 7000 Town from Tradesmen
Pawnshop 250 2400 5000 Village from Tradesman
Physician 180 3000 6000 Town from Tradesmen
Potter 120 800 1600 Village from Tradesman
Prostitute/Brothel 180 600 3600 Town for Artisan
Roofers/Thatchers 240 1500 3000 Rural or Urban
Rug/Tapestry Maker 400 2000 6000 Village from Tradesman
Saddler 300 1600 4000 Village from Tradesman
Sage 300 2500 4000 Village from Tradesman
Scribe 240 3000 6000 Village from Tradesman
Sharpener 120 4000 Village from Tradesman
Slaver 2400 4800 Town from Tradesmen
Spice Merchants 4000 8000 Town from Tradesmen
Stonemason 300 2000 6000 Village from Tradesman
Tailor 180 1600 4000 Village from Tradesman
Tanners 180 1400 4000 Village from Tradesman
Tavern/Restaurant 1000 2000 Village from Tradesman
Tinker/Redsmith 240 1000 3000 Village from Tradesman
Vintner/Wine-shop 300 1800 3600 Village from Tradesman
Weapon-smith/Armourer 480 3400 7200 Village from Tradesman
Weaver/Spinner 120 1200 6000 Village from Artisan
Woodworker/Carpenter 120 1200 4000 Village from Tradesman

If this is applied to a clan of 500 hundred Orlanthi adults we would see the following laymen available to the clan which is approx 21% which seems a good proportion to me.

Profession Layman
in Clan
Artist/Sculpter/Wood Carver 0.83
Baker 4.17
Barber 2.50
Basket maker 4.17
Bathhouse/Public Bath 0.00
Brewer/Beer Seller 4.17
Builder 4.17
Butcher/Fishmonger 4.17
Candle-maker 2.08
Carter/Haulage 4.17
Cartographer 0.25
Cartwright/Shipwright 0.42
Cheese-maker 2.08
Cobbler/Shoemaker 2.08
Distiller 0.83
Engineer/Architect 0.00
Entertainer/Poet/Actor 6.25
Furrier 2.08
General Merchant 1.67
Herbalist 2.78
Horse trader 1.67
Inn 0.00
Jeweller/Goldsmith 0.83
Lawyer/law-speaker 1.25
Leather-worker 4.17
Miller 2.08
Moneylender/Changer 1.67
Pawnshop 2.00
Physician 2.78
Potter 4.17
Prostitute/Brothel 2.78
Roofers/Thatchers 2.08
Rug/Tapestry Maker 1.25
Saddler 1.67
Sage 1.67
Scribe 2.08
Sharpener 4.17
Slaver 0.00
Spice Merchants 0.00
Stonemason 1.67
Tailor 2.78
Tanners 2.78
Tavern/Restaurant 0.00
Tinker/Red-smith 2.08
Vintner/Wine shop 1.67
Weapon-smith/Armourer 1.04
Weaver/Spinner 4.17
Woodworker/Carpenter 4.17

If applied to all 10,000 Orlanthi in the Alone confederacy it would suggest the following numbers of laymen, tradesmen and artisans available.

Profession Laymen Tradesmen Artisans
Artist/Sculpter/Wood Carver 16.67 5.00 2.50
Baker 83.33 12.50 6.25
Barber 50.00 10.00 3.13
Basket maker 83.33 12.50 5.00
Bathhouse/Public Bath 0.00 8.33 1.67
Brewer/Beer Seller 83.33 8.33 2.78
Builder 83.33 5.00 1.25
Butcher/Fishmonger 83.33 16.67 5.00
Candle maker 41.67 12.50 2.50
Carter/Haulage 83.33 6.25 2.50
Cartographer 5.00 1.67 1.00
Cartwright/Shipwright 8.33 2.50 1.25
Cheese maker 41.67 6.25 3.13
Cobbler/Shoemaker 41.67 8.33 2.78
Distiller 16.67 3.33 2.00
Engineer/Architect 0.00 2.50 1.25
Entertainer/Poet/Actor 125.00 3.33 1.67
Furrier 41.67 10.00 2.00
General Merchant 33.33 4.17 2.08
Herbalist 55.56 6.67 3.33
Horse trader 33.33 3.33 1.67
Inn 0.00 5.00 1.67
Jeweller/Goldsmith 16.67 5.00 2.00
Lawyer/law-speaker 25.00 3.33 1.67
Leather-worker 83.33 7.14 2.50
Miller 41.67 5.56 2.50
Moneylender/Changer 33.33 2.78 1.43
Pawnshop 40.00 4.17 2.00
Physician 55.56 3.33 1.67
Potter 83.33 12.50 6.25
Prostitute/Brothel 55.56 16.67 2.78
Roofers/Thatchers 41.67 6.67 3.33
Rug/Tapestry Maker 25.00 5.00 1.67
Saddler 33.33 6.25 2.50
Sage 33.33 4.00 2.50
Scribe 41.67 3.33 1.67
Sharpener 83.33 2.50 0.00
Slaver 0.00 4.17 2.08
Spice Merchants 0.00 2.50 1.25
Stonemason 33.33 5.00 1.67
Tailor 55.56 6.25 2.50
Tanners 55.56 7.14 2.50
Tavern/Restaurant 0.00 10.00 5.00
Tinker/Red-smith 41.67 10.00 3.33
Vintner/Wine-shop 33.33 5.56 2.78
Weapon-smith/Armourer 20.83 2.94 1.39
Weaver/Spinner 83.33 8.33 1.67
Woodworker/Carpenter 83.33 8.33 2.50

Please feel free to comment and feedback as I have said it has been a  wild swing at this, but I think it has been useful also.

Edited to let you know I built a toll to take this a step or two further which can be found here

http://www.backtobalazar.com/gloranthan-trades-and-community-guide

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