Ransom - How Much?

[Spellslinging Sellsword]

Is there a sample pricing scheme for how much to ransom a person based on status? I believe that MRQ1 had a table with that in the core book. I can't seem to find one in the rules for Runequest 6. If there isn't a table for that in RQ6, what do people recommended as guidelines for setting an amount? Let's assume that the campaign uses the default value of a silver piece. "One Silver Piece is the standard price for one day’s food, drink and accommodation for one person, of stark quality; that is to say, breakfast and an evening meal, with some form of cheap beverage and a place to sleep for the night." (RQ6 pg. 81) Is ransom = 1 year of income too much, too little, just about right?

[Questbird]

Is there a sample pricing scheme for how much to ransom a person based on status? I believe that MRQ1 had a table with that in the core book. I can't seem to find one in the rules for Runequest 6. If there isn't a table for that in RQ6, what do people recommended as guidelines for setting an amount?

Not sure about the Mongoose one, but RQ3 has a weregeld and ransom guideline. On p.166 of the paperback RQ3 book it recommends a life price of annual income x7.

It also has this table:

Standard Weregelds Table

[table]

[tr][th]yearly income in pennies[/th][th]weregeld in pennies[/th][th]weregeld in cattle[/th][/tr]

[tr][td]360 (begggar)[/td][td]2520[/td][td]10[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]1440 (landed peasant)[/td][td]10000[/td][td]40[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]6000 (master crafter, knight)[/td][td]40000[/td][td]160[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]24,000 (counts, earls)[/td][td]160,000[/td][td]640[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]90,000 (dukes, high priests)[/td][td]640,000[/td][td]2,560[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]365,000 (archdukes)[/td][td]2,560,000[/td][td]none[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]1,440,000 (king)[/td][td]10,240,000[/td][td]none[/td][/tr]

[/table]

[Spellslinging Sellsword]

Is the ransom price the same as the weregild price in RQ3? 7x annual for ransom seems really high.

[Questbird]

I guess it's always a vexed question how much a life is worth. I suppose the murdered person's family would value it higher than the murderer. The weregeld system was just a way to reduce vendettas.

[Spellslinging Sellsword]

Looking at my copy of Pendragon the section on ransom amounts by level of knighthood/nobility goes with 3x annual income. Also came across an article about ransom in the Middle Ages which mentioned Prisoners of War in the Hundred Years War: Ransom Culture in the Late Middle Ages that covers the topic. The book is available at the library locally so I think I'll have to check it out. :-)

[rust]

Is the ransom price the same as the weregild price in RQ3? 7x annual for ransom seems really high.

I doubt it, weregeld and ransom were not directly related, in fact they were

usually traditional customs of very different cultures. Otherwise one might

have the problem that the relatives of a captured person would hesitate to

pay his ransom because they could demand weregeld if he were killed by his

captors ... "keep him, kill him, and pay up".

[HierophantX]

And then there's the problem of cultural differences. As a Viking, I might just geld my noble captive and sell him into slavery, unless that monk that I just gelded and am about to sell into slavery can quickly explain this whole ransom thing. Because, you know, if I get the idea that kidnapping nobles can net me huge ransom profits then I might be inclined to arrange a parlay so I can "negotiate a peace" with these sheep-men. It would be much easier to extort ransom from a larger number of these fools if I can first arrange for them to be gathered together... preferably in a large church with lots of glitter about...