[Low-Tech]Question about silk horse armor

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

That would make quite a lot of useful things free.

Nah, there is no power n such that x^n = 0 for x !=0.
It does make cheap useful things cost $10 or $1 or $0.1.

And yeah, it flattens out a lot of resource allocation decisions when most hand weapons cost $100 and most good armors cost $1000, but that's sort of the point about unrealistic pricing by utility, it's largely there to [enable] those kind of play issues, which may well not be realistic.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Nah, there is no power n such that x^n = 0 for x !=0.
It does make cheap useful things cost $10 or $1 or $0.1.

And yeah, it flattens out a lot of resource allocation decisions when most hand weapons cost $100 and most good armors cost $1000, but that's sort of the point about unrealistic pricing by utility, it's largely there to [enable] those kind of play issues, which may well not be realistic.

While true, curiously GURPS does officially avoid fractional prices, so for n=-1 GURPS would usually round to either 1 or 0.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

While true, curiously GURPS does officially avoid fractional prices, so for n=-1 GURPS would usually round to either 1 or 0.

Officially where? There are lots of fractional prices in GURPS Low-Tech eg. ammunition or Inflated Skins (p. 138) or containers (p. 34). And if GURPS prices were rethought on a 1:10 or 1:3:10 scale, conventions would presumably change.

Another way to handle objects under $1 is to give the price for a set of n things (eg. $1 for 10 wooden beads or 20 sheets of rag paper)

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

Officially where? There are lots of fractional prices in GURPS Low-Tech eg. ammunition or Inflated Skins (p. 138) or containers (p. 34)

Ammunition, I knew, but assumed was because you'll usually end up with whole number prices. The others I've forgotten.

I guess I was thinking about how the various published $ to coins schemes never have denominations less than $1 (and particularly if it's $ farthings, there really isn't a way to do more than quarter a penny).

At any rate, never mind.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I guess I was thinking about how the various published $ to coins schemes never have denominations less than $1 (and particularly if it's $ farthings, there really isn't a way to do more than quarter a penny).

Well, in most low-tech societies with coins that was how it was! There were rarely coins worth less than 1/10 of an ordinary worker's daily wage (so a few GURPS dollars). For small transactions, people kept tabs or bartered or traded favours. Its only in the 19th and 20th century that really small change became a common and official part of money systems.