House Resources
Come in two varieties – Wealth, which determines what its members may buy, and Strength, which measures the power of a House’s armed forces. One naturally flows from the other. Mechanically, Wealth is used to determine how much handwaving you can do when describing what sort of luxuries your character is permitted. Reach too far, and you damage your house’s finances. Strength is the measure of your house’s units in battle.
Wealth
Comes in ten levels and is a combination of many factors. Whether it comes from the taxes raised by smallfolk farmers, or the mines inherent in your lands, or the fishing vessels that serve your house is based upon the lore of your house. But the wealth level of a house indicates what its noble members may buy without a thought, and what constitutes an expenditure of the house’s true wealth.
An incidental purchase is one that could be made indefinitely. It does not put a noticeable dent in the holdings and coffers of your household. For House Lannister, buying a castle-forged sword is a negligible purchase. But for House Osgrey of Standfast, it could very well be a tax upon their holdings, affecting whether or not they can feed their people.
A significant purchase has a fiscal impact on your house’s holdings. The first time it is done in a weekly period, it lowers your effective wealth by one level, affecting what is now considered an incidental purchase. This level will return after the week span, provided another significant purchase is not made. If you make a significant purchase at a temporarily lowered level, it is temporarily lowered again. Both levels will return at the end of the week. And so forth, until you are temporarily destitute and not able to make significant purchases. You may choose to use your full wealth once for a second time, but a second significant purchase made during the week results in your house’s wealth level permanently lowered by one. It would then need to be repurchased by improvement points. The lowered level is your new wealth level and has the same limitations. A house could presumably buy their way to destitution, but only a truly drunken fool would live so heartily beyond their means.
Level One – Destitute House / Smallfolk
Your House is dependent upon your liege lords to make ends meet and to see to the feeding and care of your people, and even then your smallfolk are on the edge of starving. Your keep or stronghold threatens to fall apart on you. You’ve only a few servants who stay with you out of a lack of options. You are constantly in debt, and must beg for every scrap of belonging you have. You cannot make purchases, with everything you have going towards maintaining your shoddy possessions. You can afford nothing.
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: None
Ex. of Significant Purchases: None
Note that Smallfolk struggle daily with where their means of support come from. They work full time jobs to earn the coin required to subsist in this world, trading loyalty for the land to farm to earn their keep, or learning skilled jobs to earn the patronage of noble houses to see to their means.
Level Two – Paupered House / Poor Merchants
You may only purchase shoddy goods. Nearly everything you possess is used to maintain your house holdings and lands. Your people are nearly starving, and you dress in presentable but shabby clothing because most of it is inherited.
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: None
Ex. of Significant Purchases: A moderate banquet event to host for another house / an average weapon / a horse of no great quality / a gown that was just shy of threadbare / jewelry that was pretty but costume in quality / purchasing a unit.
Level Three – Impoverished House
Your House has fallen on hard times, but still manages to remain presentable. While the paint peels, and the boards creek, your holdings are suitable and stable, without the holes and drafts indicative of lower wealth houses. You still likely reside in a keep or redoubt of small size though, unable to manage anything larger.
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: A moderate banquet event to host for another house / an average weapon / a horse of no great quality / a gown that was just shy of threadbare / jewelry that was pretty but costume in quality.
Ex. of Significant Purchases: An extravagant banquet to impress another house / a castle-forged weapon / a quality horse, bred by a reputable breeder / a gown that is simple but fine / jewelry in semi previous stones / purchasing a unit.
Level Four – Stable House
Your house is efficient, predictable, and firm in its finances. You do not live in luxuries, but you can reach for them on occasion. Your holdings are maintained and your people do not starve. You might live in a small castle. You have the services of servants sufficient to meet your needs.
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: An extravagant banquet to impress another house / a castle-forged weapon / a quality horse, bred by a reputable breeder / a gown that is simple but fine / jewelry in semi previous stones
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a destitute house for a month / a named castle-forged weapon / a famous quality horse, bred by a reputable breeder / a lavish gown / jewelry in previous stones / taking a Septa into service / purchasing a unit
Level Five – Climbing House
You’ve a taste of real wealth, and it shows. You can now purchase the goods that make other houses jealous, though reaching too high can beggar you down into poverty quickly. It is likely that you live in a castle, and have considered expanding its fortifications. You have dozens of servants to see to your needs.
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a destitute house for a month / a named castle-forged weapon / a famous quality horse, bred by a reputable breeder / a lavish gown / jewelry in previous stones / taking a Septa into service
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a paupered house for a month / a war engine such as a catapult, a group of scorpions, a trebuchet / a luxury ship or a fleet of fishing vessels / sufficient jewelry in previous stones to decorate your entire family or grant a gift of such to another family / have a barding made for a dragon / taking a Maester into service / purchasing a unit
Level Six – Well To Do House
Luxury has become the defining point of your house. You don’t consider hunger as a problem you’ll ever suffer. It is the malady of other people. Your house resides in a full castle, or perhaps one of the more famous strongholds, and is assured of meeting its needs and almost all of its wants.
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a paupered house for a month / a war engine such as a catapult, a group of scorpions, a trebuchet / a luxury ship or a fleet of fishing vessels / sufficient jewelry in previous stones to decorate your entire family or to grant a gift of such to another family / taking a Maester into service
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed an impoverished house for a month / five luxury ships / a master jeweler on retainer / building (1) of a Sept, a Garden or a Grand Library / purchasing a unit
Level Seven – Affluent House
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed an impoverished house for a month / five luxury ships / a master jeweler on retainer / building (1) of a Sept, a Garden or a Grand Library
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a stable house for a month / ten luxury ships / a master engineer on retainer, one that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping / building (2) of a Sept, a Garden, or a Grand Library / purchasing a unit
Level Eight – Flourishing House
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a stable house for a month / ten luxury ships / a master engineer on retainer, one that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping / building (2) of a Sept, a Garden or a Grand Library
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a climbing house for a month / twenty luxury ships / two master engineers on retainer, that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping / purchasing a unit
Level Nine – Resplendent House
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a climbing house for a month / twenty luxury ships / take (2) master engineers on retainer, that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a well to do house for a month / fifty luxury ships / take (3) master engineers on retainer, that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping / build a dragonpit / acquire the services of a dragon expert sufficient to train dragonkeepers / purchasing a unit
Level Ten – Decadent House
Ex. of Incidental Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed a well to do house for a month / fifty luxury ships / take (3) master engineers on retainer, that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping / build a dragonpit / acquire the services of a dragon expert sufficient to train dragonkeepers / purchasing a unit
Ex. of Significant Purchases: Foodstuffs sufficient to feed an affluent house for a month / one hundred luxury ships / take (4) master engineers on retainer, that would specialize in fortifications, siege weapons, shipbuilding or sapping / purchasing a unit
Strength
Every house calls troops to its banner. Those troops are measured in units for house inventory purposes. Every Noble House begins with 2 units, and may purchase units above and beyond that over time.
There are (4) unit types:
Footmen
Representative of infantry of any sort, from raiders and bandits to lockstep soldiers in a regular formation. They may carry swords, spears, shields, daggers or a host of other configurations. Most such soldiers wear breastplates, brigandine, or plate and mail combinations. Some might wear chain or ringed armors, boiled leathers, but most wear middling weight protections. They attack at close range, favoring the fighting and stealth skills.
Archers
Representing bowmen, crossbowmen, javelineers, and slingers, these soldiers are generally lightly armored and mobile, able to strike at long range. Lightly armored, they are much more mobile than footmen, but they are vulnerable at close range to being overpowered.
Cavalry
Representing armored knights, mounted and ready to engage the enemy. These soldiers typically wear full plate and carry war lances, greatswords, longswords, and shields. But some might specialize in war lances that double as spears afoot, or great axes used from horseback in sweeping crashes. Regardless, all benefit from their powerful mounts
Support
Representing engineers, medical support, and maintenance personnel such as groomsman, armorers, and cooks.
Purchasing Requests
All purchases are made through a Story Request ticket in the Discord.