View source for Household - Living like a King for a price

[[Category:User Guides]]<-- [[Cost of Living]]
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=HOUSEHOLD=

Players sometimes question why their characters should be obliged to spend "hard-earned" money on good food, un-torn clothes, peasant accommodations, and life in general. 

In Monetary Matters there is a description of the nine standards of living. It takes an amount of SP per day/week/month, to maintain one of these living standards. 

The detail in this article exceeds that required by most DQ players and GMs. In DQ all PCs have to cross off an amount of SP to maintain their basic living standard. Using this system instead of just crossing off the SP, means that the player will see where their "hard-earned" money is going, and the results. 

It is a small amount of work for a out of game thing, but I believe it is more rewarding than just crossing off the SP and not knowing what you get for it.

It stands to reason that the time and cash characters invest on living in general profoundly affects their health, reputation and psychological well-being. This should at least be considered in role-playing, and that is one of the purposes of this article.

Spending adequate cash wisely makes the household healthier and safer; spending too little exposes it to disease, malnutrition, and scorn. It is human nature to improve living standards to the limit of income (despite what some players argue).

However much is spent, chores must be done and household duties are labour intensive; for a resident of a medieval castle to attain a living standard "reasonably" close to that enjoyed in the 20th century North America or Europe, they would need 350 servants, and lots of money.

Organising household budget form
Each month the Household Head allocates funds and labour to various operations. The amounts determine indices which express the household's well-being, weather or not they have comfortable living space, are eating well, look presentable, etc. These indices in turn determine residents' susceptibility to disease, social status, and so on.

All this is easily done by filling out the Household Budget Form. The form need not be compiled every month. In most households, things do not change very often, so modification is necessary only to reflect significant change. The system is intended more as a yardstick than a strait-jacket.

==Name of Household==
A label by which the household is identified by Players and GMs. If there is a single Household Head, the household may bear there name. PCs may choose any convenient name.

==Location==
The household's address. Few streets have signs and few houses have numbers. Hence an approximation such as Uraagh's Hall, Murder Alley, Uraagh's Way, Newhaven is usually the best that can be managed.

==Budget Date==
Theoretically, a household budget is compiled each month, but in practice, the Household Budget Form is only updated as needed. The month and year of the most recent update is entered here and signed off by the GM.

==Market Relationship Factor [MRF]==
MRF reflects the household's relationship with local tradesmen. It is assigned and modified at GM discretion. The value of goods purchased on the household's behalf is partly determined by MRF. Established households tend to have higher MRFs. In general, MRF runs from 0.8 (unpopular with vendors) to 1.5 (popular). Typical housewives have MRFs around 1.25.

Households which are perceived as wealthy by local merchants are often charged more (because they can afford it) - reduce MRF. For a newly established household, MRF may be set at 1.00. Hiring a popular local housewife may (at GM discretion) influence MRF if she is in a position to do some/most of the marketing.

Option: assign discrete MRFs for each budget sector where shopping is necessary (Food & Drink, Clothing, Housekeeping, Luxuries). This represents individual relationships between local merchants and the residents who deal with them. To calculate a sector-MRF determine which person does the most work in that sector and derive their Merchant Skill PEF (using PEF Table). Then multiply this PEF by the general household MRF as assigned above.

==RESIDENTS==
Everyone living in the household should be entered on the resident list (the upper half of the Household Budget Form). If there are more than twenty residents, additional form(s) are required. Enter each resident's position in the household (eg. Head, Spouse, Family, cook, etc.) with their wage (if any). It is necessary to distinguish between family and other residents.

==Division of Labour (Hours)==
Three budget sectors (Food & Drink, Clothing, and Housekeeping) require labour and are dealt with in the resident list. For those contributing labour (eg. doing some cooking), the number of Hours each contributes to each of the three tasks should be entered on the Household Budget Form.

==Household Skills==
The three main budget sectors (Food & Drink, Clothing, and Housekeeping), call for distinct skills:

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! Budget Sector !! Skill Required
|-
|Food & Drink || Artisan Cook
|-
|Clothing || Artisan Clothier
|-
|Housekeeping || Housekeeping
|-
|}

Cookery and Clothier are standard Artisan skills, but there is no such skill as Housekeeping (who'd want to learn it anyway?). So the GM assigns Housekeeping rank at the discretion based on player background. Rank 2, might be average for a young man, Rank 3 for a young woman. Unless raised in the lap of luxury, Housekeeping is an automatic/family skill. Housekeeping may be ranked in a similar fashion to adventuring skills.

==Personal Effectiveness Factor [PEF]==

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! Skill Rank (SK) !! (PEF)
|-
| Unranked || 0.40
|-
| Rank 0 || 0.65
|-
| Rank 1 || 0.80
|-
| Rank 2 || 0.90
|-
| Rank 3 || 0.95
|-
| Rank 4 || 1.00
|-
| Rank 5 || 1.05
|-
| Rank 6 || 1.10
|-
| Rank 7 || 1.15
|-
| Rank 8 || 1.20
|-
| Rank 9 || 1.25
|-
| Rank 10 || 1.30
|-
|}


A more effective/skilful worker can achieve more in less time. Therefore, in order to most effectively assign household tasks, it is necessary to determine the Personal Effectiveness Factor (PEF) of each resident performing household duties.

If a resident is contributing hours in any sector, it is necessary to determine their PEF for that sector and enter it on the Household Budget Form eg. A resident working in the Clothing sector needs a Clothing PEF; if they do some cooking, they also need a PEF for Food & Drink. PEF is derived from the applicable Skill Index (see above) by means of the Table below. For example, a character with 
a Cooking rank of 5 would have a Food & Drink PEF of 1.05, and a character with Textile craft of 4, would have a Clothing PEF of 0.90.

Basic PEF may be temporarily or permanently modified by overwork, advanced age, illness, injury, laziness, etc. See PEF Modifications below.

==Youth==
Young people tend to have lower Ranks in their skills, not least because their Psycho-Physical attributes are not yet fully developed. In general children under five years old are pretty useless, and rally require constant supervision taking adults away from other household activities. A nine-year-old has achieved effectiveness for household chores.

==Working Conditions==
Assuming 30, 12-hour working days an adult could reasonably work 360 hours per month. While this schedule is well within the capability of most people, it will keep few deliriously happy. Competent servants, whose employers wish to keep them, are treated better. A contented servant serves better and longer than one who is obviously unappreciated. Someone who only has to work 150 hours a month usually spends some of their free time on details which, while they might not show in the calculations, make life more pleasant for everyone. Contented servants are also less likely to find employment with the household's enemies as spies or saboteurs, and they tend to steal less. Despite considerable expense, and several other drawbacks, it is often a good idea to employ domestic servants and treat them well.

Working Conditions Table
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
!Hrs/Month/Day !! Conditions !! Cont. !! PEF
|-
| 420+(14+) || Grossly Overworked || 80%	|| x0.85
|-
| 360+(12+) || Overworked/Miserable || 90% || x0.95
|-
| 300+(10+) || Hardworking, tired || 95% || x1.00
|-
| 240+(8+) || Comfortable || 97% || x1.05
|-
| 180+(6+) || Casual and Contented || 99% || x1.10
|-
|}

The Working Conditions Table assesses working conditions (contentment) based on total hours an individual actually works at all their activities (not just household chores). It also shows the effect of overwork and the likelihood that a given servant will remain in service. The GM can roll D100 for each servant at the end of each month. If the roll is greater than their Contentment rating (see working Conditions Table), they quit, or threatens to - negotiation is possible.

The chance of a servant leaving also depends on their skill(s). Great cooks in large settlements are offered alternative employment just about every month, while bad ones have difficulty finding new jobs. Wages should also affect contentment.

==Effective Hours==
In each main sector (Food & Drink, Clothing and Housekeeping) each resident's Effective Hours are determined by multiplying their Hours by their PEF. Eg., a resident with Clothing PEF of 1.25 contributing 12 clothing hours is adding 12 x 1.25 = 15 Effective Clothing Hours. Once all residents' Effective Hours are entered, Total Effective Hours are entered for each main sector.

==Labour Demand Factor [LDF]==
LDF is the optimum of hours needed by a (main) budget sector for one month. Actual/Effective hours need not, and usually will not match LDF. Each of the three main budget areas has a distinct LDF:

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
| Food & Drink LDF: || 90 hours +4 hours per resident.      
|-
| Clothing LDF:	|| 3 hours per family member 2 hours per other resident
|-
| Housekeeping LDF: || 1 hour per 20 square feet of living space +1 hour per resident.  
|-
|}

==Labour Factor [LF]==
LF expresses the relationship between LDF and Total Effective Hours in each main sector. There is a distinct LF for each main Sector. To calculate LF, divide the sector's Total Effective Hours by its LDF.

=BUDGET SUMMARY=

Budget information is compiled in the Budget Summary section of the Household Budget Form.

==Budget== Where there is a box for the purpose, the Household head enters a Gross budget (pence) for that sector. Obviously, the household cannot budget more funds than are available.

==LF== Labour Factor is carried down from above for each main sector.

==MRF== The household's Market Relationship Factor is carried down for each applicable sector. (If Optional Discrete MRFs are used, they are distinguished here.)

==Num/R== Enter the total number of residents.

==TSF== Total Square Feet is the area of the household.

==Val/R== Value per Resident equals (Budget x LF x MRF) divided by Num/R. For Living Space, Val/R is square feet per resident. Note that when calculating Luxuries Val/R only family members are counted.

==Domestic Wages== the sum of any/all wages.

==Mortgage/Rent== the mortgage or rent payments owed each month.

==Taxes== If the household owns the property, enter the amount of taxes due per month (as applicable). In many cases, property taxes are paid annually.

==Maintenance== If the household owns the property, it is also responsible for maintenance, which may be recorded on the Household Budget Form.

Once all monthly residential expenses are entered, the total Household outlay is easily totalled.

=INDICES=
As well as providing a record of household expenses and the hours of effort required to keep the household running, the Household Budget Form is used to generate several indices. These indices give the GM/players a good indication of how they stand. Most of the consequences of these indices are social. A household whose members wear rags or live in squalor is generally unable to impress anyone or advance socially. The uses for this kind of reference in role-playing are extensive. 

==Food & Drink Index [FDI]==
FDI reflects the quality and quantity of food and drink consumed by residents and determines the likelihood of starvation and/or malnutrition. In most poor urban households the FDI hovers around 30. FDI is derived from Food & Drink Value per Resident (Val/R) by means of the Food & Drink Index Table (See Appendix I).

===Food & Drink Index Table===
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! Val/R	!! FDI !! Meaning
|-
| 1-15 || 1-15	|| STARVING - Householders are weak, unmotivated, and hardly able to move. This level of nutrition for more then a few days will begin causing deaths, at first among the servants. Households are highly susceptible to disease, and could easily die from colds or viruses. People are at Half Ft. & Half EN at this point. 
16-30	16-30	MALNOURISHED - Physical attributes and 	skills are effectively reduced  10-50%. Householders are weak, susceptible to disease, and preoccupied with food. People are at Half Ft.
|-
| 30 to 45 || 30 to 35 || ADEQUATE - Everyone is receiving nutrition sufficient to their needs, over the medium to long term. However there may be specific incidences of poor nutrition. Food may be unappealing, and folk are hungry.
|-
| 51 to 81 || 36 to 40 || AMPLE OR COMFORTABLE - Everyone has	plenty to eat and food is more than sufficient to meet nutritional needs, with a good variety of pleasant victuals.
|-
| 92 to 146 || 41 to 45	|| VERY COMFORTABLE - Everyone has an Abundant supply of pleasant, nutritious foods. No one 
goes hungry unless they want to.
|-
| 162 to 236+ || 46 to 50 || NOBLE OR DECADENT - Everyone is conspicuously Very Comfortable, and with far more than they need. Householders may tend toward corpulence, and may waste lots of food.
|-
|}

All residents are included in food & drink calculations, because any who are ill-fed tend to steal the difference. (Moral philosophy is a full-stomach activity.) This does not mean that servants eat as well as family. Every resident eats according to their station, but too much disparity between the best off and the worst off cannot long exist in practice.

At values of 31 or less, Food & Drink Val/R equals FDI; for example, if FV/P is 7, then FDI is also 7. Effective Food value can be increased by up to 30% by skilful cooking.

==Clothing Index [CLI]==

Clothing Index indicates how well residents (especially family) are dressed. Clothing is of vital social importance. People are judged, and accorded courtesy and respect according to the clothes they wear. Nothing is more important in making a first impression. CLI is derived from Clothing Value per Resident (Val/R) by means of the Clothing Index Table. Eg:, if Clothing Value/Person is 21d, then CLI=19.

Clothing Index [CLI]
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! Val/R	!! CLI
|-
|Â¼sp+ || 1
|-
| Â½sp+ || 2
|-
| Â¾sp+ || 3
|-
| 1sp+ || 4
|-
| 1Â¼sp+ || 5
|-
| 1Â½sp+ || 6
|-
| 1Â¾sp+ || 7
|-
| 2sp+ || 8
|-
| 2Â¼sp+ || 9
|-
| 2Â¾sp+ || 10
|-
| 3Â½sp+ || 11
|-
| 4Â½sp+ || 12
|-
| 5Â¾sp+ || 13
|-
| 7Â¼sp+ || 14
|-
| 9sp+ || 15
|-
| 11sp+ || 16
|-
| 13Â¼sp+ ||17
|-
| 15Â¾sp+ || 18
|-
| 18Â½sp+ || 19
|-
| 21Â½sp+ || 20
|-
| 24Â¾sp+ || 21
|-
| 28Â¼sp+ || 22
|-
| 32sp+ || 23
|-
| 36sp+ || 24
|-
|}

CLI is a maintenance level. The true condition of clothing worn by residents is more accurately given by average CLI over the previous twelve months. (Medieval clothing is expected to last at least a year, then be demoted to "second best", then, after another year or two donated to the poor.)

If family size does not exceed half the total number of residents, it may be assumed that family CLI is one point higher and non-family CLI, one lower than the generated index. CLI is interpreted as follows: 

Clothing Condition Table
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! CLI !! Appearance/Condition of Clothing
|-
| 1-4 || RAGGED - Dirty rags fit only for the urban poor.
|-
| 5-8 || PEASANT - Old, but probably clean garments suitable for respectable peasants or poor tradesmen.
|- 
| 9-12 || DECENT - Garments that are usually clean and mended, suitable for crafters and tradesmen.
|-
| 13-16 || MIDDLE CLASS - Clean & well-mended, not too old garments suitable for the middle class. Not ostentatious.
|-
| 17-20 || GOOD - Reasonably new, clean and mended garments suitable for the nobility or up and coming middle class.
|-
| 21+ || DECADENT - Several sets of good, new clothes in a condition and of quality that speaks of high nobility, royalty, or great wealth. Conspicuously lavish.
|-
|}

==Housekeeping Index [HKI]==
HKI indicates household cleanliness. House-keepers clean and do minor repairs. In larger households, these duties are divided between chamberlain(s), butler(s), maid(s), etc. Housekeeping LDF also depends on available living space. HKI is derived from Housekeeping Value per Resident (Val/R) with the same table used to derive Clothing Index, and interpreted in the House Condition Table (See Appendix I).

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! HKI !! Appearance/Condition of Residence
|-
| 1-7 || HOVEL/SLUM - Filthy and unsanitary. Residents are highly susceptible to any disease that appears. Combined with a FDI under 30, the household will not last long.
|- 
| 8-14 || GOOD - Reasonably Clean and healthy - typical for rural peasants, some of the urban poor and much of the middle class.
|-
| 15-21 || CLEAN AND HEALTHY - Health is not a consideration. Visitors will refrain from holding their noses.
|-
| 21+ || SPOTLESS - A level usually achieved with lots of daily cleaning in households where servants outnumber family.
|-
|}

''Note: Standards of personal cleanliness in medieval Europe declined as forests were denuded and the supply of fuel (for hot water) grew scarcer. Newhaven has relatively abundant fuel. Consequently, levels of personal hygiene tend to be higher, at least among the middle and upper classes.
''

==Luxury Index [LXI]==
Luxuries are the little and not so little extras which make life pleasant after necessities are provided. They include beer, recreation, wine, food delicacies, works of art comfortable furniture, and entertainment.

When calculating Luxury Value per Resident (Val/R) Num/R (number of residents) includes only Family members. (All other indices count all residents). Household LXI is derived from Val/R (Value per family member) using the Luxury Index Table (See table).

Luxuries are of less benefit if the recipient(s) do not, for example, eat or drink properly. A reasonable proportion must be maintained. Therefore, LXI cannot exceed 10% of the total Standard of Living Index (see below). If LXI is greater than 10% of SLI, it is reduced to 10% of SLI.


{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! Val/R !! LXI
|- 
| 0sp+ || 0
|- 
| 3sp+ || 1
|-
| 7sp+ || 2
|-
| 12sp+ || 3
|- 
| 18sp+ || 4
|-
| 25sp+ || 5
|-
| 33sp+ || 6
|-
| 42sp+ || 7
|-
| 52sp+ || 8
|-
| 63sp+ || 9
|-
| 75sp+ || 10
|-
| 88sp+ || 11
|-
| 102sp+ || 12
|-
| 117sp+ || 13
|-
| 133sp || 14
|-
|}

==Living Space Index [LSI]==
Available living space affects hygiene, comfort and spiritual well-being. All residents count because crowded servants infringe on family privacy. LSI equals Total Square Feet (TSF) divided by the number of residents (Num/R), divided by 20, but the maximum LSI is 20, so any LSI over 20 is reduced. LSI under five is considered cramped (except for sailors at sea). LSI 5-10 is deemed average in town, but tends to be greater in the countryside, where a "typical" family might have 675 square feet and a LSI of 6.75.

To get a good feel for the household environment, we have provided a floor plan. GMs/players may wish to alter or re-draw a floor plan (assigning rooms to various functions). If so please give a copy to us for the records. If the household contains several unrelated PCs (unwilling to share beds) there are constraints over and above those applying to normal households. Sleeping arrangements may also limit hiring live-in servants.

==Standard of Living Index [SLI]==
SLI is a general assessment of household living standard on an open-ended scale. It is determined by adding together FDI, CLI, HKI, LSI, and LXI. Generally speaking, the higher the SLI the better.


{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
! SLI !! General Interpretation
|-
| 0-45 || Poorest of the poor - in danger
|-
| 46-70 || Low Income - but getting by
|-
| 71-90 || Reasonably comfortable and respectable
|-
| 91-115 || Quite Wealthy and comfortable
|- 
| 116+ || Ostentatious - In the lap of luxury
|-
|}

Summary
This Households system is designed to work along side the normal DQ Monetary Matters system of maintaining a PC's standard of living by just crossing of a set amount of SP. 

=[[Image:HH-Form.gif|thumb|House Hold Form A4 - Image GIF]]=