Crafting and Manufacturing

Adapted from GURPS Low-Tech Companion III: Daily Life and Economics, by Matt Riggsby and William H. Stoddard, published by Steve Jackson Games.

Labor Cost

Labor Cost = List Price - Materials Cost

Materials Cost

Material	Cost/lb	Notes
Leather	$4	DR 2 = .5 lb/sq ft, DR 1 = .25 lb/sq ft
Rough Cloth	$1.25	1 lb = 10 sq ft
Fine Cloth	Varies	Luxury item
Thread, undyed	$.30	1 lb = 640 yd
Thread, dyed	$.50	1 lb = 640 yd
Iron	$8
Copper	$5
Zinc	$3
Lead	$3
Wood plank, 1/2"	$5/lb
Wood plank. 1"	$3
Wood plank	$1.45

Manufacturing Time

Manufacturing Time = Labor Cost ÷ Labor Pay Rate

Labor Pay Rate

Monthly pay rates for various occupations may be found in GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3, pp. 45-50. The GM may also consult the jobs list located below.

Routine work: Monthly labor rate × .55

Artistic or high-performance work: Monthly labor rate × .75

• Divide monthly pay rate by 25 for daily rates, by 200 for hourly rates.

• If two or more people are performing the work, divide manufacturing time by the number of skilled workers.

• Add at least 1 day for anything heated, soaked, dried, etc.

Example

From GURPS GURPS Low-Tech Companion III', p. 23:

A carpenter makes a 9’ ladder. According to GURPS Low-Tech, this costs $90 and weighs 22.5 lbs. The GM decides that the wood involved is closest to 1” planks at $2.70/lb. (the wood is certainly thicker than 1” at its thinnest, but probably thinner than 2”, so he uses the cost for thinner lumber). Total materials cost is therefore $60.75. This means the labor costs $29.25. A carpenter at TL4 makes $790, so the hourly rate for basic carpentry is ($790 × 0.55) ÷ 200 = $2.17. Thus, the ladder calls for $29.25 ÷ $2.17 = 13.5 man-hours of effort. A carpenter and five assistants could make one from lumber in just over two hours.

See also

• Hyborian Job List. Typical jobs and rates of pay. From GURPS Conan, by Curtis M. Scott. Published b Steve Jackson Games.