Waterdeep Goods and Services

Pricing

• If something is in great demand and short supply, prices rise.
• If there is a glut, prices fall.
• If a guild is involved in the price-setting, that is mentioned at the end of the entry (independent operators usually undercut the Guild by 5-10% unless their product is in such demand that they need not compete with guild prices).
• Prices for unusual services— - bounty hunting, for example, or for the sale of monsters and monster eggs or young—are not given herein.

Taxes

Waterdeep collects no annual taxes, but raises its revenues by the charging of fees, as follows:

• 1 copper piece per market stall per day, collected between sunrise and sunset by any city watch patrol, who issue receipts for fees (to show later patrols the fee has been paid). This buys the exclusive use of that location from sunrise to sunset, security patrols by the watch, and freedom to sell goods at whatever the market will bear, rather than at prices set by guilds. Guilds pay these fees for members, out of guild dues.
• 1 silver piece (above any fines) from any person convicted in a Magisterial or Lord’s Court, per conviction.
• 1 gold piece per caravan wagon leaving the city, empty or full.
• 1 gold piece per sword sold (fee included in the price, and submitted by the vendor to a Magister or the watch within ten days); all blades sold in Waterdeep are thus taxed and registered, and Magisters deem anything with a blade over one foot long to be a sword. Other weapons are not so taxed; hence, many citizens of Waterdeep use clubs and daggers (shady characters use garrotes, hidden daggers, and lassos).
• 5 gold pieces per ship that docks in Waterdeep, collected from the captain. It covers a stay of up to fourteen days, provided the ship does not leave the harbor and return during that time, which ends the stay and begins a new one. This fee covers watch patrols, the dock space, fresh water, ballast supplied if desired, and the right to dump ballast or spoiled cargoes in an agreed-upon area under the direction of the watch (and a complement of mermen guards).

In times of trouble, direct taxes may be imposed:

• a “fire tax” (1 gp per household), levied whenever fire destroys a large portion of Waterdeep
• a “wall tax” or “harbor tax” (1 gp per household), raised to pay for needed repairs or expansions
• a “lance tax,” raised for a payroll for mercenaries hired by the City when required (usually 1 silver piece per household each week until the Lords repeal the tax).

Coinage

• Waterdeep honors all coinage, trade bars and electrum in 10-, 25- and 50-gold piece weights from throughout the Realms, as well as gems (which are traded as currency, rather than simple art objects, due to generations of dwarven influence).
• Toal (2gp): A square, flat brass coin issued and honored by the Lords' treasury. Very little value elsewhere.
• Harbor Moon (50 gp): Technically worth 25 taols, harbor moons are crafted of platinum inset with electrum, in the shape of a crescent with a hole cut into the center of its curve. Traditionally used for buying large amounts of cargo. Worth about 2 platinum outside Waterdeep.

Goods

x

Business Goods

• Chain: 1 gp/yard (ornamental) to 5 gp/yard (harbor or gate) depending on size and strength (weight and method of joining links) (Guild)
• Cloth, new-woven: 5 sp to 10 gp per bolt, depending upon materials, demand, imported or local (Guild) (does not include “Wool”; q.v.)
• Drugs: medicinal: 1-8 gp/bottle (includes bottle, contents yield 3-6 doses, usually 4) (Guild)
• Fertilizer: 5 gp/wagonload (manure), 7 gp/wagonload (fish or bone meal) (Guild)
• Glass: 4 cp for 4-inch-square pane to 6 gp for a 4-foot square pane (Guild); for blown vessels, see “Bottles”
• Hooks, metal: 1 cp (fishhook) to 4 gp (grappling or meat) (Guild)
• Ink: sold by the 2 ounce bottle, 10 sp-4 gp per bottle according to ingredients, such as gilding pigments; always includes bottle (Guild)
• Magnifying glasses: 5-10 gp each (Guild)
• Maps: 25 gp in nine days, delivery to Waterdeep address included; “rush” jobs 18 gp. Cost may increase if map unusually large (Guild)
• Paper: scrip: 2 cp/ream; parchment: 5 cp/ream (1 ream is roughly 10” x 14”, a two-sided sheet) (Guild)
• Pens: 2 cp each (quill), 2-4 sp (metal nib; varying with design) (Guild)
• Rope: 100’ coil of thin black waxed cord: 17 sp; 100’ coil of ornamental, silk braided cord: 25 gp (Guild)
• Scrolls: see “Spells” if magical, “Paper” if not (price is per ream, stitched together)
• Smith’s tools: 70 gp (full and proper assortment; fine tempering is required)
• Weapon-harness: 1 gp per piece (e.g. belt, scabbard, baldric = 3 pieces) (Guild)
• Weapons, bladed: cost as per Player’s Handbook, plus 1 gp city fee (various Guilds)
• Wool: 7 gp per bolt, fine spun but undyed (Guild)

Construction Goods

• Chain: 1 gp/yard (ornamental) to 5 gp/yard (harbor or gate) depending on size and strength (weight and method of joining links) (Guild)
• Lumber: 1 cp/board (2” × 4” × 8’ long) and 2 cp/bar (4” × 4” × 8’ long) to 1 sp/board and 12 sp/bar depending on type and condition; prices will vary with nonstandard sizes
• Stone: 2 cp/block if purchased to do own work; 3 cp/block laid by Guild for repairs or additions; 4 cp/block laid by Guild when new structures built; 5 cp/block laid by Guild if marble, obsidian, or other “finestone” (Guild)
• Tiles: new: 1 cp to 3 cp each (varies with quality), laid: 1 cp each extra (or daily rate) (Guild)
• Window frame: wooden: see “Building”; metal, custom made to fit: 5 sp-10 sp unbarred, depending on size, 2 gp-10 gp if barred, depending on size, aesthetic design of the bars, and sturdiness (Guild)
• Windowpanes: see “Glass”

Conveyance Goods

• Cart, new: 25 gp to 60 gp depending on size—all have two wheels (plus a spare underneath), an open carrying bed, and trails for beasts; the more ornate have a seat for the driver, removable sides, etc. (Guild)
• Horses, shoeing: 1 gp per shoe (includes making or fitting and shoeing) (Guild)
• Horseshoes: see “Horses, shoeing” (value of a used/found shoe is 1 cp to 3 cp, based on size and condition)
• Sail: single lateen sail 500 to 700 gp (30% less if several months’ notice given) (Guild); non-Guild “no guarantees” sails sell as low as 200 gp for full rigging; refer to text under the “Most Diligent League of Sail-Makers and Cordwainers”
• Ships: 5,000 to 7,000 gp (minus 1,000 to 1,500 gp if “used”); for breakdown by type, see text under “The Order of Master Shipwrights” (Guild)
• Tote straps: 3 cp/strap (Guild)
• Wagons: 75-200 gp, varying with size, durability, style, and length of time given to build; custom or unusual sizes and style more expensive (Guild)
• Wheels, replacement (for wagons and carts): 2 gp to 6 gp per wheel, depending on size, design, difficulty of job and materials required; double if job is a “rush” or a dangerous one, involving travel outside the city walls (Guild)

Food & Drink

• Ale, tankard: 1 sp to 10 sp (varies with quality)
• Beer: (dark stout), full quaff: 2 sp; 1 barrel: 20 gp (Guild)
• Bread, fresh baked: 1-4 cp/loaf (depending on size, quality)/“waybread” (older, hard baked): 2 cp/loaf
• Fish, fresh-caught: 1 cp to 12 cp per fish, depending on species, sizes, and condition
• Herbs: 5 cp to 8 gp/dry ounce (saffron is 40 gp/dry ounce)
• Meat, fresh: 10 gp (whole carcass, average price), 17 gp (smoked carcass), varying with condition and size of carcass, type of animal (Guild)
• Pastries: 1 cp each, or if small, a dozen for 2 cp
• Wine: 7 sp/jack, 1 gp/bottle, 20 gp/barrel to 4 gp/jack, 12 gp/bottle, 70 gp/barrel depending on quality, rarity, “fashionability” (Guild)
• Zzar: 2 gp/jack, 7 gp/bottle, 40 gp/small key (Guild)

Garments

• Boots: new: 3 gp/repair: 5-15 sp (Guild) a bonus of up to 5 gp is customarily paid for immediate (same day) service. Secondhand boots: 5 sp to 20 sp (markets)
• Clothing, tailored new: 5-20 gp/garment (Guild) “Off the rack:” 2-15 cp/garment (depending on amount of material, workmanship, materials used, style); secondhand: 2 sp to 4 gp per garment if tailored, 2 cp to 10 cp if not
• Gowns, fine: 33-99 gp, plus cost of materials and perhaps gems, provided or selected by client (Guild)
• Jewelry: varies widely according to value of materials, from costume jewelry employing much brass, at 2-4 cp per piece, to elaborate pectorals worth up to 400,000 gp (Guild); many Waterdhavians wear rings or belt buckles of worked gold worth 2-4 gp
• Livery, Guild or other: 3 gp/suit, plus materials (Guild)
• Party costumes: masks and suits of metal, 600 to 2,000 gp (Guild); 20-75 gp for ornate metal masks only
• Shoes: see “Boots”; reduce all costs by half
• Spectacles: 5-10 gp each “pair” (Guild)
• Suspenders: 2 cp each set

Household Wares

• Barrel: 5 sp to 5 gp, depending on size (Guild)
• Basket, wicker: 24 cp depending on size, durability (Guild)
• Bells: wooden: 5 cp/cast metal: 15 gp, depending on size and tone (Guild)
• Bottles (glass): new: 1 gp per bottle, matching sets; 3-6 cp per bottle, “odd bottles” (Guild)/secondhand 1 or 2 cp
• Bowl, carved wooden: average price 2 cp (increases with size, finer workmanship, materials)
• Bowl, cast metal: average price 2 sp (increases with size, finer workmanship, materials) (Guild)
• Candles, scented and colored: 2 sp each (Guild), used: 1-3 cp (for “nobles’ stubs”; i.e. ends)
• Crockery, earthenware: 1 cp-6 cp per item, depending on glazing, size, complexity, and durability
• Firewood: 5 sp to 1 gp/face cord (known in Waterdeep as a “Stand”), ranging according to the type and dryness of wood, and difficulty of procuring it (i.e. higher in deepest winter)
• Furniture, wooden: 1 sp to 15 gp per piece, depending on size, workmanship, and materials used; most “normal” chairs, standing shelves, and plain tables cost about 2-4 gp each (Guild)
• Hardware”: metal work (latches, hinges, needles, spikes) sold by weight, usually 1 cp per ounce (Guild)
• Lamp oil: 3 sp for a 2 ounce bottle, or 1 gp/flask (as per Player’s Handbook), or 10 gp/small key (sealed with tar)
• Lamps: 4 cp (hand clay lamp) to 50 gp (waterproof lantern) (Guild)
• Pots, cast metal: 5 gp each, average price (with lid, varies with size, quality) (Guild)
• Soap: 3 gp per 10 gallon barrel to non-members (Guild)
• Tankards, cast: 10 sp to 1 gp, depending on size and workmanship (new) (Guild); 3 cp (secondhand)
• Wickerwork, small: 1 cp/piece (Guild)

Luxuries

• Chain: 1 gp/yard (ornamental) to 5 gp/yard (harbor or gate) depending on size and strength (weight and method of joining links) (Guild)
• Jewelry: varies widely according to value of materials, from costume jewelry employing much brass, at 2-4 cp per piece, to elaborate pectorals worth up to 400,000 gp (Guild); many Waterdhavians wear rings or belt buckles of worked gold worth 2-4 gp
• Musical instruments, new: 1 gp/day of making (most instruments take a month) (Guild); secondhand: 30 gp average (varies widely with instrument and condition)
• Perfume: sold by the 2-ounce bottle, always including the bottle (sometimes quite ornate) and varying in cost from 1 cp to 30 gp, depending on quality and demand
• Pictures and likenesses: 2 gp each to 6 gp each (Guild)
• Seals: of metal, 12 gp for each design or likeness (Guild)
• Signet rings: see “Seals”
• Toys, metal: 5 cp to 5 gp (Guild)

Magical Goods

• Crystal balls: 4-8 gp, depending on size (plus enspelling fee)
• Scrolls: see “Spells” if magical, “Paper” if not (price is per ream, stitched together)
• Spells (scrolls): see text under “The Watchful Order of Magists & Protectors” (Guild) for prices; typically a 75% mark-up to non members (sold by individual Guild members, not by the Guild)

Services

• Wages, Unskilled: 3 cp/day. Taking or issuing chits, blocking a shop exit, or similar unskilled jobs.
• Wages, Unskilled, Strong: 4 cp/day (2cp/half-day). Basic, unskilled tasks requiring strength, such as loading and unloading goods.
• Wages, Bearers of Responsibility: 5sp/day. For messengers and similar folk.
• Wages, Hired Bodyguards: 8sp/day to 1gp/day. Rate depends on armor, weapons, skill and reputation.

Business Services

• Bookkeeping: 1 gp per day or portion of day spent on accounts (Guild)
• Law: professional witness, assistance of: 10 gp per day (double if hired to state against charges of “severe” crimes), payable in advance
• Loading/unloading, docks: 1 sp per man per hour, 2 sp per man per hour if cargo is dangerous (Guild)
• Night watchmen: 1 gp each/night, per building watched (unarmed; for armed men, “bodyguard” rates apply; see text under “Wages”)
• Security: see “Night watchmen,” “Spell guard,” and text under “Wages” for bodyguards
• Signs, lettering: 5 gp/day (or part of a day) (Guild)

Coin & Wealth Services

• Moneychanging: 10% fee, keeping "one coin in ten", for smaller amounts. Larger amounts tend to be nearer to 5%. Explicitly includes all minted currencies, gems, trade bars, furs and similar goods.
• Moneylending, under 100 gp: 15% interest, for one or two months. Written promise of collateral in the form of property required.
• Moneylending, over 100 gp: up to 30% interest, for one or two months. Written promise of collateral in the form of property required.

Construction Services

• Builders (including repairs or additions): Stone: 10 gp/day per Guild workman and 3 gp/day per assistant plus 10 gp daily crew expenses fee, plus materials (Guild). See also “Stone.” Wood: 1 gp per man per day, plus 5 gp for a surveyor-chartist, plus 5 gp for a Guild engineer plus materials plus 10 gp/day crew needs fee (Guild). See also “Lumber”. (does not include “Excavations,” q.v.)
• Excavations: 2 gp per man per day (or part of day) plus materials, plus 10 gp/day crew head fee (Guild)

Conveyance Services

• Carrying fare: 1 cp for a half-hour or less ride anywhere within city walls, in an open trotting-cart (and up, for better conveyance) (Guild)
• Ferrying (about harbor, to and from ship and shore): 2 cp per trip per person carried, plus an additional 1 cp per passenger if any accompanying luggage, pets, or goods are not wholly carried by the passenger (Guild)
• Guiding through city: 2 cp by day, 4 cp by night (Guild)
• Horses, stabling: 1 gp to 3 gp/night (includes night watch, feeding, watering, cleaning, and rubdown, exercise if necessary) (Guild)
• Lighting through city (without guiding): 3 cp/trip (if guiding, use “Guiding” entry) (Guild)
• Packing: 3 gp for 1 hour of crating and packing 1 person’s typical belongings, readied for extended travel (Guild)
• Training, of mounts: 2 gp/day (2 weeks to 1 month required, depending on desired result)

Domestic Services

• Chimney-cleaning: 10 sp-1 gp/chimney (wealthy are charged more)
• Dyeing, of cloth, provided by the client: 5 sp to 10 gp/bolt, depending on complexity and difficulty of desired result (Guild)
• Laundry: 2 sp/garment “while you wait,” 1 sp/garment overnight (Guild)
• Medical care: 10-20 gp daily (includes nursing, splints, dressings, emergency medicines, etc.) (Guild)

Luxury Services

• Letters, written: 10 gp/page (includes materials) (Guild)
• Musicians, performing: 6 sp/day or occasion (whichever is the lesser time) for each musician (Guild)

Magical Services

• Divination, folk: many prices, many methods; most who can afford it purchase clerical magic
• Firefighting, magical (if no Fire guard hired): 10 gp per building, regardless of success (Guild)
• Spell guard, magical: 10 gp/day (Guild)
• Spellcasting, at trials: 500 gp per divination spell cast, paid by city if cast upon order of a city official