Equipment and Economy: The Art of Being Poor

Shopping in the Grim and Impoverished

The Currency of Misery: Understanding Old World Money

In the Old World, money is scarce, dirty, and usually someone else's. The currency system reflects a world where most people barter chickens for bread and consider a silver coin a fortune. Think of it as medieval economics, but with more despair and fewer teeth.

graph TD A[Old World Currency] --> B[Gold Crown 'gc'] A --> C[Silver Shilling 's'] A --> D[Brass Penny 'd'] B --> E[1 gc = 20s] C --> F[1s = 12d] E --> G[1 gc = 240d] G --> H[Most people never see gold] F --> I[Brass-tier folk earn pennies, not crowns] I --> J[Yes, you're that poor]

The Poverty Scale: How Broke Are You?

Weapons: Tools for Survival

Weapons in WFRP range from "sharp stick" to "slightly sharper stick with metal bit." Most starting characters can't afford proper weapons, leading to creative solutions like "borrowed" tools and "found" objects.

Cheap Weapons Dagger: shillings | Damage: +SB+2 Club or cudgel: pennies | Hits like a stick Quarterstaff: shillings | Long and cheap Improvised: Free | Damage: barely Knuckledusters: shillings | Brawling * SB = Strength Bonus (melee adds it) Hand Weapons & Up Sword: a crown or so | Damage: +SB+4 Axe: about the same | Damage: +SB+4 Mace: about the same | Damage: +SB+4 Spear: shillings | Long reach Halberd: crowns | Two hands, long reach Sword, axe, mace = one "hand weapon" in 4e Ranged Weapons Sling: shillings | Damage set by weapon Bow: crowns | Damage per the weapon table Crossbow: crowns | Hits hard, reloads slowly Throwing knife: shillings | Short range Rock: Free | Damage: insulting Ammo costs extra! Exotic/Illegal Pistol: many crowns | Loud, slow to reload Blunderbuss: crowns | Blast Repeater crossbow: rare and pricey Incendiaries: Sets fires (and you) Poison: varies | Endurance test or suffer Possession may be illegal! Weapon Qualities (a taste; the Rulebook has the full list) • Defensive: better at parrying | • Fast: strikes quickly | • Slow: the opposite • Impale: also crits on rolls ending in 0 | • Pummel: can leave foes Stunned • Blast: hits everyone in an area | • Entangle: can leave the target Entangled • Penetrating: bites through armor | • Dangerous: may hurt the wielder Starting Reality Check Your rat catcher starts with a "small but vicious dog" - that's your best weapon!

Armor: Between You and Death

Essential Gear: Survival Equipment

graph LR A[Essential Gear] --> B[Survival] A --> C[Professional] A --> D[Combat] A --> E[Social] B --> F[Rope, Rations, Waterskin] C --> G[Tools of Trade] D --> H[Bandages, Healing Draught] E --> I[Decent Clothes, Perfume] F --> J[Never leave town without] G --> K[Required for career] H --> L[Because you WILL bleed] I --> M[For not being killed on sight]

The Shopping Experience: Medieval Misery

Availability: Can You Even Find It?

Item Availability by Location Item Type Village Town City Common goods Common Common Common Cheap weapons Scarce Common Common Better weapons Rare Scarce Common Armor Rare Scarce Scarce Firearms Exotic Rare Scarce Magic items Never Exotic Rare Availability (4e): Common, Scarce, Rare, Exotic. Table = this guide's rule of thumb; your GM decides.

Encumbrance: Why You Can't Carry Everything

Encumbrance in WFRP is realistic, which means it's annoying. Your Strength Bonus + Toughness Bonus = how many Encumbrance Points you can carry before penalties. Most characters can manage around 5-7 points before struggling.

Encumbrance Examples (rough guide; the Rulebook lists exact Enc):

  • Weapon: usually about 1 point (big two-handers weigh more)
  • Leather armor: light
  • Mail armor: heavy
  • Plate armor: heavier still
  • Shield: a point or more
  • Backpack of gear: it adds up fast
  • Coins: a big sack of pennies is heavy; this is why people love gold crowns

Penalties: Go over your limit and you slow down and get clumsier (Movement and Agility suffer); go far over and you can barely move.

Making Money: Career Income

Earning During Downtime:

4e handles this with the Income Endeavour between adventures: your career's Status decides what you earn.

  • Brass tier: paid in brass pennies
  • Silver tier: paid in silver shillings
  • Gold tier: paid in gold crowns

Example: A Silver-tier Rat Catcher earns a handful of shillings for their trouble. A Brass-tier beggar earns pennies, if that.

Black Market: When Legal Won't Cut It

Finding Illegal Goods (this guide's suggestions):

  • Poisons: 2x listed price, Gossip test at -20
  • Stolen goods: 50% price, risk of arrest
  • Forbidden books: 10x price, Corruption risk
  • Warpstone: Don't. Just don't.
  • Corpses: Why are you shopping for corpses?

Risks: Failed tests mean Witch Hunters, City Watch, or worse...

Realistic Shopping Example

Gottfried Goes Shopping:

Starting funds: 23 brass pennies (a Rat Hunter is Brass 2, so he rolled 4d10)

Prices below are illustrative; your GM's market will differ.

Shopping list:

  • Leather jack (armor): more shillings than he owns - "Maybe next year..."
  • Sword: crowns - "In my dreams..."
  • Healing draught: several shillings - "Too expensive!"
  • Bandages: 3d - "I'll take two sets" (6d)
  • Week's rations: 1s - "I'll eat what the dog eats"
  • Rope: 1s - "I'll borrow one"
  • Torch x5: 10d - "For the sewers"

Total spent: 6d + 10d = 16d

Remaining: 7 pennies (enough for a couple of ales to cry into)

"I used to dream of owning a sword. Now I dream of affording boots without holes.
It's good to have realistic goals."
- Werner the Adequately Armed, former Beggar

© 2026 Ray de la Paz. The Warhammer Fantasy RPG Guide. All rights reserved. · Ray's House of Fun
Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are trademarks of Games Workshop; the 4th edition is published by Cubicle 7. This guide is an unofficial fan resource.