Economics (CBarbH)

Barbarian societies lack the know-how to develop sophisticated economic systems. Where outworlders maintain commercial economies based on trade, taxation, and record keeping, barbarians barter for animal products (discussed in Chapter 2). Outworlders measure wealth in gold pieces; barbarians use crude currency that has little or no value outside their homelands. Outworlders negotiate legally binding written contracts. Barbarians make oral agreements, erratically enforced by the will of the leader or the smack of a club.

The barbarian economy, such as it is, centers around the basics of survival: hunting animals, gathering fruit and grain, and seeking fresh water. Generally, the head of a household is responsible for feeding his own family. Extra meat and fruit may be shared with friends. By accepting a gift of food, the receiver enters into an informal arrangement with the giver, obligating him to reciprocate in the future. Refusing to honor this obligation is considered a serious crime, punishable by expulsion from the tribe or even death.

Few barbarians recognize private ownership of natural resources; the tribe as a whole "owns" the orchards, the fishing sites, and the hunting grounds. Weapons, clothing, and household goods may be owned by individuals, though more substantial properties, such as dwellings and animals, belong to everyone. In some tribes, the leader assigns communal properties to individuals based on need; the largest family lives in the biggest cave, a mother with twin infants gets custody of the tribe's milk goat.

Trade between tribes occurs infrequently, if at all; there usually aren't many surplus goods available. Tribes are more likely to trade services that tangible goods. A hill tribe might loan its medicine man in exchange for the services of a good tracker. A cleric might perform a ritual to dispel disease spirits for information about the location of a deer herd. Affluent tribes, usually those with access to rich food supplies, might make straight trades for goods, swapping grain for weapons, hides for necklaces, and slaves for horses.

Tribes who learn to domesticate animals and raise their own crops become less dependent on hunting, enabling some of their people to devote themselves to simple crafts. Crude seamstresses, jewelry makers, and weaponsmiths may produce goods of exceptional value, enriching both themselves and their families. Craftsmen often share their bounty with the less fortunate members of their tribe; in fact, many tribes measure a man's affluence not by what he keeps, but what he shares.