Over the Hill GamingNov 23, 2022

"Adventurers! Your quest is to collect what the peasants owe to their lord!"

"Taxes?"

"Rent."

"Silver?"

"Eels."

"What."

"Y'all wouldn't shut up about historical accuracy."

Medieval English paid their rents with smoked eels. Such payments were increasingly replaced by currency starting in the 13th century, but it continued into the 17th.

Tweet with photo:
https://twitter.com/greenleejw/status/1204839635802841095?s=20&t=pcbEE0v6PsthNf8IcdXytw

Numbers & interactive map: http://historiacartarum.org/eel-rents-project/english-eel-rents-10th-17th-centuries/

#ttrpg #ttrpgs #d20 #f20 #medievalhistory #weirdhistory

Surprised Eel Historian, PhD on Twitter

“So you're a medieval landlord, collecting property rent from your peasants in eels. How do you measure them? Eels were usually counted in units called sticks (25 eels) -- likely from the number of eels you can smoke on a stick at one time. 10 sticks of eels was called a bind.”

Twitter
Show threadjimmyrayreid

@overthehill this is the real evil campaign. Get the party to collect taxes.

For extra points, the eels have been overfished and either a) collecting the tax will make the species locally extinct b) it is numerically impossible to find that many eels.

Dec 4, 2022 at 10:25amWeb
Show threadOver the Hill GamingDec 4, 2022

@jimmyrayreid What?! Subvert the fantasy trope of working for the nobility by pointing out such actions support an oppressive government? I would never do or suggest such a thing!

(And by "never" I mean that I do it every single time.)