>My players clan (about 500 people) has slightly more than 800 cattle who
>have ~320 calves (half of whom are male) and lose about 115 to old age,
>leaving a net increase of ~45 per year (and ~275 dead beasts to eat over
>a year).
>Subtract from that losses to predators, cattle raiding and gifts to
>neighbours and it's more like a zero-sum game.
>
>The clan also has about 9 oxen per Carl family (8 Ox in a team, plus one
>in training) and there'll be a bull or three floating around the clan
>somewhere. The Oxen will be taken from the males, but at a replacement
>rate, so it won't really affect the number of dead beasts. I'm figuring
>around 150 oxen in my players clan.
>
>Most of the beef that people eat will be either old cows or young males.
>
>Requiring a half a cow per person would make the clan non-sustainable. I
>think that something like 2 cows per stead (about 1 per 25 people in my
>game) would be tough, but almost sustainable.
>
>If it includes payment in kind, throwing in sheep, swine and
>manufactured goods, you could probably double that payment and still not
>be absolutely broke, but if you have a bad year, things will be very tough.
Yes, I did assume that it was cow equivelents, particularly because I believe the Lunars demand payment in silver (which gives them an apportunity to make extra profit from accepting alternatives).
My view is that your clan is rather poor with only 17 carls and thanes in 500 people so I would expect the high proportion of cotters to make up some of the difference with alternatives. A richer clan could easily have twice the herd of cattle and twice the carls so the 250 adults would be paying 125 cows tax out of the 450 beasts they would otherwise have eaten themselves. Certainly sustainable even if the tribe already has a similar level of tax to support the tribal chief etc.
Bad years are a separate issue, when the taxes are paid to the tribe it will be routine for the tribal chief to waive some of the tax for the year. The Lunars won't do this, they expect paying whatever. If the clansfolk are really starving they can always get fed at the Teelo Norri poorhouse....
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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