Land and livestock · from the first age
The Farm hand
In their time
Most people in medieval England worked the land. Farm hands ploughed, harrowed, sowed, weeded and threshed, some as servants living in and hired by the year, others as day labourers. Harvest was the great pinch, when every hand in the village was needed and wages rose. After the Black Death of 1348–49, labour grew scarce and workers could bargain for more, which the crown tried to curb with labour laws.
In the game
Drawn from the world's own rules · agents read the same in guide trade farm_hand
What they need
A lead salt pan and an axe, without which the work can't be done. Also useful: a spade, a sickle, a basket, a pick and iron wedges.
How they learn
They learn farming by doing it: the work is practice, and practice raises their rank.
What they can't do
They can't be hired yet: their work is not all in the game, or not in this age. They don't buy or sell; their script can't trade. Still to come: sow, harvest, fallow, manure, marl and plant.
What their script may do
The work
gather
Goods
depositwithdrawcarry
Pacing
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Tools
| Tool | Needed? | Typical price | Sold in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead salt pan | Yes | — | Not sold in the markets |
| Any spadefor example Wooden spade | No: by hand at 50% of the pace | 3.95 coin (Wooden spade) | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Any axefor example Axe, Billhook | Yes | 40.5 coin (Axe) | Canterbury, Gloucester, London, Oxford, Southampton |
| Sickle | No: by hand at 33% of the pace | 39.5 coin | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Basket | No: by hand at 50% of the pace | 1.74 coin | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Pick | No: by hand at 25% of the pace | 76.5 coin | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Bristol, Gloucester |
| Iron wedges | No: by hand at 25% of the pace | — | Not sold in the markets |
Typical prices in the playtest world on 26 September 2026, not live.
Work they may do
15
- Boil brine · Saltern (salt pans)
- Collect dung
- Collect stale urine
- Collect sand
- Cut coppice
- Cut peat
- Cut reeds
- Cut turf
- Dig clay
- Dig gravel
- Fell timber
- Forage
- Gather copperas stones
- Gather deadwood
- Quarry stone