Collecting Taxes

[dark_majico]

Is there any attempt at collecting taxes for the count? That's something I would really like to see, I think it would give a good reason for characters to earn some gold without making them feel like they are just farming for the sake of having gold, seeing as gold is a little like food theres no reason to actually have any, and it would get people involved in the story of the module, even if it is only a small part its a start.

[Feronius]

You only pay tax if you actually have a place to live in said country though, right? So the majority of the characters would not pay any taxes regardless.
That said, you could introduce a housing system like the tenent building in Port-A-Lucine that allows players to use a room if they pay rent each month.

[herkles]

That actually brings up a point how does this apply to PCs from Barovia.  I have a PC, Siobhan MacGillivary, who is from barovia. She is a forfarian from Immol.

[A normal snake]

A good point. I'll bring this up as a thing for consideration.

[DM Vinculum]

Just for reference, taxes would resemble feudal era taxes here. Applying our modern concept of taxes wouldn't be authentic. Farmers/Renters/Shopkeepers would pay taxes to the Burgomeister/Lord who would then pay taxes to Strahd.

Your landless, wandering, unemployed individual Barovian PC really wouldn't be paying taxes.

[herkles]

Just for reference, taxes would resemble feudal era taxes here. Applying our modern concept of taxes wouldn't be authentic. Farmers/Renters/Shopkeepers would pay taxes to the Burgomeister/Lord who would then pay taxes to Strahd.

Your landless, wandering, unemployed individual Barovian PC really wouldn't be paying taxes.

what of the barovians or people born in Barovia that do work for organizations; ie such as the Vardo, Ezrites, Wayfares, Morninglordian church, garda, and other organizations?  I know that this is based more on feudal taxation, just wondering about if PCs had to worry about this. . Side Note: taxation documents are actually rather valuable in medieval studies, as you can learn quite a lot about from these documents.

[Blight]

I feel like the Guard should be able to collect taxes. Would be good rp and create tensions and possibility for corruption.

[dark_majico]

Just for reference, taxes would resemble feudal era taxes here. Applying our modern concept of taxes wouldn't be authentic. Farmers/Renters/Shopkeepers would pay taxes to the Burgomeister/Lord who would then pay taxes to Strahd.

Your landless, wandering, unemployed individual Barovian PC really wouldn't be paying taxes.

what of the barovians or people born in Barovia that do work for organizations; ie such as the Vardo, Ezrites, Wayfares, Morninglordian church, garda, and other organizations?  I know that this is based more on feudal taxation, just wondering about if PCs had to worry about this. . Side Note: taxation documents are actually rather valuable in medieval studies, as you can learn quite a lot about from these documents.

Don't forget traders and the crafting professions. This thought came to me a few weeks ago seeing as canonically Strahd is a tax obsessed miser.

[respawnaholic]

Just for reference, taxes would resemble feudal era taxes here. Applying our modern concept of taxes wouldn't be authentic. Farmers/Renters/Shopkeepers would pay taxes to the Burgomeister/Lord who would then pay taxes to Strahd.

Your landless, wandering, unemployed individual Barovian PC really wouldn't be paying taxes.

True although in the feudal days rulers felt more at liberty of making up taxes on the spot to pay for things. They weren't bound ethically or legally to collect taxes in a systematic state approved manner. Its one of the reasons the history of the middle ages are so replete with stories of the peasantry flipping out with pitchforks semi regularly despite the almost certain outcome of such an event. One of the reasons Great Britain has its current monarchy set up the way it is was the lords attempts to curtail the kings tendency of making up taxes to pay for whatever war he currently found himself in.

For that matter I'm not entirely sure Barovia would count as a feudal system of government. Feudalism works based on parcelling out land and property based on patronage and aligence from the king down to dukes and arch dukes, then down to barons, counts, etc all the way down to knights. When the king sets a new tax he leaves it to his dukes (or whoever) to collect a percentage of said tax. The dukes in turn would pawn off the collection of their portion of the taxes to their retainers. The counts, dukes, knights, etc, and at each step in the collection process the person responsible for collection would tack on extra to cover their time and effort.

So far as  I can tell Strahd rules Barovia, but except for a few towns like Vallaki there are no intermediate steps in the feudal hierarchy to Barovia. There is a royalty to Barovia, but the royalty isn't actually personally responsible for any of the land which is how feudalism works.

[McNastea]

Mm, from what I've seen I was under a different impression. The Count might not be a -king-, but for intents and purposes her represents the figure that all the other lords of the lands pay their allegiance to. He collects taxes from the Lord-Boyar or the Governor or whatever person is ruling different parts of the domain, and they pledge their soldiers to him as well. He decides who rules, as was demonstrated at the end of the Wachter/Vallaki conflict, he's the utmost authority in every aspect of the governing of Barovia-obviously, he's the Dark Lord of it. I always found it to be a pretty fuedal system-but I won't pretend to be much of an authority on fuedalism, just my impression of things.

[Theorem Of Neutrality]

Just for reference, taxes would resemble feudal era taxes here. Applying our modern concept of taxes wouldn't be authentic. Farmers/Renters/Shopkeepers would pay taxes to the Burgomeister/Lord who would then pay taxes to Strahd.

Your landless, wandering, unemployed individual Barovian PC really wouldn't be paying taxes.

True although in the feudal days rulers felt more at liberty of making up taxes on the spot to pay for things. They weren't bound ethically or legally to collect taxes in a systematic state approved manner. Its one of the reasons the history of the middle ages are so replete with stories of the peasantry flipping out with pitchforks semi regularly despite the almost certain outcome of such an event. One of the reasons Great Britain has its current monarchy set up the way it is was the lords attempts to curtail the kings tendency of making up taxes to pay for whatever war he currently found himself in.

For that matter I'm not entirely sure Barovia would count as a feudal system of government. Feudalism works based on parcelling out land and property based on patronage and aligence from the king down to dukes and arch dukes, then down to barons, counts, etc all the way down to knights. When the king sets a new tax he leaves it to his dukes (or whoever) to collect a percentage of said tax. The dukes in turn would pawn off the collection of their portion of the taxes to their retainers. The counts, dukes, knights, etc, and at each step in the collection process the person responsible for collection would tack on extra to cover their time and effort.

So far as  I can tell Strahd rules Barovia, but except for a few towns like Vallaki there are no intermediate steps in the feudal hierarchy to Barovia. There is a royalty to Barovia, but the royalty isn't actually personally responsible for any of the land which is how feudalism works.

Barovia is nominally a feudal government. At one time, it had more Boyars whom controlled larger tracts of land. Strahd's father was definitely a feudal ruler. Overtime, however, Strahd began to care less about actual rulership and more about his owed Blood Tax.

[poisonivy2]

My guard always collected "taxes" 

[respawnaholic]

Mm, from what I've seen I was under a different impression. The Count might not be a -king-, but for intents and purposes her represents the figure that all the other lords of the lands pay their allegiance to. He collects taxes from the Lord-Boyar or the Governor or whatever person is ruling different parts of the domain, and they pledge their soldiers to him as well. He decides who rules, as was demonstrated at the end of the Wachter/Vallaki conflict, he's the utmost authority in every aspect of the governing of Barovia-obviously, he's the Dark Lord of it. I always found it to be a pretty fuedal system-but I won't pretend to be much of an authority on fuedalism, just my impression of things.

Right. My point is that Strahd functions more as a genuine king ala Louis the XIV during the height of "Absolute Monarchy" rather than feudalism as it was understood during the Middle ages. What I mean is that Strahd rules absolutely. He doesnt subdivide his power among lesser nobles the way feudalism commonly works. Centralized governments were something that had to be invented from feudalism where due to communications and culture most governing was far more local in nature, and a kings ability to enforce his will was limited to the approximate extent of his personal lands. Strahd's Barovia is really more like France or England in the 1500-1600s where the monarchy is actually able to enforce and maintain nationwide governing. If Barovia were more of a genuine feudal society Vallaki would have a boyer, The Outskirts would have a boyer (likely subordinated to the ruler of Valaki) the plot of land in the outskirts where the orphanage sits would have its own boyer, (who in turn would be subordinated to the ruler of the outskirts) etc.

What Barovia has is one ruler and then a giant assed bureaucracy that answers to him and runs things for him.. That's actually more a staple of modern governments. The very fact that Barovia has a genuine army is a valid argument that it isn't a feudal society. Feudal societies couldn't raise and maintain real armies. Thats why everyone was pleged to support and help one another in times of crisis.

Not really saying theres anything wrong with how things are in game. Its just what were seeing is really more along the lines of a modern day despotism than it is a feudal society. The state apparatus in Barovia is way to efficient and organised to be feudal.

[Bluebomber4evr]

Barovia doesn't have a standing army. It's up to the boyars/burgomasters to conscript, train and provide troops when Strahd asks, which is a core conceit of feudalism.

[Merry Munchkin]

I thought Vallaki did have a boyar... and the Wachter lands have a boyar... and I think the Village of Barovia has a boyar (although the title is mayor, in some descriptions I recall).  Lots and lots of boyars to support a feudal pyramid scheme.   

[Arawn]

Vallaki and the VoB have burgomasters, which is the title for the ruler of a settlement. The title Boyar implies territorial control; Ioan Wachter is both Boyar of the Wachter Province and Burgomaster of Krezk.

[McNastea]

Aha, I knew governor wasn't right I just couldn't remember that word when I was posting that >_< Didn't ever know the difference between the Boyar and the Burgomaster though-thanks for the insight

[Kendric98]

I think in all the time i have played i saw the dms play a tax collector once. Also we used to have a system for merchants for a while where they had to buy permits if they wanted to sell things in the outskirts or they were arrested and the items confiscated, that was sort of a tax.