I'm kind of confused about the specifics of how to create a building using the downtime rules. In one example, it says:
"Suppose you want to spend downtime constructing a friendly traveler’s Inn. It needs a Bar so it can sell drinks, and a Kitchen so it can serve food. Guests need a place to eat and rooms to sleep in, so it must include a Common Room and a Lodging. To keep your guests’ horses safe, it must include a Stall. By adding up all the Goods, Influence, Labor, and Magic values in the Create and Time entries of the rooms’ stat blocks, you get a
total of 33 points of Goods, 3 points of Influence, 32 points of Labor, and 90 days. By spending that capital, after 90 days of construction time your inn is finished."
What I'm not sure I understand is the difference between labor and days of construction. If you spend a day of hard work to earn points of labor (as is described in the first example on page 78), isn't that the same thing? I mean, wouldn't labor reflect how much physical effort is required, how long it would take? It seems like if something required 32 points of labor and I could earn 1 point of labor each day, then I should be able to (if I had the other required materials), complete the building in 32 days. Or 2 of us could build it in 16 days.
I am totally missing something, aren't I? Help!
As I understand it when you are earning Labour, you are building up credit that gets others to help you out with the physical aspect, or pre-constructing certain elements. Essentially 'banking' effort.
When you actually get around to building you need time to put everything together, calling in favours to help you etc. Essentially spending that effort.
If you purchase Labour directly you get to spend it immediately - paying Samuel the Carpenter rather than working for him in exchange for him helping you out later.
It's abstract so a certain amount of rationalisation is necessary :)
Hmm... that makes sense, sort of. In the example I mentioned but didn't quote, it says:
"Example: Mark’s character is constructing a house, and he wants to acquire 1 point of Labor, which he plans to spend on the house’s construction requirements. He decides to use 1 day of downtime and pay 10 gp to earn the point of Labor, instead of paying 20 gp to purchase it outright. He immediately spends this 1 point of Labor on the construction requirements of the house. For roleplaying purposes, Mark states that he used the day to dig a foundation for his house, and spent the 10 gp on the tools and raw materials he needed to start the foundation."
So, wouldn't it make sense that though he earned 1 point of labor, he also worked 1 day towards his house, since he was physically working on the foundation? Maybe that's where part of my confusion comes from.
yeah! rationalisation :)
In that example that would come under what I see as preparatory work.
But if Mark had paid for that Labour in full he could just as easily justify that foundation work as part of the days of construction required.
The rules are just a way of measuring the time and cost required. How you describe/breakdown each part of the transaction is then a matter of flavouring to taste.
As capital is an abstraction, the details of the work are up to you and the GM to decide—for roleplaying purposes, you should explain it however is most appropriate for your character and campaign.
The biggest part you're forgetting is there's no max of how much capital you can earn in a day. If his check was say a 50 he could buy up to 5 capital. Days are days and capital is capital so if it says 10 labor, 10 influence, 10 magic, 30 days then that's what it takes. You can have all the capital needed but it still takes 30 days to build.
In your example he spends the labor because the rules say that you can spend capital you earn in a day to pay towards construction.
Also there is a rule about reducing days by spending more labor or influence.
Time: This entry indicates how long it takes to complete the room or recruit the team. You may divide the Time price for a room by 2, 3, or 4 by spending 2, 3, or 4 times its Labor price. You may divide the Time price for a team by 2, 3, or 4 by spending 2, 3, or 4 times it's Influence price.