"Cost of Living" Lifestyle Availability?

[NescienceEscape]

Theoretically, I can see an argument for every lifestyle being available in every size settlement - super-rich enclaves are a thing...

But for a more typical settlement, I would expect that Extravagant and even Wealthy would not be available at any Village or smaller settlement.

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Any actual guidelines that match up Cost of Living with Settlement size?

I tried using the Settlement Statistics, Base Value of purchasable items, but it gives 200gp for even a Hamlet, which is 2x the Wealthy Cost of Living. That seems very non-typical to me.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

It works better if you interpret that number as 'magical things available' not 'mundane thing purchased on a regular basis'. Your average purchase in town is not going to be magic items, and in any case is going to be well below that limit but things up to that limit are available should someone look for them. There may be potions of 1st level spells available, but that does not mean that people are buying them every day.

I don't know of any guidelines other than common DM sense. I also expand on the 75% general chance of something being available. Some things are more common than others, and a settlement will likely not have vast amounts of things in the price range. Just because a town has some potions of CLW doesn't mean they have hundreds. A town is more likely to have a scroll of CMW than Chill Touch despite Chill Touch being lower level.

[NescienceEscape]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

It works better if you interpret that number as 'magical things available' not 'mundane thing purchased on a regular basis'. Your average purchase in town is not going to be magic items, and in any case is going to be well below that limit but things up to that limit are available should someone look for them. There may be potions of 1st level spells available, but that does not mean that people are buying them every day.

I don't know of any guidelines other than common DM sense. I also expand on the 75% general chance of something being available. Some things are more common than others, and a settlement will likely not have vast amounts of things in the price range. Just because a town has some potions of CLW doesn't mean they have hundreds. A town is more likely to have a scroll of CMW than Chill Touch despite Chill Touch being lower level.

My main question is what Lifestyle (Cost of Living) is available in each type of settlement?

I get what you are saying here and it is helpful, but for now I want to nail down this particular aspect of settlements/size/availability.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

DM sense, again. What sort of terrain is there? Rich fertile land will likely give inhabitants higher lifestyle than arid deserts. What sort of unfortunate wildlife or neighbors are around? If the area is relatively safe, lifestyle will be better than in unsafe areas. What sort of industry is there? Producing valuable goods will lead to more wealth than producing less valuable goods. What is trade like? More trade is better than less trade. How magical is the town? Magic can skew things drastically. What is wealth distribution like? Leaning towards either end of the spectrum can influence lifestyle.

I'm not aware of any supplements that has what you want, so you will probably have to do the work yourself.

[Mysterious Stranger]

The cost of living is more about tracking mundane expenses then about purchasing magic items. In fact it actually excludes magic items in the description of what the character can secure from his belongings. For the most part mundane equipment is not that expensive so the availability for the settlements is more about magic items than anything.

The cost of living is really about two things. The first is the size and quality of the dwelling, the second is the access of goods and services. It is also more about long term then short term. The two upper lifestyles often own the dwellings, or are at least the only inhabiting the dwelling. In an average lifestyle you are living in close proximity to other and have little space and privacy. Someone who wanted to live in a wealthy lifestyle could simply rent or purchase a large dwelling. Maybe renting a large farmhouse or similar structure and the owners have to leave while the player lives there.

Extravagant is more about services and goods. So someone wanting a extravagant lifestyle would hire a bunch of servants to wait on them hand and foot. The servants may be local people hired for a job they have little experience in. It would also include procuring the finest goods available. So they would have a cook to make them food, a maid to take care of their needs, probably hire someone to hunt for fresh meat. Upgrading the dwelling they are purchasing with their own funds would also be likely.