The Articles of Dragon: "How Taxes Take Their Toll"

I've written before about my affection for Arthur Collins, who wrote a couple dozen or so articles in the pages of Dragon during the period when I was regularly reading the magazine. Collins was, in my opinion, a perfect writer for the Silver Age of D&D, because he understood the burgeoning desire on the part of many players and (especially) referees for increased setting detail while never losing sight of the fact that the game is supposed to be fun. That is, he wasn't interested in detail for detail's sake but in using it to create a richer and more immersive setting for playing fantasy adventures – at least that's how I read his articles back in the mid-80s.

An example of what I'm talking about is his article, "How Taxes Take Their Toll," which appeared in issue #95 (March 1985). Taking the form of a mock interview between Collins and His Excellency, Algoras Stanheort, Chancellor of the Exchequer, serving his Royal Majesty, Cynefyr, Bretwalda of Feldren, the purpose of the article is to discuss taxes in the context of a fantasy RPG campaign. Collins had already briefly touched upon this in his "The Making of a Mileu" article to which I linked above. There, he briefly enumerated some of the taxes characters might encounter and how they might be used in play, but that was just a passing discussion rather than the article's focus.

Here, though, he devotes the entirety of the article to the topic of taxes and does so in a way that's both practical and humorous. The humor comes from the responses of the character of Algoras Stanheort to the questions Collins puts to him in his "interview." Stanheort comes across as a high-handed aristocrat who clearly loves his job as chief collector of revenue. Consider, for example, this exchange:

DM: That's an awful lot of taxes to load on the people's backs, is it not Your Excellency?

AS: If Providence had not intended for the people to bear such expenses upon their backs, then they should not have had such broad backs upon which to bear them, think you not? (At this point His Excellency permitted himself a chuckle.)

There are many more examples of this sort of thing throughout the interview, such as Stanheort's use of a variety of increasingly ridiculous names for Collins in his capacity as representative of Dragon – "Sir Broadsheet," "Master Must-ask-about-all," "My Lord of Many Questions," etc. If nothing else, it makes for an enjoyable read.

The real meat of the article – and the reason I remember it – consists of insight into all the little taxes, tolls, and tariffs applied to goods, services, and privileges within the Kingdom of Feldren. There are consumption taxes, market taxes, alien taxes, hearth taxes, land taxes, church tithes, and many more. Stanheort talks about them all, providing both their cost and the in-setting justification for them, much to Collins's dismay, as all these fees pile up. It's almost like a Monty Python skit or perhaps something out of Yes, Minister and I still find it amusing today.

I fear I may not have done the article justice. I would not be surprised if many of you, upon reading this, will be wondering, "What use is this to me? Why would I ever want to include so many taxes in my campaign?" The answer is that you probably wouldn't, nor do I think Collins would recommend you do so either, if his dialog with the Chancellor of the Exchequer is any indication. Rather, I see the purpose of the article as drawing attention to the various ways the referee can use taxes and fees both to describe a setting and, more importantly, to make things difficult for the characters – or, if you prefer, to use local laws and customs (pun intended) as springboards for adventures and roleplaying interactions.

When I read the article for the first time, I was quite taken with it and set about drawing up a list of taxes for my Emaindor setting. As was so often the case with that setting, I probably went overboard with the detail – I was fifteen at the time – but I had fun doing it. I suspect that, reluctantly, my players migh have said the same, since I can recall at least one incident, in the city of Zijwek, when the characters were found to have failed to pay an entrance tax to the capital, a tax they didn't even know existed, let alone that they were obligated to pay. The resulting legal negotiations, not to mention a chase through the back alleys of the city, served as the catalyst for a series of scenarios involving the local thieves' guild (and the characters' vow to never return to Zijwek).

Good times!