Alternate Materials

Using the guidelines on this page, you can convert any material into any other, for any product. Your shoes, for example, can be made of fine deer leather, ostrich, wood, wolf pelt, paper-mache, silver, or solid ruby… if you have the price.

As a rule, half of the cost of a manufactured good is in the materials to make it, and half is workmanship. To convert materials, first cut the original price in half. This is figuring about half the price of an item is in materials, and the other half of the cost is workmanship. Next, divide the materials cost (the half that we just found) by the number on the chart next to the substance that makes up the item. Now multiply that result by the number next to the desired material. This product is added to the workmanship cost—that's the half of the original cost that we found first. This final sum is the cost to purchase the item when made from the alternate material. If you are converting a commodity—that is, you are trading in tin for lumber, or something—then there is no workmanship cost. In these cases do not divide in half at the start.

If the final product is an unusual one (e.g. you want your jacket made out of paper mache rather than leather) then double the final cost. If it goes beyond the unusual into silly or even assinine (if you want a porcelain jacket) double that again.