What would you say is the shortage result for a £10 manor? The list on page 47 in book of the estate works well except for the result on three lots damage. Since the lord only lives ordinary he cannot drop.

1. Do the lord drop to poor? This seems unlikely.
2. Do the list simply get "bumped"? I.e. You get the fourth result on three lots and so on. (Follow up: what would be the result on 9 lots then?)

What would you say is the shortage result for a £10 manor? The list on page 47 in book of the estate works well except for the result on three lots damage. Since the lord only lives ordinary he cannot drop.

1. Do the lord drop to poor? This seems unlikely.
2. Do the list simply get "bumped"? I.e. You get the fourth result on three lots and so on. (Follow up: what would be the result on 9 lots then?)


The shortage table works best when it is used where it was originally made for: narrative consequences for shortages in Estates of £50 or so. :P It is obvious in a glance that it is not an exact table, for instance, 1 Lot change can mean a shift in the Lord's Standard of Living (£3 step), whilst the army (assuming that Poor = Half of Ordinary for them) is about 2.5 Lots. It is easier to just take the table as a narrative convenience, representing a furious balancing act by the Lady/steward to feed everyone as well as possible, and then it just reaches a tipping point. If you want hard numbers, use the numbers.

Personally, when dealing with single manors, that is what I do: I am just counting Libra. 3 Lots shortage? 1 is taken care of by the Discretionary Funds, leaving 2 = £2 shortage. The PKs usually have that or more from previous years & loot, so not a problem. But if they don't have it, then it is time to let some servants go, tighten the belt, go raiding/to war, or squeeze the peasants.

So yes, I would actually drop the Lord and his Family to Poor, if they don't make up for the shortages. Note that this is still superior to what the commoners are eating (which is why I am of the opinion that the children shouldn't be dying like flies even on Poor). Just not quite at the knightly fare. This means that the player-knights actually feel a pinch from having to pay 'protection money' to the Saxons, which I am very much for. If it is just hand-waved away as 'your servants eat a bit less', then it really doesn't matter so much to their own well-being if the player-knights choose to pay the tribute or not. You could easily argue that it would be a good policy to keep on paying and minimize the risk of war and raids...