Despite being god-awful at math, I like to try to make sense of the D&D Economy.

So, assuming tenday weeks (as per Forgotten Realms), and according to the PHB, a skilled laborer makes 2gp a day, and unskilled 2sp a day. Both are variable with these as minimum wages, but we know from Tomb of Annihilation that jungle guides into literal death itself equates to about 5gp a day. We also know that spending 1gp a day is required for a modest lifestyle, and 10gp a day for an aristocratic lifestyle.

Looked it up on SageAdvice and Greenwood says the average family business works daily with the exception of holidays or festivals and what have you. So, on average, skilled employees for these businesses are making at least 2gp a day. I doubt this ever gets higher than 3 or 4gp if we’re seeing that life-threatening situations are 5gp a day. However, we’re not accounting for inflation, so it’s possible that places like Waterdeep have a much higher rate of income, but if we’re meant to take the PHB advice as the average, I can think of no place better than the Sword Coast and Waterdeep to be displaying of this average.

Large amounts of unskilled labor are making somewhere between 2-7sp per day, so about 6-21gp per month. Skilled labor is making between 2-4gp a day, so about 60-120gp per month. A modest lifestyle, which is below comfortable, so probably lower middle class or working class, is spends 1gp a day just to exist. For those that are unskilled labor, that means you’re living a “squalid” or “wretched” lifestyle of 1sp a day or less. Essentially, you’re working class poor, or a college student.

Aristocrats are reasonably making anywhere from 20-40gp+ a day, only going higher and higher the further they are up the chain, for a minimum of making 600gp a month, something along the lines of 1,200gp a month, with no actual limit on this.

So with this frame in mind: Adventurers.

A group of adventurers goes out for maybe a tenday or so and returns with several hundred bags of gold, gems worth several hundred bags of gold, paintings and other valuables worth several hundred bags of gold, and magical items worth potentially far more than that. Essentially, putting their lives on the line, an adventurer literally catapults to the top 1% within a month’s time of gathering loot and other forms of Wealth. Really just a single +1 sword is a month’s wage for an Aristocrat at the “upper bounds” of the average and potentially almost 5x that, depending on the buyer (as rare magical items cost 500-5000gp).

What does THAT mean?

If you are an adventurer, you are literally a Walking Economy. Every leader, king, president, what have you, is going to want you on their good side, and is going to want to insure you somehow. Likely, the moment you return to civilization, you are pressured to invest virtually all of your wealth in case you die on your next outing. Suddenly, you’re not only the economic lifeblood of a region after a few years, but you’re someone special. You have museums that hold all your art pieces, jewelers who are making special rings out of the Blood Diamonds of the 7-Headed Lich’s crown jewels, and you are routinely bringing enough wealth back to make up anywhere from 1-10 aristocrats every month or two.

And there’s more than just you. The entirety of the Sword Coast absolutely crawls with adventurers. Wealth is being mined from the veins of the earth and looted from the bodies of other civilizations and routinely brought back. The highest form of wealth, magic items, are circulated around routinely, and those that hold them are essentially the richest, baddest, and most socially capable people at this point. That +2 sword you found in some goblin’s asshole three days ago, by mere virtue of having it, makes you a noble because of how much it’s worth. Say “This sword now belongs to the city,” and suddenly you have 5,000-50,000gp owed to you by the city–enough to live off of for the rest of your life. And, of course, you can still use the sword if you need to “protect the city” or whatever the day’s excuse is.

I imagine when adventurer’s die, all their assets are quickly liquidated. Some people go broke, other’s cash out–it’s like a failing company and selling your stocks and reinvesting. Only the stocks are Tom (the level 12 Halfling Wizard) who is capable of plane-hopping on demand. Kind of fickle, if you think about it. I guess that’s why no city’s main trade is “Adventuring”–gotta have a backup in case Tom fucks off to the Plane of Fire and never comes back.