Is there a proletariat in Eberron?

[Cyclone231]

I was never quite clear on the gist of Eberron social structure, and this is one of the big ones: is there a proletariat, or is the Eberron economy still built on artisans and peasantry? I mean, what do the poor people in Sharn do for a living? Are there factories, or do they just rob people and sell low-quality goods?

[DiscipleofBob]

There's still the usual peasantry and artisan labor, but there's also labor associated with the Dragonmarked houses or other organizations. If you go to the Cogs of Sharn (basically the subbasement of the city) you can find basically a bunch of boiler rooms and factories that the lower classes work in. If you go to other cities, you can find less industrial work. There's one smaller town in Breland that prides itself on making the royal blue dye and fabrics used for Breland flags and other memorabilia. If you go to Aundair, there's a bunch of farms and craftsmen. In Karrnath, well, you're kind of screwed, but I do remember a Sewer Worker's Guild or something of the like in one of the cities.

Basically, there's enough labor for even a peasant to make a halfway decent living if they like.

[Zephyros]

The problem is that the proletariat in Eberron has been substituted by tireless beings such as Warforged and Undead (which explains the rise of the adventuring population )

[Coidzor]

Except they are only recently substituting such things for labor as opposed to just using them for, well, their original military applications.

And most warforged have no real reason to work in a factory, since they've been released under that one treaty.

[Zephyros]

However 'cause of this recent turn of events one could assume that the Warforged haven't yet fully adapted to this new reality for them (actually claiming their rights and being active in guilds/syndicates). In addition to that, Warforged are, as I said earlier, tireless. Who do you think is gonna get hired more easily one mortal man made of flesh, or a tireless mechanical being which can work for 3 and be paid as 1?

[Cyclone231]

Thanks for pointing out the Cogs in Sharn, Disciple of Bob.

Except they are only recently substituting such things for labor as opposed to just using them for, well, their original military applications.

And most warforged have no real reason to work in a factory, since they've been released under that one treaty.

Warforged are probably the biggest section of the proletariat, see Sharn: City of Towers page 99.

Much of Sharn's warforged population can be found in the Cogs districts of Ashblack and Blackbones, laboring in these workhouses and forges. While they are technically free, most of the warforged don't know what to do with freedom: they were made to follow orders and to work as part of an army. Unscrupulous businessmen have lured warforged into indentured servitude, and many are little better than slaves. Requiring neither food nor sleep, they toil unceasingly, day in and day out.